I wanted to believe

November 20, 2005 1:41 PM

If you're looking for one of those famous, big-eyed alien abductors, try looking on the sides of milk cartons. The UFO cultural moment in America is long since over, having gone out with the Clintons and grunge rock in the 90s. An interesting take on how the internet effected UFO culture.
posted by elwoodwiles (40 comments total)

I want to believe.
posted by fandango_matt at 1:44 PM on November 20, 2005

I'm all about the Shadow People now.
posted by stifford at 1:47 PM on November 20, 2005

Affected not effected.</pedantry>
posted by matthewr at 1:52 PM on November 20, 2005

*Slaps forehead* Oh, well.

It's interesting how access to information changes the way we develop our cultural mythology. I grew up with the UFO myth (I'm using the term "myth" pretty loosely here. It is possible for a myth to have an element of truth. By "myth" I refer to the swarm of books, television, movies and other media that formed our cultural view of UFOs and their study,) but in the last few years I hear less and less about "the aliens" or related subjects.
posted by elwoodwiles at 2:00 PM on November 20, 2005

Funny, I'd been assuming the reason I was hearing less about aliens was that their presence had pretty much become universally accepted as inevitably, if not immediately, true.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:02 PM on November 20, 2005

having gone out with the Clintons and grunge rock in the 90s.

Grunge never died. Or at least it's due for a revival. (I hope so. I wanna be a fashion plate, again)
posted by jonmc at 2:09 PM on November 20, 2005

Damn reverse vampires.
posted by herting at 2:10 PM on November 20, 2005

This is the first I'd heard of shadow people. I love that Wikipedia has an article on them. Eat it, Brittannica!

It has also been proven recently that areas with erratic or powerful electromagnetic fields can interfere with the electrical impulses or firing synapses of the human mind, thus influencing people subjected to such environments over time to believe that they are hearing or seeing ghosts, aliens, or perhaps shadow people.

posted by whir at 2:11 PM on November 20, 2005

The UFO cultural moment in America is long since over, having gone out with the Clintons and grunge rock in the 90s.

No, it went out with the X-Files, which went out with 9/11. For a few months (years?), 9/11 made it cool to trust the government again, which was the knockout punch for the already struggling X-Files.
posted by gsteff at 2:15 PM on November 20, 2005

I guess I never really thought about how truly big the UFO phenomenon was in the 90s, but I suppose so. Maybe it's just a matter of being a fish in water. I listened to the Art Bell all the time, watched the X-Files, et cetera... Never really considered it a major fad, or anything. Just entertainment.

As far as why it's faded, I think the writer is on target. I'd also add that, since the 90s, a lot of conspiracy fodder has happened. 9/11. Iraq War. Etc. Our conspiracy theory desires are being satisfied by terrestrial events that are not nearly so outlandish.

one preview: gsteff, that's true. You either trust the government, or you're so busy NOT trusting the government that alien abduction is neither here nor there.
posted by brundlefly at 2:18 PM on November 20, 2005

Say what now?

*still seeing weird shit in the skies above Phoenix*

Someone else I met recently saw three lights like those recently. They also saw the lights that hovered over Phoenix Metro for almost two weeks straight about five years ago. The semi-official response was "parachute flares".

OK, I've seen parachute flares. Yeah, they're weird looking if you don't know what they are. The lights in that iFilm link are not parachute flares. Parachute flares also don't hover in the same place in the same pattern for two weeks.
posted by loquacious at 2:29 PM on November 20, 2005

The larger point the article makes about how truth follows exaggerated claims on the Internet these days is dead on. The shining stars have been sites like Snopes and Ask Cecil - not say CSICOP which could have led us into this age of skepticism but chose instead to keep all their information in a print-only paid magazine.

That said, why hasnt Scientology gone away?
posted by vacapinta at 2:35 PM on November 20, 2005

this comes from the same dope who says in another article that "intelligent design is going to win." tell that to the Dover, PA school board.

from the linked (d)opus: The need for weird is hard-coded into the human condition. In every society, a few unlikely souls appear to make contact with an invisible world, communing with goblins or ghosts or aliens or gods or monsters. And in every society, some fool always tries to gather scales from the dragon tracks, or droppings from the goblins, or pictures of the aliens. The dream world is always too elusive to be captured, and yet too tantalizingly close to be dismissed

substitute "religion" for "weird" and "flying spaghetti monster" for "goblins or ghosts or aliens" and the truth finds its way into even tripe such as this.

also, can we please dispense with the techcentralstation links? i can do without the townhall.com banner ads (since i'm already a platinum subscriber!) and my lawn is so lush i don't need their astroturf.
posted by Hat Maui at 2:36 PM on November 20, 2005

Grunge never died. You should see the drain in my bathtub.
posted by Rothko at 2:57 PM on November 20, 2005

The obvious conservative bias of this author destroys his point. /bad joke

I like the article, it's an interesting idea. But he presents zero evidence to back up his claim, so it's hard to take seriously. Does he have any objective measure to show that UFOs are a now-diminished cultural phenomenon? Nope. He may be right, he may be wrong.

And his optimism about the internet being a truth-finding device is very funny. And naive.

Of course, if you flip on network TV today, you'll see that UFOs have been replaced with stupid shit like witches, ghosts, demons, and other supernatural nonsense. Hell, I keep seeing that Ghost Whisperer con man everywhere. And there's that Jon Edwards huckster. Even legitimate news organizations give these frauds credence.

So I don't know that we've become more credulous as a society, we've just switched to some other form of the bizarre.
posted by teece at 2:58 PM on November 20, 2005

Yeah, I saw that Tech Central article last week and thought, "Eh, this guy's full of shit. Probably a born-again neocon."

His "evidence" is basically that the X-Files was a popular show during its run, and he saw lots of dumb feature articles in newspapers about the alien plotlines on the show in the mid '90s ... and now he doesn't notice such things, so it must no longer exist.

If pop culture is the way you tell if something is still part of pop culture, I would say the paranormal theme is bigger than ever. Spielberg did a 10-episode miniseries two years back for Sci-Fi called "Taken," which broke all cable records. And he followed it up with a hit remake of "War of the Worlds" (Martian invaders, remember?) this year. Those UFO & "In Search Of" style shows are not only still all over tv, but there are about three times' as many these days. I hear George Lucas is still doing all right, too.

I read somewhere that this fall's tv season had more paranormal shows than ever before, including a couple about space critters. (I don't know if any of them are popular or even still on the air, but that "Lost" seems to be doing all right.)

And the Art Bell show is still the biggest show on night radio, even though Bell doesn't host it much these days. Now it's on satellite & podcasts, too.

The X-Files was only loosely about space aliens -- back when it was good, you never really knew if the aliens were real or a huge government fakeout. But the heart of the show was that government was out to get you & scary things were always happening. Seems that ethic (which came from the Watergate era + the '90s "super patriot" movement + a good chunk of "Night Stalker" paranoia) is still pretty strong in America, as evidenced by conspiracy stars on all sides of the political spectrum such as Alex Jones, Michael Moore, History Channel's "Conspiracy!" show, Air America, etc.

The opening of the X-Files movie (where the government blows up a high-rise to hide something) and the pilot episode of "The Lone Gunmen" (rogue defense contractors plot to crash a jetliner into the World Trade Center to start a profitable war with a "tin pot dictator") are absolutely chilling to watch post 9/11. Give it a try.
posted by kenlayne at 3:06 PM on November 20, 2005

Is it too much to hope that there really is some sort of Men in Black relationship with those "in charge"?
posted by Balisong at 3:11 PM on November 20, 2005

it's ash.
posted by nervousfritz at 3:20 PM on November 20, 2005

The opening of the X-Files movie (where the government blows up a high-rise to hide something) and the pilot episode of "The Lone Gunmen" (rogue defense contractors plot to crash a jetliner into the World Trade Center to start a profitable war with a "tin pot dictator") are absolutely chilling to watch post 9/11.

Holy shit. I didn't believe that that had actualy been part of the plot of a Lone Gunment episode; its so prescient that I'd expect to have heard about it long before now. After 9/11, everyone cited Tom Clancy's description of a plane slamming into the Capitol as proof that the attacks could have been forseen, but this is actually much more apt.
posted by gsteff at 3:33 PM on November 20, 2005

That said, why hasn't Scientology gone away?

Why hasn't all religion gone away?
posted by jeblis at 3:43 PM on November 20, 2005

Grunge never died.
Neither did the Clintons.

The writer mentions, but glosses over Speilberg's 1977 movie Close Encounters, which was a major, big-time blockbuster. And well before the Internet. I don't think the Internet has "catapulted to super-stardom" anything, least of all a set of notions believed mostly by the technically ignorant.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:44 PM on November 20, 2005

Why your mama looks like E.T.
posted by Wet Spot at 3:48 PM on November 20, 2005

L-01 The Political Implications of the UFO Phenomenon and the “ET” Myth RA-mp very informed,pedantic,lecture several years old that is (Arti Johnson voice) very interesting but..... 1/12 hrs
posted by hortense at 4:20 PM on November 20, 2005

Invasion still appears to be on ABC's schedule. Surface is on NBC's. Apparently the "taste for weird" moved beyond the clichéd Greys and the author of this piece is uncomfortable with change.
posted by SPrintF at 4:54 PM on November 20, 2005

Yeah, that Lone Gunmen pilot episode is spooky. Was first aired March 2001. I didn't see it when it was on TV (had become sick of the X-Files a year or three before) but rented it on Netflix this year. Didn't care for most of the episodes, but the first one is worth seeing.
posted by kenlayne at 5:01 PM on November 20, 2005

I would call that a "rant" rather than a "take", but he's got some good ideas there. But the author's obviously reactionary and about as trustworthy a source of Truth as a hardcore believer.

For years, hucksters and mental cases played upon the credulity of UFO investigators. Bad science, shabby investigation, and dubious tales from unlikely witnesses characterized far too many UFO cases.

Says who? I'm interested in the phenomenon, but I think of myself as pretty skeptical. One aspect I do find interesting about UFOs is the broad spectrum of witnesses that come forward--of course there must be some marginal folks and some outright hoaxers, but I'm struck by how many professional and "normal folks" types have made detailed accounts: doctors, lawyers, pilots, astronauts...these are the important people in the world, and if you think that their testimony is unreliable, say a prayer that the surgeon cutting you open for a triple bypass wasn't actively hallucinating that flying saucer over Phoenix.

The popular idea that witnesses are inbred rednecks just simply isn't true. Even Jimmy Carter claimed to see a UFO back in the 70s and was interested in investigating the phenomenon when he was president. And this isn't even counting the people who have seen something but are hesitant to publicly admit it.

I don't know...there's just too many reports for all of them to be dismissed out of hand. And many Official Debunkings are more absurd than the idea of Little Green Men. J. Alan Hynek liked to point out a particular sighting in which a witness described a UFO as a massive bird with lights on its wings. The Official Conclusion by the military brass? It was a massive bird with lights on its wings. I ask you, which is nuttier?

We're at war now. We don't have the time for games.

Huh?
posted by zardoz at 5:49 PM on November 20, 2005

Perhaps it's because now we test our undocumented flying weapons over Baghdad, instead of Utah.

In seriousness, the rise of the sightings corresponded to the development of skunkworks programs like the Stealth Bomber, which was flying around for decades before it graced the skies of Iraq. The UFO myth was a benign form of bottom-up counterintelligence that kept the mysterious things mysterious.

Why it started is clear. Why it's stopped, not so much. But if you read about it in TechCentralStation, it's sure that it's on some lobbyist's mind, out there in the Utah desert.
posted by cloudscratcher at 5:53 PM on November 20, 2005

I'm glad to see that others rememer that Lone Gunmen pilot. Suppose THAT will ever air again?
posted by brundlefly at 6:13 PM on November 20, 2005

Why it stopped is also clear. The agents of the alien conspiracy arrived and have started the assimilation process. Nothing to see here, folks.
posted by arjuna at 6:19 PM on November 20, 2005

Even Jimmy Carter claimed to see a UFO ...

Lots of folks see UFOs. The problem is the jump in logic from unidentified flying object to aliens with anal probes.

If a bird with a glo-stick stuck up its ass flies overhead, it's a UFO.
posted by teece at 9:32 PM on November 20, 2005

The appeal of chimerical mysteries and esoteric knowledge tends to diminish when the need for moral clarity and direction grows acute. And our need for such guidance is acute indeed. We're at war now. We don't have the time for games.

They had me up until that point. Why bring needless Bushie sermonizing into the picture?
posted by afroblanca at 10:09 PM on November 20, 2005

If a bird with a glo-stick stuck up its ass flies overhead, it's a UFO.

Hehe. At a desert party/gathering many years ago I flew a glowstick up on a kite. I just happened to stop in some independent gas station mini-mart that had a rack of toys, and on that rack there just happened to be glow sticks, kites and kitestring right next to each other. It was probably the best 10 bucks I've ever spent.

I launched the kite from an area a fair ways alongside the parked cars along the road leading to the dance floor, intending to get it to hover there over the sound system and people gathering there.

The reactions of people walking in and seeing the bobbing point of light were priceless.

"Oh... What the hell? Hey guys! Do you see that?! Do you fucking see that shit!? OH HOLY FUCKING SHIT IT'S MOVING! OH SHIT OH SHIT THAT'S THE REAL DEAL JESUS H CHRIST!"

I felt kind of bad. Kind of. They'd spend a little while freaking out, then they'd finally get up to where I was and see me just standing there holding a string and grinning. Let's just say I'm thankful I didn't get my ass kicked. Most everyone laughed and probably learned a very valuable but totally unintentional lesson. A few were extremely annoyed or even pissed off. Still, I made a lot of random friends that night.

All that being said I support skepticism, critical thinking and proper debunkings of all sorts. That iFilm video I linked to could be hoaxed. The things I've personally seen in the skies of the southwestern deserts could easily be experimental aircraft. But some of the things I've seen out here don't fit into any sort of traditional flight mechanics I've ever heard of. Here's a pinch of salt, though, just in case, and some varying mileage.


For those that are interested: The party in reference was the very first "Dune" party, in the Southern California area. Notable for basically being the debut of the now mildly famous Christopher Lawrence and the start of a series of yearly parties that became famous for their intensity, size, quality of talent and random visual effects stunts and surprises. This group of people also eventually formed Fragrant Records.
posted by loquacious at 10:14 PM on November 20, 2005

Almost all alien abduction experiences can be explained by the human brain releasing certain odd chemicals (DMT, 5MEO-DMT, pinoline) that it likes to keep around for some reason.

However, that doesn't make the whole thing uninteresting. In fact, that's really only the beginning.
posted by afroblanca at 10:22 PM on November 20, 2005

hah, Loquacious, that's a great story. I did something similar at Burning Man once, but there's so much weird stuff flying around out there that nobody paid it much mind.
posted by Mars Saxman at 11:51 PM on November 20, 2005

They take it to a whole different level at Burning Man. In fact, that'd be a great place for extra-terrestrials to land in plain sight and have a little fun - even of the unsolicited probing sort. I doubt anyone would even notice or think much of it at all. There's even already bunches of skydivers, paragliders and small planes there - they do set up their own FAA recognized airport there every year.

The simple beauty of my glowstick-on-a-kite experience was that it was totally unplanned, on a moonless night, and there really wasn't anything else going on light-wise at a rather small party. You couldn't not notice it. My only complaint is that I spent too much time trying to tease the kite into staying aloft in the mild winds of the evening rather than actually socializing or dancing.
posted by loquacious at 12:08 AM on November 21, 2005

The appeal of chimerical mysteries and esoteric knowledge tends to diminish when the need for moral clarity and direction grows acute. And our need for such guidance is acute indeed. We're at war now. We don't have the time for games.

Um, no.

This author's belief that Americans are somehow less credulous now than they were during the Clinton years is almost paranormal.
posted by moonbiter at 12:13 AM on November 21, 2005

The appeal of chimerical mysteries and esoteric knowledge tends to diminish when the need for moral clarity and direction grows acute.

If that's so, why did UFOs and aliens seem so fashionable in the 70s of Watergate, oil shocks and Iranian embassy takeovers?
posted by alumshubby at 5:07 AM on November 21, 2005

I don't think the internet has made people less credulous. If anything, it's made them more. "If that were true, I'd have heard it by now" seems to be a more common argument now than it once was.
posted by nebulawindphone at 5:33 AM on November 21, 2005

I thought ghosts and psychic powers were all the rage nowadays.
posted by RobotHero at 10:57 AM on November 21, 2005

OK, let's all buy a set of these. (Scroll down to "Radio-controlled Megatech® Blimp Set".) They come with Preprogrammed sequential blinking lights, with 7 different patterns, for night maneuvers. We can all fly them over Doug Kern's house.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 12:05 PM on November 21, 2005