Mars Attacks!
At this point, some people are saying that there is obviously a war to be fought, but the president does not agree. He has a personal conversation with a Martian, in which he makes a very moving speech about cooperation. A tear glistens on the Martian’s cheek. Finally!
And then the Martian kills the president.
Throughout the movie, it’s clear to us that the Martians mean to annihilate all the humans. But we can only recognize that because it doesn’t matter to us (since, after all, it’s only a movie). For the human characters in the story, however, it’s a different matter. Faced with an alien civilization who is technologically superior, the thought of a war is just too terrible to accept. As a result, the humans constantly grasp at straws and fall for the Martian lies, even when there’s no reason to believe them and the humans are fatally compromising their own security as a result. They are “taking risks for peace”!
The black humor of the film is in mankind’s refusal to acknowledge the true intentions of the Martians. Even after fifteen years, I remember one particular scene in which a Martian is charging down the street in a war machine, shouting “We come in peace! We mean you no harm!” while he is firing his laser cannons and killing everyone. It’s absurd… or is it?
When Yasser Arafat signed the Oslo accords, there was very little reason to believe that he was actually serious about wanting peace. After all, in his Arabic speeches back at home, he was telling people that it was a strategic move as part of a longer campaign to destroy Israel. Nevertheless, many intelligent people fell for it – because they were so desperate for peace. One very well-known rabbi (who I will not name) also fell for it and subsequently publicly admitted his error – but how many others did?
From Rationalist Judaism, here.