The Monitors (1969) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

After observing the human conflict and chaos caused by the SCRAG bombing plot and subsequent turmoil, the Monitors concluded that humanity was not worthy of their leadership. They withdrew their influence entirely, ending the pacification program and allowing humans to govern themselves again.

Foreshadowing: Early scenes showing the Monitors' clinical observation of human behavior foreshadowed their eventual judgment of humanity as unfit.

• Monitors departure
• alien withdrawal
• humanity unworthy

SCRAG, the Secret Counter Retaliatorial Group, engineered a bombing attack on Monitor headquarters in Washington, D.C. The attack was meant to strike a decisive blow against Monitor rule and reclaim human autonomy.

Foreshadowing: The street preacher's inflammatory sermons and his abduction of Barbara, Harry, and Max hinted at SCRAG's willingness to use violent tactics.

• SCRAG bombing plot
• Monitor HQ attack
• resistance plan

Barbara Cole was a movie actress who became a collaborator with the Monitors, likely due to the new reality they created where compliance offered safety and prominence under their regime. Her collaboration placed her at the center of the Monitor-controlled media landscape.

Foreshadowing: Barbara's role in Monitor television ads and broadcasts established her as someone who had adapted to and benefited from alien rule.

• Barbara Cole
• Monitor collaborator
• actress

The street preacher Stutz was actually the leader of SCRAG, the Secret Counter Retaliatorial Group. He deliberately provoked the Monitors with his boisterous preaching to spark conflict and draw other characters into the resistance movement.

Foreshadowing: Stutz's dramatic, confrontational behavior masked a calculated agenda beyond typical street preaching.

• Stutz preacher
• SCRAG leader
• resistance leader

The Monitors deployed a spray-can pacifying gas designed to suppress human violence and sexual impulses. The gas effectively neutralized aggression, making it difficult for humans to resist or rebel against Monitor rule.

Foreshadowing: Early scenes of Monitors spraying gas and the resultant docile behavior of citizens established this as a primary tool of control.

• pacifying gas
• Monitor technology
• suppression

With the Monitors gone, humanity was suddenly free to resume its old patterns of violence and corruption. The world returned to its familiar cycles, suggesting that the peace imposed by the Monitors was merely superficial and that humans reverted to their natural state.

Foreshadowing: The Monitors' clinical withdrawal and their final judgment that humans were unworthy hinted at this cynical conclusion.

• Earth after Monitors
• humanity restored
• violence returns

Through a series of twists, Harry Jordan remained aligned with the Monitors while his brother Max was pulled into SCRAG's orbit. This split created tension between the brothers and reflected the broader division among humans caught between compliance and resistance.

Foreshadowing: The characters' separate kidnappings and the different paths they took during the chaos set the stage for their divided loyalties.

• Harry Jordan
• Max Jordan
• split allegiances

The street preacher Stutz's provocative actions sparked the pivotal clash that pulled Barbara, Harry, and Max into the larger crisis. His confrontational preaching directly challenged Monitor authority and ignited the chain of events leading to the SCRAG conspiracy.

Foreshadowing: Stutz's boisterous, disruptive presence on the city street was deliberately designed to provoke a reaction from the Monitors.

• street preacher conflict
• SCRAG activation
• rebellion begins

The Monitors sought to curb humanity's violence, sexuality, war, and trouble. They imposed a peaceful order through pacifying gas and propaganda, aiming to create a harmonious society. Their goal was benevolent control, though it ultimately proved temporary.

Foreshadowing: The Monitors' systematic replacement of media with ads praising their rule and their enforcement of pacifism revealed their long-term agenda.

• Monitor goals
• alien invasion
• peaceful rule

The ending was deliberately ambiguous and satirical. On the surface, humanity regained freedom and autonomy. However, that freedom immediately led back to violence and corruption, suggesting humanity may have been better off under Monitor rule, or that humans are inherently incapable of peace.

Foreshadowing: The Monitors' final decision and the quick reversion to violence played as both a pessimistic commentary and a ironic punchline.

• movie ending interpretation
• satirical conclusion
• human nature