When it comes to military history, there’re few names anywhere near as respected as that of Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War. His wisdom, broken down into a series of commonsense principles, has won universal appeal for 2,000 years, not the least for the goal of his work: winning. Moreover, these lessons have continuously proved so effective that one expert famously described their legacy thus: “If you listen to Sun Tzu, if you follow his principles, you will be victorious; if you ignore him, you do so at your own peril, because you will definitely lose.” In fact, this wisdom has also been proven universally applicable, enabling it to be used by everyone from sports teams to politicians to business leaders. 

However, there’s one medium it has yet to be truly applied to: pop culture plotlines. If it works everywhere else, then there’s no reason to believe it can’t work there too. To better explain this, we’re going to look at the plot from one of the greatest family films of all time: ET. More specifically, we’re going to examine it through the lens of the most commonly applicable principles: morality, terrain, leadership, prep, deception, improv, recklessness, cowardice, delicacy of honor, and underestimation.

An alien ship lands in a forest along the California-Nevada border in the Sierra Nevada range, whereupon three beings promptly exit to explore the area. One of them (ET from now on), ultimately wanders off alone, no doubt spurred by curiosity but, in the process, violates one of Sun Tzu’s principles: never underestimate an opponent. ET immediately pays for it when government agents, no doubt having detected the ship’s presence, appear and begin investigating. Initially, he’s able to stay out of sight, but then he violates one of Sun Tzu’s Fatal Failings of Leadership, recklessness, via his species’ ability to psychically feel each other’s emotions, which causes his brethren to panic and start to flee; worse, the noise of said connection draws one agent’s (Keys from now on) attention. Desperately, ET flees through the woods, the agents in hot pursuit, unaware that the former’s brethren have already started up their ship. Sadly, they take off before ET can reach it, the sight thankfully stunning the agents and helping him escape.

The scene now changes to a nearby town, more specifically the home of Mary, a recent divorcee living with her three children: Mike, Elliott, and Gertie (oldest to youngest, respectively). Three of Mike’s friends are currently over, and Elliott goes out to get the pizza they ordered, but then hears a noise by their shed. Thinking it’s their dog, Elliott goes to investigate, only to realize something’s hidden inside. Resorting to a new principle, “Be flexible; according as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one’s plans”, or improv, he tosses a baseball inside…only to have it thrown back.  Panicking, he heads back inside, where he’s mocked for not bringing the food, so he resorts to another Sun Tzu principle, “To entice an enemy with bait, use only bait they are sure to take,” by hinting no one should go outside. It works brilliantly, as the teens can’t resist checking, ultimately only discovering some strange tracks. Mary promptly orders everyone back inside, but Elliott’s convinced something’s out there, so later that night he slips out with a flashlight to check. He notices the tracks head toward a nearby cornfield, providing access to yet another principle, “What enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men is foreknowledge.” He quickly uses it to head into the field, only to encounter ET, startling them both and causing the latter to fleeing. But, as ET runs, he violates underestimation again, because Elliott notices his trail (via overturned garbage and a swinging gate) leads to the hills nearby.

The next day, using that new foreknowledge, Elliott heads into hills, armed with candy to try and lure ET out; it’s quite an ingenious use of improv, baiting, and two more Essential Victory Factors—preparation and morality. Again, he finds nothing, but then spots Keys nearby, and ends up wisely using another Essential Victory Factor, leadership, namely a caveat, know when not to fight, by fleeing. He ends up ribbed by Mike that night, and Mary says to simply tell her if he finds anything so she can have someone to remove it. It’s a sad violation of recklessness and another fatal failing, delicacy of honor, for her words are naïve at best. What’s more, Elliott knows better, so he follows another caveat of leadership, “Some commands must not be obeyed,” by hiding on the patio that night with more candy; his perseverance pays off when ET appears, eating the candy and offering some in return. Using baiting via more candy, he brings ET into his room and tries to communicate, but fails underestimation himself when, in an apparent gesture of gratitude based on morality, the latter forges a new psychic link with him that causes him to collapse.

In the morning, Elliott brilliantly uses one of Sun Tzu’s most famous principles, “All warfare is deception”, in conjunction with improv by feigning illness via holding a blanket to his face and a thermometer to a lamp to fool Mary. He then tries to interact with ET, only to violate recklessness by not realizing their dog is nearby until he starts barking, terrifying his new companion. When Mike comes home, Elliott gently broaches the topic of ET, both failing delicacy of honor in the process (the former by ribbing his brother and the latter by claiming “I have absolute power”), and introduces them…only to fail recklessness again when Gertie comes back, sees ET, and screams. Mike ends up having to use a caveat of leadership, enforcing discipline, to stop her by pulling her into a closet while Elliott uses deception to defuse the situation with Mary before rejoining them. All three agree to keep ET a secret from Mary, although Mike and Elliott end up using improv to force Gertie to do so by threatening one of her dolls. 

That night, Gertie goes into Elliott’s room, where they and Mike try to figure out where ET comes from, mentioning Earth is their “home”, but the only response the latter can give is to point to the sky. ET then begins unveiling his abilities, the first via improv by taking several balls and making them revolve around each other, imitating a drawing of the Milky Way. Moreover, when all are in bed, he uses a second when he notices a pot of flowers that’s wilted; using more improv, plus morality, he forges another psychic link with the plants, making them blossom. But this is where trouble strikes, as the government is still investigating, and where Elliott is revealed to have badly violated underestimation, courtesy of the candy he used to bait ET… which Keys finds. Instantly, they realize something has happened nearby.

In the morning, ET is concealed in a closet, a nice use of improv, deception, and another Sun Tzu Essential Victory Factor, terrain, while Elliott and his siblings go to school. However, Gertie violates recklessness by staring upstairs before leaving, causing Mary to go up and check, only to overlook ET due to his being well hidden; the latter then comes out and begins nosing around, namely with toys, TV, and the refrigerator. In the process, ET violates recklessness due to that psychic link with Elliott, causing him to affect the boy, starting with the former’s consuming alcohol and causing the latter to burp, feel drowsy, and nearly collapse in class. Even more amazing, ET seems able to see and interact with the world through Elliott’s eyes, such as when the boy’s class starts to perform a frog dissection and the alien talks to the frog through the link. Realizing the frogs’ predicament, ET uses morality, improv, and leadership to influence Elliott into freeing the animals and then, based on an image on TV, causes him to replicate a romance scene by kissing a classmate. Yet, the biggest takeaway from this is when ET sees an ad about phones, providing him foreknowledge that’ll eventually pay off later.

When Mary comes back with Gertie, the latter fails recklessness again by trying to introduce her mom to ET, but thankfully the former is too busy violating delicacy of honor by brushing off her daughter’s words…and completely missing the alien’s presence, despite the fridge’s ransacked nature. Meanwhile, Gertie’s starts watching TV, only to find she’s violated underestimation when ET starts talking, albeit slowly. It causes the prior comedy of errors to repeat itself (same violations too), but it also leads to an important revelation when ET comments about “Phone home.” Gertie then uses this new foreknowledge, morality, and some improv to help her new acquaintance speak. It pays off when Elliott comes back and groans at finding Gertie’s dressed up ET, only to violate underestimation himself when he hears the latter use his name; he even uses that moment to give him a name: “ET”. Even stranger things await when Gertie points out ET’s been gathering random objects, but, when prompted, the latter answers, “ET…phone home.” It takes a little deciphering, especially when Mike returns, but their new friend uses both prep and improv, via some comic illustrations, to explain: he’s trying to build a transmitter to call his brethren. Thus, Mike and Elliott go into the garage, using prep and improv to start looking for usable parts, joking the entire time as they’re convinced no one else knows about ET. Sadly, they’re both unknowingly failing underestimation, recklessness, and delicacy of honor, and all due to Elliott’s forest failure giving the government enough foreknowledge to send in a surveillance van—which catches their whole conversation. Worse, these failures also apply to ET’s health, which is beginning to slip due to being separated from his brethren, as evidenced by his wheezing breath and the flowers he linked with beginning to wilt. Then again, there’s a positive discovery, one which occurs when Elliott violates recklessness again by grabbing a saw blade and cutting himself; ET immediately uses morality by activating a healing touch in his finger to cure the wound.

With the parts ready, the kids come up with a masterful plan. Tomorrow is Halloween, and Gertie will claim she’s dressing as a ghost, but secretly slip out ahead of time with a bike and head to the top of a nearby hill. Elliott will dress as a hunchback, filling his backpack with the parts and covering it with a sheet as part of his costume, and then they’ll dress ET in a sheet to trick Mary into thinking he’s Gertie. From there, the boys and ET will rendezvous with Gertie, transfer ET to the bike, and Elliott will bring him into the woods to activate the machine. It’s a great use of deception, prep, and improv, and all goes well at first…but then all parties end up violating underestimation again, courtesy of Mary telling them they must be back one hour after sunset. With an increased timeline, Elliott must use improv by moving much quicker upon reaching the hill, but encounters rougher ground than anticipated, a sad violation of foreknowledge and terrain. However, ET suddenly uses a dramatic form of improv and terrain: in the film’s most famous moment, he unleashes his full power, sends the bike down a hill, and then makes it fly, bypassing said obstacle. Admittedly, they have a rough landing, but manage to use improv and prep once more by rigging the machine to a tree, whereupon it starts transmitting. Unfortunately, this is also where more problems pile up. Due to their link, Elliott is getting sick, like ET. Worse, he further violates recklessness and foreknowledge by losing track of time, naturally causing Mary to grow worried and go out looking. Unfortunately, she in turn violates recklessness because, in her angst to find Elliott, she forgets to close the garage door. That same error gives the government,(waiting outside the home due to their use of foreknowledge, prep, and improv) the opening they’ve been waiting for, which adds in the use of a caveat of leadership: if an opening comes to seize victory, take it. They do so by sneaking in and conducting multiple tests, proving their earlier hypothesis.

Morning comes, and Elliott awakes to find the machine’s stopped working…and ET missing. Too sick to look for him, he wisely heads home, where Mary’s talking to the police about him missing. Understandably, she’s upset about his absence, but then finds he’s very ill. While she dismisses the cops, Elliott quickly uses foreknowledge and improv by asking Mike to find ET. His brother immediately leaves on his bike, only to have a government car tail him. Unfortunately, the latter’s too obvious, making it a foolish violation of recklessness, delicacy of honor, and improv, especially when Mike spots them. Therefore, he heads down a narrow alley where the car can’t follow, and then pulls a quick turnaround near a house before speeding up a hill, a masterful use of terrain, foreknowledge, and improv that shakes his pursuers. When he reaches the machine, he’s only initially able to find the sheet ET wore, but a quick search reveals the latter at the bottom of a ravine, deathly pale. Mike uses improv again by wrapping ET in the sheet to bring him back, which is when Mary asks what’s wrong. Left with no option, he reveals ET, along with Elliott’s worsening condition, ultimately causing Mary to panic and grab her son while having Mike grab Gertie to try and flee. Sadly, they’re met at the door by a government agent dressed in a spacesuit, the culmination of the kids’ failures all catching up at once. Mary tries to flee again, but fails underestimation when she’s blocked by other agents. 

As night falls, the government moves in, creating a clean space all around the house, an incredible use of foreknowledge, prep, and improv that isolates all inside. Elliott and ET, both extremely weak, are placed in adjoining beds, the former’s siblings are questioned…and then Keys appears. He gently questions Elliott about the machine, a nice use of morality, but then things take a turn for the worse when ET’s vitals begin crashing. In another wonderful showing of morality, the latter severs his link with Elliott, allowing him to recover, no doubt as thanks for all the boy’s done. Unfortunately, the flowers soon wilt, and ET apparently dies despite frantic attempts to save him. It’s decided to pack him in ice, but Keys allows the fully healed Elliott a chance to say goodbye, another good use of morality. The poor boy is shattered and about to walk away…but all are shown to have violated underestimation when the flowers suddenly blossom again, sending him running back to the freezer, where ET’s very much alive; even better, his link with his brethren has been reestablished, meaning they’re coming, a good bit of foreknowledge. However, Elliott, realizing the government can’t know about this, quickly employs improv and deception by closing the freezer, followed by pretending to be utterly distraught, tricking the agents into not checking ET. However, once clear, he goes to Mike, reveals the truth, and the pair hatch a bold new plan to get their friend away: wait for the freezer to be loaded into a van outside, then Mike will steal a suit and, along with Elliott, drive to a nearby hilltop playground; en route, they’ll have Mike’s friends grab their bikes, rendezvous with them, and then drive to the forest. To cover their escape, they’ll give Gertie a letter for Mary, telling her not to hand it over until they’ve left. It’s an incredible use of improv, morality, prep, foreknowledge, leadership, and deception, but very risky: neither Elliott nor Mike knows the streets very well, and the latter’s only just started learning to drive.

Things start going wrong immediately. First, Gertie violates recklessness by giving Mary the letter too early. Next, Elliott and Mike get into the van, but the latter violates recklessness too by not pulling up his suit’s hood, allowing an attentive agent to spot him and order him out. Their hand forced, Elliott expertly uses leadership and improv by ordering Mike to go, whereupon he starts the van and guns it, tearing off a section of the sterile tunnel linked to the back, the two men still inside being dragged behind. Thankfully, Mike’s friends are at the outer barricade, so they’re at least able to coordinate that successfully. Unfortunately, the tunnel dragging behind them is obviously drawing attention from onlookers, not to mention the men inside are using improv to try and pull themselves up via an attached cable. However, Elliott solves that dilemma through more improv by pulling the pins keeping the tunnel attached, ultimately dislodging it. Another problem occurs when Mary, using foreknowledge from the note, gets into her car with Gertie to chase the boys, only to have Keys ask where she’s going. Again, Gertie violates recklessness by blurting “To the spaceship”; Mary tries to quiet her, but it’s too late, since now the government’s got more foreknowledge to work with. Miraculously, the boys reach the playground, where they explain all to Mike’s friends, only to have Mary and the government show up moments later, both aided by said foreknowledge. But everyone has violated underestimation, for the boys have already fled.

As the five boys and ET race toward the forest, police and government cars begin chasing them, so Elliott uses leadership and improv by having them charge through a narrow gap, blocking their first pursuer. However, two more cars use terrain, foreknowledge, and improv to cut them off, so the quintet use those same qualities to head down a nearby hillside, taking advantage of the steep slopes to keep the cars at a distance. One unit, following their movements, quickly uses the same principles again by speeding downhill to block them, but badly fails underestimation, recklessness, and delicacy of honor, for the quintet simply go around or jump on top of their car. More units converge, and one of Mike’s friends recommends they split up as they head through a construction area. It’s a wonderful use of deception, improv, foreknowledge, and terrain that indeed divides their pursuers before losing them via more steep slopes. However, the quintet makes a critical mistake: flushed with success, they head onto a main road, convinced they’ve made it. It’s a sloppy violation of recklessness, delicacy of honor, underestimation, and terrain, because now they can’t use the slopes to their advantage anymore. Worse, the cars all have radios, and they use them to continue their pursuit via foreknowledge, prep, improv, baiting, and terrain. First, they keep the streets clear at first, luring the boys into a false sense of security, then have agents on foot cut off the quintet’s line of retreat, followed by more cars/agents blocking side exits, boxing them in. Finally, a barricade of armed agents moves out in front, closing the trap.

Yet, the government/police have actually violated underestimation themselves, namely a remarkable caveat of it: “The good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy.” This comes about when ET, his full strength restored, wields improv and terrain again by causing all five bikes to fly, bypassing the barricade, and then foreknowledge to bring them to the forest. They land just in time to witness the ship arrive, followed shortly by Mary, Keys, and Gertie, no doubt aided by the latter’s use of foreknowledge. All friends then exchange tearful goodbyes, using morality one more time by giving ET the flowers he linked with as a parting gift. ET then boards the ship, only to use morality himself one final time when the ship lifts off: as it leaves Earth, it leaves a rainbow trail behind.

This classic story is a masterpiece of triumph and tragedy, but Sun Tzu was clearly there the whole time, guiding Elliot and ET’s friendship into a final victory. It just goes to prove exactly what experts have been saying since the beginning: follow Sun Tzu, and you’ll win; ignore him, and you’ll lose.

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 Bibliography

Padrush, David W., director. The Art of War. 2009; A&E Television Networks, 2009. 94 min. DVD. 

Spielberg, Steven, director. E.T.: The Extra- Terrestrial: Anniversary Edition.

1982; Universal Pictures, 2012. 115 min. Blu-Ray.Sun Tzu. The Art of War.

Translated by Lionel Giles. New York: Fall River Press, 2011.

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Andrew’s originally from Massachusetts, and has studied military history/tactics/strategy for almost 30 years. He has a BA in History (English minor) from UMASS Lowell and JD from Mass. School of Law. He currently lives in Florida, and can be found daily on Twitter (AndrewNickers19@) analyzing pop culture characters via Sun Tzu.