The Transformers franchise is recognizable the world over, focusing on a conflict between the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons. This alien species in a civil war with itself finds its way to Earth, which becomes the battleground for this conflict. These robots in disguise have been enjoyed by children for over forty years as each new generation comes to discover them.
Yet in the 2000s, the Transformers got a big-budget live-action Hollywood makeover from Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks, and director Michael Bay. The attempt was to make the franchise appear more grown up, and part of that meant reflecting the world they were entering. The ’80s were over, and now these Transformers movies were being released not just in the 21st dentury but during the early years of the War on Terror.
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The Transformers movies, most specifically the first three films released between 2007 and 2011, are a product of a post-9/11 America and are informed by the War on Terror. The real-world conflict makes its way into redefining how the Transformers’ story is told, the conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons, and even changes some of the characterizations of popular heroes.
Transformers Film Series Exists Because of the War on Terror
Paramount Pictures
While the Transformers films are known for their prominent use of the military (as is custom with many Michael Bay movies), it is worth noting one of the main reasons the film franchise got off the ground was the franchise’s science fiction origins. In 2003, producer Don Murphy was developing a movie based around the Hasbro toy line G.I. Joe.
However, after the Iraq War, the subject matter of an elite military unit fighting a terrorist organization seemed inappropriate and they instead shifted their focus to Transformers. Transformers seemed like the ideal property to bring to the big screen, as it had a clear set of heroes and villains, fit the Star Wars model of a science fiction war, but was far enough removed from any real-world parallels that it could be easily accessible to all audiences.
It was when Michael Bay signed on for the project that a greater emphasis was put on the military aspect of the story. The original draft of the screenplay was more focused on a kid finding out their car was a Transformer (something the series would return to with Bumblebee), but Bay choose to focus on a first contact story, meaning the United States military would be involved.
This meant trying to make a kid-centric franchise that tries to be as appealing to adults as possible, and that meant adding an emphasis on real-world elements to the franchise to inform both the creative designs and also the story beats of the series. Transformers showed what would happen if the conflicts between the Autobots and Decepticons happened in the real world in the present day 2007, and part of that meant embracing the War on Terror.
Patriotism in the 2000s
The first Transformers film hit theaters in 2007, just four years after the Iraq War and American occupation, and six years after September 11th. While the movie adopts the classic Autobots vs Decepticon concept from the toy line, it also puts more emphasis on the human component of the film, specifically the US government’s response to this alien invasion. The Autobots team up with the human soldiers to fight the Decepticons, and the following sequels show a working relationship between the military and the Autobots’ heroes so much so that the United States government seems to be the one authority the Autobots will listen to regarding asylum on planet Earth in both Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
While the Decepticons often take the form of United States military vehicles, Bay makes sure to distinguish them from the good use of the technology by framing the real military planes and vehicles in heroic shots alongside soldiers that oftentimes feel like an Army recruitment ad. This American patriotism is further highlighted by showcasing American vehicles that the Autobots take the shape of driving alongside tanks and are surrounded by soldiers. It creates the image of American power.
Michael Bay puts so much focus on the human soldiers and the sheer might of their military vehicles, they often times overshadow the robot characters. Transformers: Dark of the Moon features a final action set piece in Chicago that runs for nearly an hour and most of the screen time is not dedicated to the Autobots but instead to the human soldiers. The Autobots even mention helping resolve human conflicts, but notably are only working with the United States military acting as enforces of American might across the globe.
Autobots’ Mission to Hunt Down the Decepticons Is Filled With War on Terrorism Imagery
Having the Autobots ally themselves with the United States military puts them in a place of power over the Decepticons, which paints the conflict differently than previous incarnations. In the original animated series, the Autobots and Decepticons tend to be on equal footing, two sides of a conflict that are making major moves toward one another.
Yet following the death of Megatron at the end of Transformers, the sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen reveals that the Decepticons are now hiding across the globe in pocket cells that the Autobots and the new military unit named Non-Biological Extraterrestrials Species Treaty (N.E.S.T.) hunt down the remaining Decepticons in raids that are framed similarly to United States military raids on suspected terrorist cells.
In Transformers: Dark of the Moon, a newly resurrected Megatron is hiding out in exile similar to Osama bin Laden (worth noting that Osama bin Laden was killed in May 2011, just two months before Dark of the Moon was released and long after it was filmed). The Decepticon’s invasion of Chicago is filled with imagery reminiscent of September 11th, which was about to mark its ten-year anniversary.
The image of an American city covered in ash, destruction, and towering buildings along with the notion of Decepticons literally invading the planet makes a hard-to-ignore thematic intention. The Autobots arrive on the scene, along with an elite group of soldiers, to ward off the Decepticons and fight for their home. If symbolism wasn’t clear enough, Bay frames Optimus Prime next to a tattered American flag.
Redefines The Transformers Characters Themselves
One of the biggest impacts the War on Terror has on the Transformers franchise is how they impact the characterization of the various robots most specifically Optimus Prime. Optimus Prime has been the franchise’s moral center, the noble hero that is a shining example for the Autobots as well as the children who enjoy the franchise. The live-action films try to maintain that image of the character, even bringing in Peter Cullen to reprise his voice, but the creative choices that took place to bring it to live-action shift much of the characterization.
In the original series, the fights between the Autobots and Depictions resulted in damage but never death (one thing that made the 1986 Transformers: The Movie so traumatizing for kids), but for a live-action feature film, the fights need clear winners and that means the Autobots have to kill the Decepticons. While the first film treats it in the kid-centric style of deaths that Star Wars movies do Stormtroopers, the sequels quickly get morally questionable.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen features Optimus Prime brutally ripping off the face of the Fallen. Transformers: Dark of the Moon features Optimus Prime saying “we will kill them all” and then ripping out Megatron’s spine while also shooting his former friend-turned-enemy Sentinel Prime in the back of the head while he pleads for his life. While Sentinel Prime is the villain, having Optimus Prime kill an unarmed weakened individual who has surrendered alters the hero forever. Once a childhood symbol of heroism, he has now been morphed into a bloodthirsty merciless killer to fit into a franchise that has been morphed by the War on Terror. Instead of rising above the conflict, the heroes are now morally compromised, something which feels sadly allegorical of the War on Terror.
