Speilberg's War of the Worlds is filled with such images. What they mean, I haven't a clue, but they have some subliminal meaning that adds flavor or perhaps is some kind of private joke -- such as the star wars statues in the egyptian scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

In this same squence we see a train that will later encounter in flames before the ferry crossing scene.

But what does this image mean? Who is this guy? What impression are we supposed to take subliminally from having it flashed before us during one of the action squences?