What societal parallels are drawn in Mickey 17’s alien encounters?

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Mickey 17 draws parallels between its alien encounters and contemporary patterns of colonialism and dehumanising violence.

In Mickey 17, the spaceship lands on a far-away planet and encounters native inhabitants described as “giant fanged insects.” The film then frames this meeting through the mission leader’s repeated use of the word “extermination,” while also pointing to “obvious allusions and similarities” to what is happening in the world right now. The most prominent theme flagged in the film is colonialism.
The alien “native” encounter is staged as a dehumanised other
The native inhabitants are visually coded as insect-like creatures with large fangs, which turns them into something non-human in the story’s presentation. That choice matters because the encounter is not portrayed as mutual contact, but as a scenario where the “natives” are treated as obstacles or targets. This connects the alien meeting to a broader real-world pattern where colonised groups are denied full humanity.
“Extermination” language signals violence tied to the mission
A key detail is that the word “extermination” is used “with abandon” by the mission’s leader during the unfolding events. In the film’s framing, the mission’s actions toward the planet’s inhabitants are repeatedly linked to eradication rather than negotiation or coexistence. That kind of rhetoric is presented as part of the film’s colonialism theme.
The film highlights colonialism without mapping to one specific real event
While the film is said to contain clear “allusions and similarities” to current events, it does not spell out a specific one-to-one match to particular societies or groups. Instead, the parallels are presented at the level of themes and recurring dynamics: an outside force arrives, classifies the locals as alien and threatening, and treats them through a lens of destruction. The reference points stop short of naming a specific country or historical episode.
Alien encounters are used to foreground broader questions of identity and class
The story setup centres on Mickey Barnes, an “expendable” who agrees to be cloned each time he dies, with his memories imprinted. That premise sits alongside the alien encounter sequence and connects colonialism to questions of mortality, identity, and class status. In other words, the film uses the extraterrestrial landing to deepen its look at how power, roles, and “mission” logic shape how people—both outsiders and “natives”—are treated.

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What societal parallels are drawn in Mickey 17’s alien encounters?

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