For some time now, extraterrestrials have been a topic of discussion again. One of the possible causes was the public hearing in the U.S. Congress on the subject. One doubt installed in society is, if it is true, that the U.S. government secretly keeps material of alien ships fallen from the “sky”. It is even rumored that they possess extraterrestrial biological material for study.
Discussion of extraterrestrials and UFOs is trending.
Whether true or not, the assumption that extraterrestrial life exists is not a new topic. Since ancient times man has fantasized about the possibility that he is not alone in the universe. Although, only in the mid-twentieth century, a new term was born to refer to these flying objects: “ovnis”, in Spanish, and “ufos” in English. However, the first name assigned to these craft became popular in 1947 and was “flying saucers”, due to the shape of the alleged objects sighted.
Cinema, literature and other media installed the subject in society.
Whether they exist or not, the truth is that aliens and UFOs have been part of popular culture for a long time. The world of cinema, television, comics and books created a parallel alien world in our imagination.
In Berlin, Germany, they held an exhibition entitled “UFOs 1665: the air battle of Stralsund”. In the exhibition they recalled an alleged air battle that occurred in 1665, which according to fishermen who witnessed it, was fought by extraterrestrial spacecraft. The event took place in the area of Stralsund, on the Baltic Sea, and was widely reported in the press at the time.
The cinema and TV dedicated long hours of filming to the extraterrestrials.
Whether they visit Earth to invade us, as in “War of the Worlds” or to study our planet, as in the idyllic E.T. is always a theme present on the screens.
One of the first series (1967) most remembered by the public is “The Invaders”, where a lone protagonist fought against beings camouflaged as humans to invade Earth. Although it is worth remembering that Orson Welles, in 1938, unleashed collective panic from his radio program with The War of the Worlds. At no time was it made clear to the audience that it was a fiction, and fear invaded the listeners of the radio station. There were cases of suicides and some people took to the streets armed to shoot the aliens.
Another popular series was Star Trek, where the starship Enterprise was designed to explore deep space. From 1966 to the present, the series is enriched with movies, and was only dethroned from the first place in public preference by Star Wars. Aliens live among us in “The Secret X-Files”, “Men in Black” and many other series and movies that capture the public. Some aliens even become endearing characters, such as E.T. and Spock, for younger audiences.
