UFOrmation Summaries...
1996 -- COLLECTIVE CULTURAL CRITICAL MASS?
Seeing Ted Koppel give the subject "Are We Alone?" a
serious and objective turn on "Nightline" gave me goosebumps...by Glen Boyd
We are living in truly incredible times.
If I were Bob Dole, I'd want ET's publicist real bad. Whoever the guy is, he's so good that an anonymous, grey alien entering the presidential race tomorrow would probably beat both Dole and Clinton hands down, in a three-way race, on name recognition alone.
From a deep cultural dissatisfaction and lack of trust, a national malaise with regard to our government has developed -- a schism between "us" and "them" that has grown from a negotiable gap to a very grand canyon. The ticking of the millennial clock and the reality of decreased opportunity for most of the population, has resulted in people desperately seeking "alternatives" to reality -- synergetic and communal escape. As we approach the third millennium, popular culture embraces everything from apocalyptic scenarios to conspiracy theories to paranormal speculation with unprecedented fervor. While pop-psychology may view all of this as escapist fantasy, the darker realities suggested by some of these "alternatives" to daily life suggest otherwise.
Enter the Aforementioned ET
If 1995, as my previous article suggested, was the year "Saucers Broke," 1996 could well prove to be the year UFOs reach collective critical mass. The year began with the biggest UFO-related story of 1995 -- Ray Santilli's "Alien Autopsy" film -- being largely debunked and discredited. Yet the reverberations of that film continue to resonate through UFOlogy (more on that in a minute). In the public consciousness, ET has become, for lack of a better word, a "superstar."
The summer alien-invasion, blockbuster "Independence Day" is well on its way to becoming the biggest movie of all time. And more is on the way. This fall brings "Mars Invasion" and "Men In Black" (starring ID4 star, Will Smith), among movies with decidedly alien themes -- interesting, especially with regard to the approach of the third millennium and its apocalyptic connotations, that alien-based, sci-fi films have again reverted from the friendly-ET themes of 70s and 80s Spielberg films to the post-WWII paranoia of 50s "invasion" films.
On television, the popularity of "The X-Files" dark themes will produce at least two clones this fall. "X-Files" producer, Chris Carter's, "Millennium" on FOX, and NBC's "Dark Skies." UFOs and ETs, largely ignored by mainstream media for four decades, are going to be everywhere this fall. Not surprising. A recent "Newsweek" poll (part of the cover story, "America is hooked on the Paranormal") says 48 percent of Americans believe in UFOs and 29 percent think we have made contact with ETs. Another 48 percent believe there is a government coverup relating to same.
In other words, it is now official. UFOs, extraterrestrials, alien abductions, crop circles, and the like have been fully absorbed into our popular culture. Once strictly the territory of the tabloids, late-night broadcasts on public access television, and the furthest reaches of fringe culture, aliens have invaded in a way not seen since the likes of the Beatles in the 60s. Once ridiculed as "little green men," extraterrestrials are now officially as American as apple pie.
So what does this mean for UFOlogy?
Here is where things get curious.
Let's backtrack to the "Alien Autopsy" film, since it was just rebroadcast (in a most interesting example of "timing") on FOX, Sunday, July 22. While a significant part of the UFO community awaits some sort of government announcement or admission of ET-reality (the government "uncoverup"), the continued media hyping of the Santilli film as well as all the unanswered questions it raises, suggests a continuing attempt to relate this film to the Roswell Incident which, most agree, is UFOlogy's most promising case in terms of evidence going beyond mere anecdotal reports.
I won't even get into the most obvious questions the Santilli film poses -- they've been debated for months in UFOlogy circles. But I find it interesting the story broke to mainstream America at roughly the same time as the congressional General Accounting Office (GAO) report on Roswell was being made public. While the Air Force was "updating" its original story of "weather balloon" to... okay, a "super-secret weather balloon," the actual GAO report was reporting that all records relating to Roswell had been destroyed. Meanwhile, the Santilli film -- hyped to the public as related directly to the Roswell Incident (even though largely proved untrue prior to broadcast) -- was being fed to the public complete with holes big enough to drive a tractor through. I find this an interesting and, yes, suspicious coincidence.
Despite this, a good argument can be made that the public is being conditioned to the reality that perhaps, indeed, "we are not alone." The increased exposure of UFO and alien-related material in the public eye -- unconfined to the "Weekly World News" at that -- certainly seems to suggest this. However, despite the apparent assimilation of these ideas into popular culture, there is much to suggest we are still quite a ways away from "full disclosure."
Revelations continue in 1996. Some show real promise (events in Varginha, Brazil), some have proven to be more of the same (the much-heralded "Mars-Moon anomalies press conference" of Richard Hoaglund), and on others the jury is still out (the recovered implant research of Derrel Sims, the alledged recovered Roswell artifacts received by talk radio host Art Bell).
Still, I gotta admit, seeing Ted Koppel give the subject "Are We Alone?" a serious and, for the most part, objective turn on "Nightline," gave me goosebumps. And wasn't that footage from Maui something?
Look up UFOlogy. While our redemption may not exactly draweth nigh, at least the rest of America is listening. It's gonna be an interesting year.