I have always been interested in monsters. They are compelling subject matter. Upon them, our various cultures have placed blame and hatred, and we use them to build up societal rules, norms and paradigms. They are our antithesis, that which humans attempt to subvert or kill, yet they are also a reflection of humanity itself, as many famous works of literature remind us, we ourselves suffer from being monsters. Monsters, in every iteration ranging from aliens to yetis, challenge us not only physically, but philosophically. Two years ago, I was told about the work of Dr. Jeffrey Kripal, a professor of Religion and Philosophy at Rice University. For those who are unaware of his genius, he regularly dabbles in the world of monsters, ghosts and aliens. In an essay from 2014 concerning Whitley Strieber’s famous book Communion, he wrote, “And what of real monsters? By ‘real’ I do not mean to point to some future biological taxon. I do not think that we will someday shoot a Sasquatch or net the Loch Ness Monster. By real I mean quite simply ‘really experienced,’ I mean ‘phenomenologically actual.’ I mean to remind us that many people, including many modern people, have experienced monsters not as ‘discourses’ or as cultural ‘deconstructions,’ but as actual incarnate, discarnate, or quasi-incarnate beings.” Kripal raises a compelling idea; a monster that is not objective or subjective, but objective AND subjective. It exists in a dualistic state, it is fact and fiction. Real and not real. A psychosocial construct that is as physical as the smartphone in your hand or the computer you are looking at. This is not a new idea, if anything, it is ancient. Even William Shakespeare points out in A Midsummer Night’s Dream that, “And as imagination bodies forth The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing A local habitation and a name.” The point, I suppose, is that monsters are everywhere and nowhere. They haunt us from the gaps which form between the mind, culture and the physical objective world. Several days ago, I was given the opportunity to view Seth Breedlove’s latest monster documentary, The Bray Road Beast. Originally, I promised Mr. Breedlove a film review. After seeing the film however, I wish to deal with the broader philosophical messages the film raises. That being said, I want to appease Mr. Breedlove as he deserves credit for an excellent film. The film itself is a great investigation into the story surrounding a large upright dog-like creature, a werewolf if you will, which has appeared multiple times in and around Elkhorn, Wisconsin. A rash of sightings in the early nineties along the quiet rural Bray road was investigated by reporter Linda Godfrey, who today, enjoys great fame and accolade for her books concerning various other monster stories (many of essential reading if you ask me). The film features great interviews with Godfrey herself, multiple witnesses, and other investigators. It also has some hair-raising reenactments and computer-generated scenes which helps the viewer visualize the events. Breedlove works with a shoestring budget, but his expert ability to tell a story and use a camera makes the film look spectacular. The narrative keeps the viewer engaged, and strangely nervous that the beast, whatever it may be, is waiting just out of sight. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and any fan of the paranormal will too. It tells a great story with some really interesting new pieces of evidence. Can we get back to some theory now? The film reminds us that the lines between real and mythological, human and monster, are incredibly tenuous. It matters little if the Beast of Bray Road is real; if enough people “see” it, talk about it, and tell stories about it, the beast begins to haunt us in a very real way. This is where the film is successful. It assumes that nothing ought to be taken for granted. Depending on your personal philosophical bend, reality itself tends to work along a similar vein. The world around us, our daily lives, are a symbiotic blend of truth and myth. We tell ourselves stories all the time. What is the ‘objective’ truth or value of a one-hundred-dollar bill versus a one-dollar bill. It’s the same paper and the same ink, the only difference is we have all agreed to mythologically value the number 100 more than the 1. Why value money at all? Simply put, as a society, we have agreed to do so. There is no inherent “capital T” truth to money itself. We can go beyond this into any past or present paradigms, such as gender, race, power and politics. Our entire reality is mythological in nature. Societal definitions of “manliness” and “femininity” are great examples of ideological storytelling, and those stories are constantly changing. There is nothing objectively real regarding how a ‘man’ or a ‘woman’ ought to be or act; it is simply mythology. The overall point here is that, on a daily basis, you and I exist in a world of fiction and storytelling. The drive to Burger King or your son’s swimming lessons is as full of myths as the monster which stalks the backcountry Bray road. If we continue to tell stories concerning the myths we take for granted, such as the value of money, those myths continue to be real. They, for all intents and purposes, are “true.” Yet, in some curious twist, the myths we don’t take for granted, or perhaps would rather not take for granted, such as monsters, remain on the fringes. The funny thing about myths though, and monsters too, is that they tend to pop up every once in a while. Uninvited. Whether through witness accounts or blurry photographs and videos, monsters seem to be a myth that won’t go away. If we are prepared to say that monsters are not real, then we need to be prepared to throw away all of those other myths we tell ourselves and our children, or at least appreciate that they are illusions. However, we won’t. We will continue in our myths because they form and inform us. We become part of those myths, and we live in a sort of communion with them (no pun intended). We need to be prepared to accept Kripal’s framework; that monsters are real and unreal. They are from the blending of reality and storytelling, and people encounter them at times. Breedlove’s film presents us with this interesting idea. As individuals, we must accept that monsters are both part of us and apart from us. They exist in our psychosocial reality as well as our objective reality; the big question is how? We do not know, but perhaps we can all agree that speaking and writing about them is the necessary first step to breath anything into existence. We do dwell in mythology after all. Breedlove expresses a wonderful idea in his film towards the end. Monsters are everywhere. No “hot spot” is really a hot spot. We mythologize places. We tell stories about certain areas and put more “skin in the game” as it were. Perhaps due to the spinning of those tales, monsters tend to pop up a little more. It is not that Bray road in Elkhorn is some special place. Monsters haunt us in our books and films, in our dreams, and perhaps most frightening of all, in our backyards where our children play. It is not that we need to hunt the monsters to find the truth behind them. Rest assured, they are most definitely hunting us.
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Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love DerridaA friend sent me a link to a recent French study which links Creationist beliefs to those who believe in conspiracy theories. The research study basically asserts that faith in a higher power which created a universe for humanity is no different than those who believe in the Moon landing being faked or that the government is covering up the existence of aliens and UFOs. It is an interesting study, and while I mostly agree with it, we ought to be cautious buying into it wholeheartedly. As I read this study, I was reminded of a quote from one of my favourite books, “Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency” by the late Douglas Adams. “Don't you understand that we need to be childish in order to understand? Only a child sees things with perfect clarity because it hasn't developed all those filters which prevent us from seeing things that we don't expect to see.” I want to focus on this idea of “filters.” I also want to touch on the myth of objectivity in science and link it all back to UFOs and the UFO community which, discursively, often engages in conspiracy theories. ![]() The study hinges upon a common philosophical concept called Teleology. In simple terms, teleology is the idea that all things function towards some goal or end result. While big in Ancient Greece, teleology today is in contention with modern scientific ideology. For example, as the article presents, “the sun rises in order to give us light.” This statement contains a teleological bias or error. The sun does not rise to give light, rather, it “rises” due to the Earth’s rotation, axis, and that it is a star whereupon we are gravitationally stuck. In simple terms, it has nothing to do with “us” nor “giving.” Aristotle argued that the purpose of an acorn was to grow into an oak tree. We can argue that this is not really true. The acorn simply is, and its state changes due to DNA and biology. The acorn, objectively, has no purpose or goals. The acorn has no destiny. It is simply existing as an acorn. As the study points out, the belief that a divine creator formed the planet out of mud and placed it on the back of a turtle is a teleological bias. Similarly, believing that the American government or some Deep State cabal faked the September 11th attack, murdered JFK, or is hiding dead aliens in a bunker also hinges upon the same bias. They view all things moving towards a specific end result, or a plan devised to lead to a certain result, when that may not really be the case. The study itself was simple. The researchers, “…conducted a survey of 157 Swiss college students designed to ascertain conspiratorial thinking, teleological thinking, as well as their abilities to analytically reason. They also analyzed a survey of 1,252 members of the general French population to look for a link between creationist beliefs and conspiratorial thinking. Lastly, the researchers recruited 733 more subjects to complete an online questionnaire to test whether creationism, conspiracism, and teleological thinking are correlated.” What they concluded was that the teleological bias that “everything happens for a reason” is common amongst creationists and conspiracists. As the study’s author stated, "By drawing attention to the analogy between creationism and conspiracism, we hope to highlight one of the major flaws of conspiracy theories and therefore help people detect it, namely that they rely on teleological reasoning by ascribing a final cause and overriding purpose to world events…We think the message that conspiracism is a type of creationism that deals with the social world can help clarify some of the most baffling features of our so-called 'post-truth era’…Because teleological and animist thinking are part of children’s earliest intuitions about the world and are resilient in adulthood, they thus could be causally involved in the acquisition of creationist and conspiracist beliefs. However, our results do not rule out the possibility that acceptance of such beliefs could, conversely, favor a teleological bias.” As I mentioned before, I generally accept the findings of this study. It makes sense. However, I wish to problematize a few key ideas which this study alludes to. Before I continue, allow me a brief aside. Science, which I love by the way, will contend that it is an objective act or practice which leads to ‘truth’ and knowledge, and to understanding the reality we live in. Science is progress. The obvious and ironic point of contention here is the teleological bias which presents itself in the very function of science; science is end driven, it has a purpose which leads somewhere. The notion that science generates ‘true’ knowledge or leads us towards ‘true’ knowledge, while other things do not, is a teleological claim. It’s cute. While exploring teleology in science is interesting, the study itself makes the assumption that science is objective, and therefore free of bias. I wish to address two specific sociological experiences which seem to cast doubt on the above idea; the ‘objectivity’ of science dwells purely within two very subjective realms; language and cultural paradigm. I then want to link this back to the UFO community and how it often engages with science. Language, in really simple terms, is a series of filters. We use our senses, which naturally filter data from the ‘objective reality’ around us and transmits them into a series of sounds and symbols. That symbolism of language, letters and numbers, but more importantly, what words themselves come to mean through our cultural and social backgrounds also filter data and, in turn, meaning. Trying to think of any object, concept or idea without its specific symbolic representation floating around your mind is impossible. Now imagine trying to communicate those things to someone else without the use of symbols; good luck. To keep this Ufologically relevant, let’s look at owls as an example. Owls, biologically, are birds. They fly. They are predators. They typically hunt at night. With all that information, consider your ideology here. Owl as predator and hunter versus owl as flying bird. They draw two very different interpretations, two different feelings, two different symbolic states of what an owl is, or perhaps more appropriately, can be. Toss some Ufological mythology into the mix, and owls become symbolic of alien abduction and/or contact, messengers between realms, screen memories, or a link between humanity and The Phenomenon. Owls, like anything else, coexist within multiple symbolic meanings, from simple biological bird to complicated mythological archetype. Science, whether it likes it or not, functions within a linguistic reality. The study’s author uses the expression ‘post-truth era’ in the summary of the paper. That expression is hugely complex, not just politically, but symbolically. Furthermore, what do we mean by truth? Does this assume that there was an era of ‘actual’ truth where nothing was questioned? The current political situation within the United States also gives significant symbolic impact to the term, whereas fifty years ago, it would have meant something totally different. The very use of that phrase only adds credence to my claim; no discourse or practice is objective. Another example often thrown around is the expression “anti-science.” Again, what symbols and myths are generated with this expression? Flat-Earthers and climate change deniers could be considered ‘anti-science,’ but what about someone merely being skeptical of scientific dogma and the current paradigm which suggests science is ‘the way, the truth, and the light.’ Is being critical of scientific ideology tantamount to being opposed to it? Last time I checked, criticism does not equate to open rebellion. What we see here is that the scientific community, particularly established bodies of power within that community, have used the symbolic and mythological power of language to generate meaning in order to retain power. “Post-truth era” and “anti-science” are political and social terms designed to target those who are critical of established scientific ideology. The people and groups who fit into those two categories are considered irrational, yet “rationality” by its very nature depends upon consensus by the majority, and is not always objective. Many things we do on a daily basis are irrational, yet we have all agreed to do those things, therefore they have become rational. No one looks at you funny when you buy bottled water or decide that you need to own an automatic assault rifle, yet both acts, it could be argued, are irrational due to various reasons. "Anti-science" creationists, conspiracy nuts, and scientists all work within the same framework. Language governs all of them. It creates filters which alters meaning away from objectivity but into the realm of mythology. The problem is that the more words you create and the more ideas you generate, the more filters get put up. As philosopher Jacques Derrida reminds us, language “differs” (I know what something is based upon everything it isn’t) and “defers” (The more words and symbols I add when I communicate, the more those words and symbols adjust meaning). The more information and data you have and provide, the more your ideological framework jumps around. Seeking ‘the truth’ is like walking down a path where every single movement of your body generates an infinite amount of more paths. Where scientists, creationists and conspiracists differ is that they all simply choose different paths. Where they are identical is that they all believe that their path is the correct one. This leads me to cultural paradigms, and I am reminded of author and scientist Rupert Sheldrake. I am not a scientist, so I cannot comment on the validity of his scientific claims. His peers consider him a parapsychologist and he is often charged with dabbling in pseudo-science. While he very may well be a terrible scientist (I honestly do not know), the criticism hurled at him points to a clear dogmatism, and therefore symbolic mythology, present in the scientific community. An editor of the science journal Nature once charged him with “heresy” because his work openly criticized the scientific community. As Sheldrake points out in his book, The Science Delusion, science and scientists are not the problem. Rather, it is the economics of science and the bodies which govern it. Disrupting the status quo within the scientific establishment leads scientists on a path towards professional death. Exploring concepts and ideas, even if the evidence points in that direction, that deviates from the standard and accepted ideologies will not be funded or, at times, even allowed to continue. Sheldrake points out in the book that unconventional ideas are typically pushed aside because journals are only willing to fund research that gets a “high citation index” which really only benefits established scientific fields. What this all leads to, according to Sheldrake, is an “innovation deficit.” Scientists are not allowed to follow their data or evidence if it contains deviation or abnormalities, nor if they wish to study something off the beaten path. To the mainstream, any anomalous data is flawed, or the scientist has clearly lost their mind. What this leads to a slowdown in scientific development and innovation. I am not suggesting here that science is wrong or bad. Such a statement is silly. Nor am I saying that Flat Earthers are ‘as correct’ as, well, everyone else. The Earth is not flat. Climate change is happening. I can go on. I love science. What I am trying to get at here is that the idea and act of science, and more importantly, the power structure of science, is entrenched within the same cultural frameworks as everything else. It has its own series of filters, ideologies, social and cultural pressures, paradigms, financial concerns, and desire to remain as the arbiter of human knowledge and understanding. Science and those who do it hold all the power. Those who disagree and challenge that power are considered irrational, stupid or ‘woo woo’ (which are all mythological and symbolic ideologies, and not based in any objective evidentiary truths). This includes those of us out here in the fringes, as well as those scientists who are also pushed to the edges due to their interests. Within UFO discourse, we see science holding this curious dual position. On one hand, Ufologists often want science and scientists to be more involved in the process. MUFON allegedly investigates UFOs using scientific means, and one often sees great excitement when academic scientists get involved in the UFO debate, especially if they support ‘the cause.’ On the flip side, UFO discourse is quick to point out that science is elitist, embargoed by secret cabals, and, at times, the tool of skeptics and debunkers. Nowhere are the symbolic and mythological paradigms of the illusion of scientific authority more debated than within UFO circles. We are at a curious place. The UFO community has plenty of scientists working in it, some of them engaged in Tom DeLonge’s To The Stars Academy, while others seem to be working alongside other investors or on their own. Have they found a little niche for themselves, pursuing the un-pursuable? Have they broken out of the established paradigm, appreciative of the fact that science is not so clear cut as their high school teachers may have taught them? Or, perhaps as that one editor of Nature put it, are they heretics? Bearing the study in mind, the UFO community regularly engages in conspiratorial thinking. On the various online UFO forums and social media outlets, To The Stars Academy has often been labeled as a government program, or involved in purposeful perception management to disinform the public. Robert Bigelow’s NIDS and BAASS programs were also the target of such talk as well. While not directly, the study points to the fact that the UFO community does often suffer from teleological bias. Yet, at the same time, the very debate which circles around UFOs bluntly asserts my earlier points that while science may hold a lot of cards, it doesn’t hold all of them. While it claims higher truths and objectivity, it unfortunately dwells in the same muck as the rest of us. We ALL are governed by our symbols and ideologies. To The Stars and Bigelow’s former programs, while connected to the government in certain ways, are not necessarily conspiratorial disinformation or intelligence programs. There is no actual evidence which proves some grand conspiracy, but only little circumstantial foot prints which one can follow in any direction. What actually occurs is the conspiracist “feels” something is going on, when really, it could be nothing more than simple coincidence.
The UFO community is a mixed bag. It is a curious collection of science and conspiracy, attempts at truth surrounded by myth. What becomes ever more difficult is deconstructing that jumble of symbolism and meaning into simpler parts. To be honest, it is impossible. The more we attempt to deconstruct, the more constructs we tend to form. UFOs, real and not, force us to question not only our own teleology, but also the teleology of science and other established power systems. Whether this is by citing conspiracies or scientifically driven ‘objective truths,’ we tend to end up in the same place. As Dirk Gently points out, we end up with filters on top of filters. This begs a big question; do all of our Ufological disputes, rivalries, and back biting simply all lead us down the path towards symbolic illusions? If so, the zealot believers and conspiracy theorists, and the skeptics and debunkers all seem to be pulling meaning from a place of teleology. -MJ Banias While the release date is unknown, The History Channel is promising its new series, "Project Blue Book," will be out sometime in the winter. For those of you living outside of the Ufological universe, according to The History Channel, “’Project Blue Book’ is based on the true, Top Secret investigations into Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) and related phenomena conducted by the United States Air Force from 1952-1969. The series is inspired by the personal experiences of Dr. J. Allen Hynek, a brilliant college professor recruited by the U.S. Air Force to spearhead this clandestine operation (Project Blue Book) that researched thousands of cases, over 700 of which remain unsolved to this day. Each episode will draw from the actual case files, blending UFO theories with authentic historical events from one of the most mysterious eras in United States history.” The project is headed up by none other than Robert Zemeckis, the guy who did "Contact" and "Back to the Future," and stars Aidan Gillen (Littlefinger in "Game of Thrones") as the father of modern UFO research, J. Allen Hynek. The show is being sold as a fictional series, but one that looks at real Blue Book cases in an attempt to bring awareness to the UFO phenomenon. While the fans of "Ancient Aliens" and other similar programming are undoubtedly excited, I think many within the deeper UFO community are perhaps a touch concerned. So, being that I am a generous fellow and want to ensure History’s newest show doesn’t suffer the same fate Littlefinger did in "Game of Thrones," (oops, should have said “spoiler alert”) here are the three things the series must do to reach the hearts of the UFO community. 1) Take the phenomenon seriously. Most of us in the UFO subculture have basically thrown aspects of our life away. I am officially “that guy who is into UFOs,” and it generally sucks. Sure, people still accept you. Sure, you still get invited to parties. However, every time anything UFO related pops up, everyone stops and looks at you, hoping you chime in so they can all have a good laugh behind your back. Personally, I have it easy. My wife accepts my weirdness and my kids are young, so they are convinced UFOs are just part of everyday life (#softdisclosure). My co-workers have come to accept it, or generally could care less. Life is sweet. However, I know a few people who have lost grant money for academic projects, spouses, and their jobs for even being slightly involved in UFO discourse. Depending on your employers and your industry, it can be pretty dangerous out there. So why put up with the all the crap? The phenomenon, assuming it exists, is undoubtedly the most important scientific, philosophical, theological, social, and cultural pursuit there is. Gaining actual insight into the possibility that there exists an intelligent objective and real “Other” outside of ourselves changes everything. Such a discovery would affect all aspects of existence; humanity is no longer the sole arbiter of the decisions regarding its station on Earth, the Cosmos or reality itself. Assuming they had the brain capacity, imagine how Neanderthals in Europe felt when Homo Sapiens rolled in. What is the word for when complete and utter fear cohabitates with relief and need? They realized they were not alone (Praise be to the gods!), and then realized they were not alone (Oh hell no!). Once you begin to pursue this question, this reality, then your grip on daily life becomes a little more tenuous. You begin to look awry at the world around you. Some of us hold on as best we can, but I know others who have slipped away and are different people now. Poof. Gone. Regardless of your personal opinion on this, as some may chalk it up to mental health or stability, the phenomenon has an impact, and often, a very serious one. With all that being said, let’s avoid, or at least tone down, the tropes of conspiracy, secret “men in black,” and government cover-ups. MJ-12 is so 1980’s; let’s just keep that nonsense to a very minimum. Tell real stories and try hard to keep them authentic; these things change people’s lives, and not always for the better. 2) But don’t take the phenomenon TOO seriously. If you can laugh about it, you can talk about it. That is a fundamental truth. I’m going to assume that this series will follow an “X-Files” model. Different stories each episode, yet an over-arching plot line that will wrap up by the final episode. Classic. Awesome. Keeping in mind what I stated above, I am friends with a lot of ‘UFO people.’ Most of them are ‘normal’ everyday folks who drive their kids to gymnastics and drink beer. A few, however, are totally wild and wacky. If there is a box to live inside, they lost that box somewhere on the side of a desert highway and walk a very strange path. Do they take themselves seriously? Hell no! They know they are a little ‘out there’ and they love it. Nothing is funnier than a Ufologist or UFO investigator who thinks they are Fox Mulder. We all know some of these folks. They walk around in their black utility vests, armed with a pistol, and drive SUV’s full of evidence collection bags and latex gloves. They mean well, but God help them, they need to relax a bit. You would never have seen Hynek rocking a .357 ready to blow a Grey’s head off. Trying to attract a popular audience is fine. Go ahead. Everyone loves pulp fiction. Have fun. Just try not to make the UFO community look like a bunch of fools who take themselves incredibly seriously. We laugh. A lot. Mostly at ourselves. 3) Move beyond the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Popular media is stuck on the ideology that flying saucers are piloted by aliens from other planets. The mainstream adjusts slowly, I suppose, to strange things. The vast majority of people are tourists when it comes to the UFO enigma. They try a bit of the local cuisine from time to time, dabble in a touch of this or that, and then move on to the next thing. Scratching the surface of the Ufological narrative usually leads a person just deep enough to reach the “nuts and bolts biological aliens” idea. Being tourists, they don’t go much further down, and they certainly do not begin to piece together the varied tales, stories and “evidence.” In truth, no hypothesis really works. Whatever is going on, it is well beyond anything we can imagine. With all that being said, my dearest producers at History Channel, please recognize that your role in all this is that of the gatekeeper. The mythology you weave through the stories you ‘green light’ will dictate a lot for the UFO community. Everyone starts off exploring UFOs somewhere. “Project Blue Book” will undoubtedly bring a bit of new blood into the UFO community; please try to educate as much as you try to entertain. I know you have superiors, corporate bosses, parent corporations, CFOs, VPs of Marketing, and CEOs. You need to make a profit, I get that. You need ratings. Just avoid sanitizing the UFO for a mainstream TV audience palate. Tell an authentic and grass roots tale as best you can. Damn the man. UFOs, as a cultural and mythological phenomenon, are incredibly complex. There are narratives on top of meta-narratives. Social and political events affect interpretations and ideological frameworks which in turn shape the phenomenon itself. It is, as Carl Jung called it, “a living myth.” To really simplify what could be pages and pages of philosophy, please, for the love of God, let the plot for your show be more complicated than aliens in jars from a crashed flying saucer in the desert. In ‘truth,’ and I use that word loosely, the UFO phenomenon is much richer, convoluted, absurd, and complicated than aliens in space ships from Zeta Reticuli. Many of my friends and peers in this field have dedicated decades to the study of UFOs. They know the whole alien thing is just one theory, and most likely, not the correct one. Don’t rehash that same old story. We’ve had it. It’s done. Gone. Let it die quietly without a bang, and hell, no whimper either. Three simple things can go a long way. We love you, History Channel. You kids are alright. Sure, "Ancient Aliens" is pretty ridiculous at times. No UFO researcher worth their salt has ever “suggested” ancient astronauts are responsible for the Pyramids. However, you and your company have gone all-in on the UFO thing and I can respect that. I’m sure there will be some disagreement with me on a couple things from some colleagues, most likely about my claim that "Ancient Aliens" is only ridiculous “at times,” but they are just posers. They watch it. Everyone secretly loves Tsoukalos with his crazy Swiss hair and body building expertise. I would totally buy that guy a beer. Actually, scratch that, he’s rich so he can buy me a beer. I hope this helps, and I hope you take some of my advice. I definitely don’t speak for the whole UFO community, but as someone who kicks around Ufological circles, I have a pretty good handle on the situation. Oh, and well-done casting Gillen. That guy basically made "Game of Thrones" the best. Now that Littlefinger is dead, I could care less what happens to Westeros. Full disclosure (easy Bassett), I hope the White Walkers win… -MJ Banias Ufological Seppuku
4/19/2018
Why We Shouldn't Disembowel MUFON Just YetFor those who pay attention to the comings and goings of individuals within the UFO community, MUFON has lost another one of its prized members. Primarily to its own inability to do anything right regarding public relations or ethics, Chris Cogswell, its newly appointed Director of Research, has chosen to leave the organization only a few short months after taking the job. Cogswell, being a man of reason and clearly in possession of a moral backbone, has taken issue with MUFON’s inability to cut one of their top brass, John Ventre, loose.
For many on the outer rim of the UFO community, they may recognize Mr. Ventre from his multiple appearances on MUFON’s “tell-all” TV show, Hangar 1. For those who dove a little deeper into the subculture’s pool, they may recall an incident which occurred in May of 2017 when Mr. Ventre vented publicly, on Facebook, his disdain for a show called “Dear White People” and his curious, albeit incorrect, belief that “whites” invented everything. Reviewing "The Flatwoods Monster"
3/8/2018
Seth Breedlove's Latest Documentary and Why We Should All Be Afraid of Monsters.In a small lonely town, in a dark lonely wood, a lonely monster withdraws from its strange lonely world and enters the realm of human myth. Seth Breedlove’s latest Small Town Monsters production, The Flatwoods Monster, tells the tale of a strange tall sentinel and the May family which bumped into it one evening in 1952. Significant research has been done on the Flatwoods monster, a complex collection of both real information and fiction, but Breedlove’s documentary successfully tells the story from the perspective of two of the witnesses who were present, Edward and Fred May, the sons of Kathleen May, who also was present at the event. Bolstering the famous encounter, other stories from the West Virginian community of strange objects in the sky and curious creatures in the woods support the county’s long standing history with anomalous activity. The documentary’s stellar visuals and animated sequences are an eerie mixture of computer generated graphics and stop motion. The original musical score adds to the general creepy feeling of events which come off as both horrifyingly true and absurd. Whether you believe in monsters or not, you walk away with the hope that they are not real. Breedlove does not waste his time in this film asking the same old questions which many of his uninspired peers continue to ask. It doesn't matter who or what the monster is, for that question can never really be answered. Instead, he touches upon the only question worth our time. He proposes a world where monsters are real, but more importantly, the monsters themselves evolve with their legends. Can monsters be both objective and subjective simultaneously? Are they what we make of them, yet at the same time, truly haunt quiet deserted areas of a forest where an unsuspecting mother and her sons can bump into them? This is where the film truly makes its deepest impression. Not rehashing old tales of the things that go bump in the night, but the possible reality that the bumping is simultaneously fact and fiction, true and absurd, and that the arbitrary lines we draw between what is real and what is not are illusions. We do not need to believe in monsters for them to exist, yet in some quiet and lonely place within our minds, a gap inbetween worlds, monsters come out to roam dark highways where automobiles stall and hapless victims throw themselves upon their wives and children in vain attempts to protect them from that which cannot be explained. The documentary is well worth your time, and I recommend it for anyone with an interest in UFO lore. It cuts through the usual nonsense, and focuses on what truly matters; the people who were forever changed by seeing something the rest of us hopefully never will. Whatever lurks in the hills around Flatwoods and stalks farmer’s fields scaring children, it is in metamorphosis; ever changing with the times and in communion with our imaginations. Breedlove’s film is not frightening because he suggests that monsters may be real, it is frightening because we make them so. - MJ Banias Standing at the Precipice
11/15/2017
Messiahs, Illusions and Diving into the AbyssMichael Horn, the Authorized American Media Representative for Billy Meir, recently ‘called me out’ during one of his YouTube shows. He suggested that my current book project is a waste of time, and that my work studying the UFO subculture is a foolish enterprise. He criticized me for not believing in Meier’s claims concerning his alleged contact with the Plejaren, and that I had not done ‘true’ research into the case. He claims that the extent of my research concerning the Meier case comes from all the fraud UFO researchers who suggest that Meier’s evidence is hoaxed. You can view those alleged frauds here and here. I do not want to engage with Meier’s claims. I personally do not care. Rather, I’d like to discuss Mr. Horn’s need to compel belief in Meier, and perhaps in turn, himself as his torchbearer. Horn is the “world’s leading expert on UFOs,” according to George Noory. His About page also lists a long pedigree of being basically everything, from martial arts expert to the inventor of the “first portable neck pillow.” Compared to him, I am but a small player in the UFO world (and the travel pillow industry), and I haven’t really invented anything of consequence. However, I do have a soapbox. Horn’s claim revolves around his fundamental belief that the Billy Meier case is the only true case of ET contact, and that all other UFOlogical work is wasted on frauds, fakes, and useless lights in the sky. Apart from literally alienating everyone else who has had a UFO sighting or contact experience, Mr. Horn spent a bulk of his criticism concerning my poor research skills, and that of the broader UFO community. I do not take issue with Meier’s evidence, and Mr. Horn’s defence of said evidence. They can believe whatever they want. Where things became problematic for Mr. Horn was when I informed him that, regardless of his claims of real evidence, I did not accept Meier as some messianic prophet. My “personal criteria for belief” were not met by Mr. Meier’s photographs, stories, and prophetic visions. That is usually how it goes in situations like this; it always hinges upon belief, and not necessarily what can be proven beyond the shadow of a doubt. Perhaps I am merely the Doubting Thomas to Mr. Horn’s Simon Peter, while Meier is Horn’s Christ-like figure. I demand to ‘place my fingers in the holes in his hands’ before I assume Meier is telling me the truth. Mr. Horn claims that Meier and his ‘belief system’ are not religious. However, when I simply asserted that I had no interest in discussing the Meier case, and that I did not buy into Meier’s claims, Mr. Horn pursued the issue with significant vigour and zeal. I do admit that I did mention to another person in an e-mail, and I’m paraphrasing here, that Meier did seem like a ‘cult leader,’ and maybe that was unfair of me. However, by making a claim that Meier is the ‘only true contactee’ and is the only person receiving true prophetic visions from an alien race sure sounds like religious and cult-like messaging. Adding to this, Mr. Horn’s constant need to defend Meier, and be his messenger, only adds to the feeling that there are theological and religious motifs at play. To be clear, while Meier may not be a cult leader, he sure ‘feels’ like one. I recently read an interesting article by Dr. Massimo Teodorani concerning the UFO community’s ‘need to believe versus know.’ He writes, “UFO iconography is a drug at all effects, and can be used to switch minds in many ways, also to collect proselytes to make up new fanatic religions, but more generally to give people a sort of psychological medicine with which people can escape from the hard reality of everyday, where the continuous competitions of present society often obscure the human and spiritual dimension: people need to retrieve the very nucleus of their soul. This intimate need is clearly legitimate, but it is also risky: in fact persons who are not well rationally grounded are very easily subject to manipulation: it seems that most persons in the world are just in this condition, especially at our epoch. When critical thinking starts to lack, who leads this society has at his disposal a huge mass of sheep, ready to follow alleged miracles, saviour aliens and related gurus. The less people think in a grounded way the least this people are conscious of what is happening at their shoulders. This is the effect of UFO iconography.” Whether Horn reads this or not, I’d like to be perfectly clear on one thing. I am simply choosing to stay critical. Yes, I am critical of Meier’s ‘evidence.’ I am critical of all ‘UFO evidence.’ As Teodorani points out, the UFO icon, the UFO image, beckons us to believe, as if the flying saucer (or Beam Ship in the Meier case), will lead us to some supposed truth. Meier and Horn simply want me to “retrieve the nucleus of my soul,” and see their beliefs as being the only beliefs. Perhaps the fundamental issue at hand is that Meier is no longer authentic, but merely an icon, an image. As historian and philosopher Daniel Boorstin pointed out, “We have become so accustomed to our illusions that we mistake them for reality. We demand them…They are the world of our making: the world of the image.” Meier, somewhere in his experience, be it true or false, is no longer himself, but lost adrift in the image he has created of himself, and that others have created for him. As with any saviour, any messiah, he or she must shed themselves, their own reality, to become that illusion which their followers need and want. Much like Plejaren Beam Ships and flying discs, Meier is no longer grounded in the self, but has been removed from it; a ghost, an illusion, both present but also not. I struggled with writing this post. I fear diving into the abyss and facing the wrath of Mr. Horn. A person, no matter what they think, can be rational, and appreciate that I simply do not believe. I have doubts, and this being the 21st century, they should be fine with that. However, if Mr. Horn is no longer the man he once was, he is an image, a symbol of some new faith, which must defend itself at all costs, then reason no longer matters; rather, it becomes a battle of ‘them versus us.’ I stand, ultimately, at the precipice. I hold my breath. Mr. Horn pushed me here when he publicly recounted the content of private emails between us; the real question is whether he is willing throw himself at me again. Regardless of the struggle on the way down, we both know what is waiting for us. Rock bottom. Unless he uses his expert martial arts to grab onto the cliff’s edge before he topples over with me. Damn it! Look at those moves. This is going to hurt… - MJ Banias UPDATE - November 17th, 2017 Michael Horn attempted to comment on the above post. Unfortunately, the comment box only allows a certain amount of characters before cutting off a comment. I have spoken with Mr. Horn, who was quite understanding and reasonable, and I will post his entire rebuttal below which he sent to me via e-mail. It is only fair that he be able to address my article concerning Meier and himself.
My intention at this time is not to respond with a point by point counter argument. As I mentioned in my original post, I don't want to hit "rock bottom" by engaging in an argument which will fundamentally hinge upon faith in a prophet's words. I appreciate that Mr. Horn is advocating for something (and even someone) he as dedicated a major portion of his life to. I also appreciate that Billy Meier, and Mr. Horn, have been targets of ridicule and attack by the broader UFO community. To Mr. Horn, my article is undoubtedly another shot across the bow to which, understandably, he must shoot back. While Mr. Horn wholeheartedly denies my claim that Meier "feels" like a cult leader, I do stand by my words at this time. Should my 'feelings' change, I will be the first to admit it. However, many religions, both Ufological and not, have been founded upon alleged evidence and prophesy. Is Meier a cult leader? I do not know, and I leave that for better researchers than I to sort out. I think that this battle has already been waged however, and a simple Google search of Billy Meier will lead to many websites and books that have gone back and forth on this claim; perhaps most notably the 'UFO Prophet Blog'. I wish to conclude by saying that Mr. Horn, since the writing of his response below, has extended an olive branch of sorts. He considers Billy Meier's message to be incredibly important, and fights for it with significant vigour because he thinks our very planet depends on it. I hold no ill will towards Mr. Horn regarding of the contents of his rebuttal. As many of my readers know, I take some interest in the UFO phenomenon itself but my true passion and focus is on the UFO community itself, its interactions and ideologies. My interest in the Meier case is more anthropological and cultural, and not truly in the evidence (be it legitimate or not) regarding Meier's contact with extraterrestrial beings. We are all seekers of truth, and we all take solace in the truth in different ways. Regardless of where you, the reader, stands concerning the Billy Meier case, I, and undoubtedly Mr. Horn, invite you to do what you see fit to find that truth. We will not all walk the same path, but let us remember to be respectful of every path so long as it is honest and well intentioned. - MJ Banias *********** Mr. Horn's Response MJ, If only you’d used a fraction of the energy you did in making quacking sounds here to actually research and substantiate your claims, you might not have ended up, self-admittedly, standing on a box of…soap. I will insert corrections to your silly inaccuracies. MJ: Michael Horn, the Authorized American Media Representative for Billy Meir, recently ‘called me out’ during one of his YouTube shows. He suggested that my current book project is a waste of time, and that my work studying the UFO subculture is a foolish enterprise. He criticized me for not believing in Meier’s claims concerning his alleged contact with the Plejaren, and that I had not done ‘true’ research into the case. He claims that the extent of my research concerning the Meier case comes from all the fraud UFO researchers who suggest that Meier’s evidence is hoaxed. You can view those alleged frauds here and here. I do not want to engage with Meier’s claims. I personally do not care. MH: I have never criticized anyone for “not believing in Meier’s claims concerning his alleged contact with the Plejaren”, since I have never asked anyone to believe…anything. $200 to your favorite charity for showing the contrary. We are strictly evidence and fact based in our approach, research, claims, etc. You just don’t have what it takes to address that, as we’ll see, repeatedly throughout your article. MJ: Rather, I’d like to discuss Mr. Horn’s need to compel belief in Meier, and perhaps in turn, himself as his torchbearer. MH: Again, young amateur that you are, you talk about “belief”, a non-existent element in all of the evidence, information, analyses, etc. MJ: Horn is the “world’s leading expert on UFOs,” according to George Noory. His About page also lists a long pedigree of being basically everything, from martial arts expert to the inventor of the “first portable neck pillow.” Compared to him, I am but a small player in the UFO world (and the travel pillow industry), and I haven’t really invented anything of consequence. However, I do have a soapbox. Horn’s claim revolves around his fundamental belief that the Billy Meier case is the only true case of ET contact, and that all other UFOlogical work is wasted on frauds, fakes, and useless lights in the sky. MH: Again - and now it must be called out as a blatant, unsubstantiated, deliberate…lie – I have expressed no “beliefs”, fundamental, or otherwise. Obivously, I have every email I sent you. MJ: Apart from literally alienating everyone else who has had a UFO sighting or contact experience, Mr. Horn spent a bulk of his criticism concerning my poor research skills, and that of the broader UFO community. MH: While I make no apologies for “alienating” evidence-less people, lease present actual, credible, testable evidence for “everyone else” who has had a “contact experience”. And why aren’t you rebutting my criticism with actual…evidence that you or anyone else in this field knows what they’re talking about? MJ: I do not take issue with Meier’s evidence, and Mr. Horn’s defence of said evidence. They can believe whatever they want. Where things became problematic for Mr. Horn was when I informed him that, regardless of his claims of real evidence, I did not accept Meier as some messianic prophet. My “personal criteria for belief” were not met by Mr. Meier’s photographs, stories, and prophetic visions. That is usually how it goes in situations like this; it always hinges upon belief, and not necessarily what can be proven beyond the shadow of a doubt. Perhaps I am merely the Doubting Thomas to Mr. Horn’s Simon Peter, while Meier is Horn’s Christ-like figure. I demand to ‘place my fingers in the holes in his hands’ before I assume Meier is telling me the truth. MH: “Believe”…again? “Messianic prophet”? Please substantiate. Your “personal criteria for belief” are irrelevant, ignorantly so, as is “it always hinges upon belief, and not necessarily what can be proven beyond the shadow of a doubt.” Especially since, incompetent attention-seeker that you are, you didn’t read and avail yourself of these: https://theyflyblog.com/2017/08/18/billy-meier-beyond-reasonable-doubt/ https://theyflyblog.com/2017/09/25/its-1964-all-over-again/ MJ: Mr. Horn claims that Meier and his ‘belief system’ are not religious. However, when I simply asserted that I had no interest in discussing the Meier case, and that I did not buy into Meier’s claims, Mr. Horn pursued the issue with significant vigour and zeal. I do admit that I did mention to another person in an e-mail, and I’m paraphrasing here, that Meier did seem like a ‘cult leader,’ and maybe that was unfair of me. However, by making a claim that Meier is the ‘only true contactee’ and is the only person receiving true prophetic visions from an alien race sure sounds like religious and cult-like messaging. Adding to this, Mr. Horn’s constant need to defend Meier, and be his messenger, only adds to the feeling that there are theological and religious motifs at play. To be clear, while Meier may not be a cult leader, he sure ‘feels’ like one. MH: Mr. Horn, that’s me, indeed pursued the issue…since you had already told someone the case was a fraud, that it was a cult, etc. Need I again point out your dishonest “belief system”? As far as “sounds like religious and cult-like messaging… feeling that there are theological and religious motifs at play”, would have the decency – since you lack the journalistic and professional ethics – to substantiate your precious little…feelings? MJ: I recently read an interesting article by Dr. Massimo Teodorani concerning the UFO community’s ‘need to believe versus know.’ He writes, “UFO iconography is a drug at all effects, and can be used to switch minds in many ways, also to collect proselytes to make up new fanatic religions, but more generally to give people a sort of psychological medicine with which people can escape from the hard reality of everyday, where the continuous competitions of present society often obscure the human and spiritual dimension: people need to retrieve the very nucleus of their soul. This intimate need is clearly legitimate, but it is also risky: in fact persons who are not well rationally grounded are very easily subject to manipulation: it seems that most persons in the world are just in this condition, especially at our epoch. When critical thinking starts to lack, who leads this society has at his disposal a huge mass of sheep, ready to follow alleged miracles, saviour aliens and related gurus. The less people think in a grounded way the least this people are conscious of what is happening at their shoulders. This is the effect of UFO iconography.” MH: Why didn’t you spend your time reading the actual evidence in the Meier case, instead of trying to use someone else’s comments, which contain no mention of Meier, to attack it? MJ: Whether Horn reads this or not, I’d like to be perfectly clear on one thing. I am simply choosing to stay critical. Yes, I am critical of Meier’s ‘evidence.’ I am critical of all ‘UFO evidence.’ As Teodorani points out, the UFO icon, the UFO image, beckons us to believe, as if the flying saucer (or Beam Ship in the Meier case), will lead us to some supposed truth. Meier and Horn simply want me to “retrieve the nucleus of my soul,” and see their beliefs as being the only beliefs. Perhaps the fundamental issue at hand is that Meier is no longer authentic, but merely an icon, an image. As historian and philosopher Daniel Boorstin pointed out, “We have become so accustomed to our illusions that we mistake them for reality. We demand them…They are the world of our making: the world of the image.” Meier, somewhere in his experience, be it true or false, is no longer himself, but lost adrift in the image he has created of himself, and that others have created for him. As with any saviour, any messiah, he or she must shed themselves, their own reality, to become that illusion which their followers need and want. Much like Plejaren Beam Ships and flying discs, Meier is no longer grounded in the self, but has been removed from it; a ghost, an illusion, both present but also not. I struggled with writing this post. I fear diving into the abyss and facing the wrath of Mr. Horn. A person, no matter what they think, can be rational, and appreciate that I simply do not believe. I have doubts, and this being the 21st century, they should be fine with that. However, if Mr. Horn is no longer the man he once was, he is an image, a symbol of some new faith, which must defend itself at all costs, then reason no longer matters; rather, it becomes a battle of ‘them versus us.’ I stand, ultimately, at the precipice. I hold my breath. Mr. Horn pushed me here when he publicly recounted the content of private emails between us; the real question is whether he is willing throw himself at me again. Regardless of the struggle on the way down, we both know what is waiting for us. Rock bottom. Unless he uses his expert martial arts to grab onto the cliff’s edge before he topples over with me. Damn it! Look at those moves. This is going to hurt… MH: Honestly, “stay critical” and this poor guy “struggled with writing this post”? My question is, why did he…give up the struggle so easily? I know that my calling out these effete, pretentious and clearly inept poseurs, like MJ, who view the Meier case as another opportunity to present their spineless, wimpy and unsubstantiated tripe, offends the overly-sensitive. Maybe a bucket of cold water over their collective heads would drain the crap out and wake them up to where in hell they really are. Look around, young clowns, that this world that is descending on – and doubtlessly offending – your poor, precious sense of reality is precisely what Meier and his Plejaren friends have been trying to warn us – you - about, in hopes that we/you would truly want to assure our own future survival. Within not too long a time, coming events will so reframe our realities and priorities, that we’ll be left to wonder WHY on earth we ever let this historically significant matter be hijack by timid, boring academics, refugees from some misguided college course on “How to Master the Art of Hack Journalism”. If MJ wants to actually research, learn and/or engage in debate – shockingly traumatic experiences for Snowflakes and Millennials to be sure – let him do so. After all, he’s inheriting the world much warned about and I worry that he’s quite ill-prepared to live in it. An Open Letter to the Producers of UFO TV Shows and DocumentariesTo all television show producers and documentary filmmakers who create and produce content concerning UFOs; I am officially putting you on notice. Like it or not, you are the cultural gatekeepers to the discourse that surrounds the UFO phenomenon. The consistent ideological push for extraterrestrials and aliens from other planets as being the source of the UFO phenomenon is old, tired, and, much like a Hopkinsville goblin, needs a good shotgun blast to head. To all you folks at the History Channel or OLN, or any production company for that matter; it might be time to explore other avenues, as your work does not adequately or properly portray UFO discourse, nor the phenomenon itself. In previous posts, I have explored the construct of the extraterrestrial hypothesis when it comes to the UFO question, and attempted to posit a few philosophical points which problematize it. I wish to explore the construct of the ET hypothesis further, and the inherent issues which are generated by its constant use in media, primarily, UFO documentaries and reality television shows. To begin, we must appreciate that the vast majority of people who exist outside of the UFO subculture have not done appropriate research or investigations of UFO sightings or events. Those within the mainstream cultural milieu only experience the UFO phenomenon via television or film, and apart from being occasional tourists within UFO community circles, consume the messages within those programs wholeheartedly without further reading. In other words, “a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.” The women and men who produce and create these programs, such as Ancient Aliens, UFOs: The Lost Evidence, Hangar 1, and UFO Hunters, just to name a few are, in effect, the gatekeepers of the phenomenon to the broader popular culture. Their messages permeate the mainstream cultural fabric and generate the ideological illusion that the people who study, research, and investigate the UFO phenomenon all believe that aliens are visiting Earth in their technologically superior space ships. Any producer or editor worth their salt should know this is an oversimplification of the phenomenon and the discourse. The German philosopher Theodor Adorno, in his essay, The Stars Down to Earth, explores the influence of belief in the paranormal upon modern society. While his focus is on astrology, New Age beliefs, and occultism, it is easy to bootstrap the extraterrestrial hypothesis and the belief in aliens to his philosophical framework. He suggests that modern day belief in the supernatural, and by extension, extraterrestrials, is a “secondary superstition” (49). He writes, “They [the public] participate largely through the mediation of magazines and newspapers...and frequently accept such information as reliable sources of advice rather than pretend to have any personal basis for their belief. The type of people we are concerned with take astrology [or UFOs and extraterrestrials for that matter] for granted, much like psychiatry, symphony concerts or political parties; they accept it because it exists, without much reflection, provided only that their own psychological demands somehow correspond to the offer. (49)” In other words, the vast majority of people interpret the UFO phenomenon in a ‘secondary’ way, not directly, such as seeing a UFO or having a close encounter, but via documentaries, television shows, YouTube channels, etc. that portray those events. Adorno continues, “...the individual’s own primary experience with the occult, whatever its psychological meaning and roots or its validity, rarely, if ever, enter the social phenomenon to which our studies are devoted. Here the occult appears rather institutionalized, objectified and, to a large extent, socialized....people responding to the stimuli we are here investigating seem in a way ‘alien’ to the experience on which they claim their decisions are based. (49)” Adorno points out that the effect of mediating the paranormal via popular media sanitizes the phenomenon. It becomes part of the social and cultural system of ideologies, and simplified in order to be consumed by popular audiences. The problem lies in this process of negotiation into mainstream ideologies. While many would argue that it is good to bring the message to the people, that is a flawed argument. The UFO phenomenon as presented via popular media, particularly on television, is inauthentic. It is an altered message, removed from its genuine state, washed and stripped of its originality, and sanitized for palatability. The result is that mainstream culture interprets the UFO phenomenon, and the subculture which studies and engages that phenomenon, as being ‘alien.’ It becomes a sideshow of freaks, rather than a portrayal of human beings who have experienced something anomalous and strange. Furthermore, and perhaps more problematic, is that this oversimplified message only pushes UFO discourse further into the fringes of culture, reinforcing the already established taboo. Rather than portraying the UFO subculture as a community of people with varying beliefs, hypotheses, and rationales that continuously debate with one another, the media presents a single interpretation; an interpretation that forces the mainstream public to assume all who are interested in the topic believe in alien beings from other planets. Much like any group of people with disenfranchised belief systems, the mainstream ‘alienates’ the members of the UFO subculture. It paints them with the brush of the “Other.” It is easier to taboo and alienate an idea when it appears unified. Take, for example, the all too common, and discriminatory, portrayal of Islam in the media. The current ideological bend is to portray the entirety of the Islamic religion as being linked to fundamentalism and terrorism. This ‘othering’ of Islam creates an attitude, a feeling, an ideology, within mainstream society that all Muslims are somehow linked to extremism. This is obviously an absurd and abhorrent construct purposefully designed to dehumanize a certain group for political and economic gain (primarily to justify continued military and corporate footholds in the Middle East). This tactic is ultimately used on many groups, and while the severity of Islamophobia, and other religious and racial based discrimination is much greater than the alienation of the UFO subculture, the end result is the same. It leaves the UFO subculture having to defend itself against a powerful ideological mechanism. The power of TV networks and production companies greatly outmatches the individuals within the community who interpret the phenomenon from varying places. In other words, the voices of actual members of the UFO community, and the people who have had authentic experiences with the phenomenon itself, are unable to have their voices heard when it counters the ideological framework portrayed by producers, editors, directors, and the corporate production companies that fund them. While I do not have an answer on how to fix this, I would begin by asking those production companies to adjust the message and look carefully at the stories they tell. However, this is like asking the fox to watch the chicken coop. Rather, the UFO community should push its own members who appear on these programs to tell authentic and varying stories. This is no easy task. As with any field of study, one has to deal with ego and the desire for one to ‘make a name for themselves.’ However, it must be made perfectly clear that there are no ‘experts’ in the UFO field, and those who sit on their Ufological pedestals are only there because the community has placed them there. As the philosopher Thomas Hobbes reminds his readers, the collective is the true “Leviathan” ready and able at a moment's notice to depose anyone who opposes them. Philosophy aside, one must ask themselves what truths they create by the stories they tell. When producing a television show or documentary about the UFO phenomenon, or anything for that matter, are these men and women duty bound to tell the whole story, no matter how nuanced or complex, or just a piece of it? Is omission a lie in this case?
This is not easy, I understand that. However, I challenge those behind these programs to explore the many variations of the phenomenon, and that the subculture that generates the UFO discourse does not wholeheartedly buy into one single theory. I challenge the production companies to tell these other stories, and to push for honesty rather than the lining of corporate pockets. Finally, I’d ask that the directors, writers, and creators of these programs do their research, and actually have a legitimate desire to understand the content of the discourse, and the people who engage with it. UFO discourse is complex, awkward, absurd, rich, and beautiful. On a personal note, these shows are what got me interested in UFOs as a teenager, and I know they are necessary. If you are spending significant time and treasure in the production of a program to explore the subject, you must do so with love and honesty, otherwise, stay the hell away from it. -MJ Banias Continue the conversation below. What do you think of current UFO TV and Documentaries? What would you rather see? Are we running over the same old ground, or are these shows essential to the survival of 'Ufology?' Terra Obscura is proud to welcome its first guest contributor. While this blog has traditionally been more focused on the philosophical aspects of UFO discourse, this article takes on a political and cultural tone which fits into the general mandate of Terra Obscura. The views of this post are not necessarily the views of the Terra Obscura blog nor its owner. -MJ Banias, Curator Human behavior sometimes takes us on unexpected journeys. While we like to consider ourselves rational beings, our actions often indicate otherwise. A perfect example of this has been the populist wave that has swept across America over the past decade, culminating (or at least burgeoning) with the election of Donald J. Trump as the 45th president of the United States. However, no matter which end of the political spectrum you are on, it is clear something is amiss. If you come from the Left, you are likely wondering why so many people would vote for someone whose policies are very much out of touch with what we know to be true about modern day governments, science and economics, and who also supports bigotry and prejudice as part and parcel of American rhetoric. Supporters of the administration from the Right, though, are equally flummoxed, for Trump seems virtually incapable of putting through his agenda despite a majority in the House and the Senate, and any attempt at forming policy is being blocked by investigations into collusion with Russia, or, as these individuals would put it, by unfair media treatment and “fake news.” It doesn’t really matter who’s correct in this situation, though. Both sides can agree something isn’t right. While many would like to simply chalk this phenomenon up to tense times brought on by decades of income inequality, labor commodification and pro-corporate/pro-wealthy policies further entrenching these unfavorable conditions, this might be denying a more profound truth. The government has been engaged in covert actions almost directly against the will of the people for decades (supporting coups throughout Latin America, fighting needless wars, negotiating free trade agreements that offer little benefit to the average American businessman, etc.), so it is not a total leap to think someone else is calling the shots. If we entertain for a moment the idea of a co-creation hypothesis, it is well within the realm of possibility that some extraterrestrial body is working behind the scenes to manipulate reality without us even knowing it. Let’s travel down the path this curious thought presents and see if we can’t detect evidence of alien manipulation of the U.S. government. If extraterrestrials were in fact working within the United States government, this would mean they have made their way to Earth with the intention of colonization and conquest. Since the formation of the U.S. in 1776, expansion has been at the center of government policy. Manifest Destiny dominated much of the 19th century, and this exacerbated slavery-driven sectionalism, resulting in the Civil War, which consolidated power in the hands of the federal government. From here, the reinstatement of the Central Bank and the establishment of the federal income tax in 1913 gave the government, and the aliens, the means to manipulate large groups of people, accumulate resources and entrench themselves as the world super power. This is a position that after WWII would only intensify. What has happened since has been a systematic takeover by U.S.-based ideologies, largely free-market capitalism and liberal democracy, which are both incredibly effective ways to implement large-scale control. This is because they provide acceptable levels of micro-level freedoms while providing governing bodies with tools to carry out macro-level manipulation. This strategy would make sense. Any outright declaration of war from an alien entity would have instigated a more unified response from humanity. Instead, by assuming control of a young country, securing its hold of vast resources and using these resources to establish a world order relatively easy to manipulate through the control of capital flows and communication is a much more subtle and effective way of gaining control over the entire planet. Additionally, this type of “slow-play” conquest seems more likely since a species with the foresight to seek out new planets to inhabit would be willing to play this century-long waiting game for total control. We live in a world where wars no longer make much sense, yet they wage on, and this somewhat inexplicable continuation of fighting could be the result of a foreign entity using the world’s most powerful country as a tool for global domination. This historical-trajectory approach to uncovering alien control of the U.S. government helps set the framework, but looking at some of the more day-to-day activities of those in Washington could help provide further proof. For example, the Snowden leaks proved to both U.S. and global citizens that government surveillance is very real. While government agencies justify this as part of the fight against terrorism, no one really buys this argument. What could possibly be the purpose of spying on individuals and tracking their activity when the vast majority of people do absolutely nothing to threaten state power? There are only two genuine explanations (which complement each other): to learn about human behavior patterns, and to generate fear. ![]() By keeping tabs on people, the government, and those really running it, can gain detailed insight into human desires, fears, interests and habits. This proves to be very valuable at the hour of manipulation, as the government can use this information to direct people’s actions or to advance certain ideologies which serve to help advance their agenda (think Capitalism). While tools exist to help protect against this type of spying, very few people actually use them and mainstream culture considers these individuals, much like those in the UFO/extraterrestrial community, crackpots or paranoid, only furthering the extent and effectiveness of surveillance. Additionally, the fact the government continues to monitor its citizens after the Snowden leaks made it widely known what is going on shows how it values this tool for creating and inciting fear. By both supporting the terrorist storyline and also by giving people the feeling they are being watched (which has been shown to change how people behave), the government is able to subdue the population and prevent unmanageable dissent. Again, these tools for domination are subtle and play out over time, which is the strategy most likely to be employed by extraterrestrials (as mentioned earlier). The obvious counterargument to all this is that this slow conquest driven by inexplicable wars, information manipulation and surveillance is simply the result of human vice and folly. Greed, power and xenophobia drive us to do terrible things to each other, but this explanation seems too simple. Plus, the countless sightings of UFOs and other evidence of extraterrestrial life provides too much proof there is some other entity among us, interacting with us or watching us. However, the co-creation hypothesis, as well as other theories as to why humans choose to reject the reality in which they live, means that even if this was the case, we may never really know for sure. The only thing we can do is speculate and do our best to improve communication and cooperation amongst people so that in the event these foreign entities do indeed reveal themselves, we can be prepared to protect the only home we’ve ever known. Do you think extraterrestrials are behind the actions of the U.S. government? Why or why not? Join the discussion by leaving a comment below. -Sandra O'Hare About the Author: Sandra O'Hare is a blogger who focuses largely on government surveillance. She used to consider the idea of extraterrestrial interference in human affairs nothing more than a thing of science fiction, but her investigations into the inner workings of the government have led her to believe something else is at play. She now spends most of her time raising awareness and trying to stimulate discussion about this oft-neglected topic. God Save 'The Debunker'
6/28/2017
Why Skeptics Keep UFO Discourse AliveIn 1994, Larry King hosted his famous “Live from Area 51” broadcast. It featured many big names from the UFO community, and attempted to provide a debate which would settle the UFO question. Fact versus fiction. Real versus False. Right versus Wrong. Let’s just say the ‘jury is still out.’ However, the 90 minute episode did raise an interesting (exo)philosophical point which does need to be revisited. Larry King suggests at one point that much of the UFO debate hinges upon our capacity to ‘believe’ the witness. Set against the backdrop of the Nevada desert, and the infamous Area 51, the concept of the extraterrestrial reveals and renounces the ‘Truth.’ The UFO discourse exists in a dualism; a blend of attempted scientific method and research mixed with an open democratic ideological free-for-all. Objective and subjective simultaneously; both and neither. This places the UFO discourse into an interesting cultural state, and more importantly, fundamentally requires skeptics and debunkers as essential players in the UFO game. One segment of UFO discourse hinges upon witness credibility, and that the UFO is an objective ‘thing,’ physical and present. It is something that can be studied. Furthermore, many within the UFO community push for a scientific approach to the UFO question. They argue that the UFO community must apply modern science to address these objects, and have ‘real’ scientists explore the UFO question. In essence, they posit that academic rigour, rationality and logic are essential to solving the riddle. Others within the community, many skeptics and debunkers included, state that this scientific approach will achieve nothing. It is interesting to note that those members of the community who ‘believe’ in a more mystical UFO reality, and the hardline debunkers, follow a similar vein of thinking; scientific method has been attempted for 70 years, has solved nothing, and it is time to move on to something different. Furthermore, the argument goes that the UFO question does not turn upon human rationality and logic, but exceeds it as our human minds are too rudimentary to understand the broader cosmic reality. The abductee, the contactee, the witness, is more than a simple observer, but an ‘experiencer.’ The event intertwines with them in a mysterious way, divine, fetishized, and emotional. The object and subject are connected and indivisible. A person does not simply ‘see,’ rather they are in ‘communion’ with the Other. This ideological duality within UFO debate and subculture, this simultaneously objective and subjective state, generates a spontaneous discourse, reflexive to the constant interplay and shifting of ideological constructs. In other words, the UFO debate is constantly evolving and adapting. It is a truly postmodern system of objects, subjects and ideas. UFO discourse allows for any and all realities. The discourse is chaotic, both meaningful and meaningless. The lines between information and misinformation (or disinformation) is not only blurry, it is constantly moving. However, the subculture continues to grow, UFO headlines still make the news, and the discourse continues to generate ideas, thoughts, theories and hypotheses. It continues to function, even in the chaos. This begs the question, how? Enter the skeptics and the debunkers who are ever present and fundamentally essential to the survival of Ufology and the UFO discourse as a cultural phenomenon. UFO skeptics and debunkers are the glue that hold the subculture and the debate together. Mainstream science has basically excluded the UFO question from its ideological world view; it is this exclusion which allows Ufology to continue. Ufology itself has attempted to use the scientific method (albeit unsuccessfully) to turn various UFO hypotheses into ‘facts.’ A whole movement within the UFO community pushes for ‘Scientific Ufology,’ using the very academic discipline which alienates UFOs in an attempt to prove their objective reality. Theologically, UFO discourse has negotiated many ancient and well established religious ideologies, predominantly aspects of Buddhism, Hinduism, and various indigenous Shamanistic practices, into itself. Discussions over universal consciousness, light beings, the Mandela Effect, spirit guides, energy crystals, prophesy, and divine visitors all exist within UFO discourse. Deemed as crazies and cooks, the mystical UFO believers have legitimized their own ideologies by suggesting their beliefs are ‘True’ while the rest of the world is blind to the facts. They’d argue that scientific understanding is irrelevant as it is a limited human construct. While this sounds a little out there, can any scientist truly argue and prove that the human mind, and the social constructs it generates such as science, is the pinnacle of all evolution within the cosmos? From an established philosophical perspective, this concept is pretty old hat. Metaphysics often deals with this, and many philosophers have dealt with God as a symbol of intelligence that exceeds that of humanity. I digress. The chaotic nature of UFO discourse continues to pop up into mainstream culture due to the constant interplay between itself and the skeptics. The books and essays by Carl Sagan and Philip Klass legitimize the discourse, they provide the chaos with a bit of level ground that outsiders can stand on. The skeptics and debunkers, in a sense, contain the chaos, to allow for debate and discussion to occur in an understandable way. More importantly, the skeptics and debunkers are the ones who bring the UFO question to mainstream culture. The publicity they generate in their criticism affirms the UFO, and the UFO subculture simply pivots, and uses that criticism to grow. It is interesting to consider the essential place of the skeptic and debunker in UFO discourse. Many within the community despise those who openly criticize their beliefs and experiences, however, without those voices of dissent within the UFO debate, the discourse itself would stagnate. To the broader mainstream culture not regularly involved in the nitty-gritty Ufological world, the skeptics and debunkers are hounds howling at night drawing attention to the darkness. Whether the critics know it or not, the more they speak, the faster Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane. - MJ Banias The Abduction 'Image'
6/13/2017
Counterculture, Hyperreality and the Illusion of Radicalism
“We have become so accustomed to our illusions that we mistake them for reality. We demand them. And we demand that there be always more of them, bigger and better and more vivid. They are the world of our making: the world of the image.”
-Daniel J. Boorstin, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America
I have argued in the past that UFO discourse, debate, and inquiry has been relegated to the taboo fringe due to contemporary hegemonic power systems, such as late Capitalist ideology. To continue exploring the cultural theories that direct Ufological ideology, I wish to explore the alien abduction/contact question, and focus on the broader UFO community’s acceptance of this phenomenon as being an act of defiance against the status quo power systems which hegemonically govern Western ideology and society.
I appreciate that there are many people within the UFO community and subculture that do not accept the abduction/contact phenomenon as being objectively real, and therefore, legitimate. The intention of this article is not to explore the reality of abduction and contact. To be honest, the ‘truth’ behind the phenomenon does not matter. What matters, at least from a critical standpoint, is that the phenomenon, in UFO circles, does have a broad acceptance of being authentic, and, for all intents and purposes, is “real.” To avoid further compartmentalizing the UFO subculture into various camps of belief, we can generally appreciate the relativism that surrounds the abduction/contact narrative. Those within the UFO community who have not totally ‘alienated’ experiencers generally approach the phenomenon with a “whatever floats your boat” attitude. In other words, “everyone is entitled to an opinion.” This relativist attitude is quite common within UFO discourse, as the UFO/UAP phenomenon is ideologically tied to the abduction/contact phenomenon.
Furthermore, the attitude generally follows a subjectivist metaphysical line of thinking. The common argument goes something like this:
What is the difference between believing in God and believing in aliens? People believe in Allah, Yahweh, Buddha, Samsara and various avatars, messianic prophets of all sorts, reincarnation, and a whole assortment of other deities. Is not the belief in extraterrestrials, interdimensional beings, or some other alien intelligent Other the same? Humans have a variety of religious and spiritual beliefs which are generally respected. In fact, as our species begins to piece together more information about the cosmos, and the discoveries of dozens of exoplanets which could potentially harbour life, doesn’t the science basically justify the possibility of life elsewhere in our galaxy, and that it is well within the realm of reason that it is coming here? The theology, while controversial, is just that, theology. It matters not, especially since we can look at the ebb and flow of UFO/ET religions over the last several decades with crisp hindsight. I do not support a theological belief in aliens, however, the ideological “catch 22” here does have a certain level of truth to it. An interesting cultural phenomenon is that with all the various religions and beliefs out there, assuming that extraterrestrials are visiting Earth, or some other similar ideology, is culturally taboo. Mainstream cultural ideology has no problem with faith in the various, albeit appropriate and allowable, religious deities, but faith in an alien Other, that is considered wholly unacceptable. The abduction/contact narrative is, in simple terms, countercultural. Furthermore, the tacit support for the people who experience these events, and the general acceptance of this phenomenon by the UFO subculture, is an overt act of dissent towards established cultural and social ideologies. This relativistic position challenges the taboo, and the mainstream culture as a whole. It is a saber rattling performance, a haka (to borrow from the Maori of New Zealand), which generates an ideology for the disenfranchised. A sort of, “people are abducted by aliens, and I’m OK with that” mentality. Supporting the abductee/contactee creates the appearance of radicalism, and attempts to subvert the scientific, academic, political and economic power systems designed to maintain the cultural and social status quo. It tries to force the mainstream consensus reality into the proverbial corner, and provide a view into a world consisting of individuality, unique thought, and ‘authenticity.’ “Damn the man.” Well, sort of. As I stated above, “it tries.”
Damn The GIF from Damn GIFs
This worldview without judgement, supported by the UFO community and the abductees/contactees, is not what it seems. Similar to the mechanisms of late Capitalism, and the constructs of contemporary power systems, this anti-establishment position generated by the UFO community is an illusion. To borrow an idea from the French philosopher, Jean Baudrillard, concerning ‘hyperreal’ states, we, as a society, struggle to interpret what is real and what is not. In his famous work, Simulacra and Simulation, Baudrillard writes, “We live in a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning. (79)” It is not that we lack information regarding the phenomenon, as a search of the MUFON database or YouTube will provide a large collection of abduction/contactee stories; rather, it is that we struggle with the ability to distinguish between real and ‘unreal.’ We cannot differentiate the experience from ‘the image.’ The abduction/contact narrative is hyperreal, it exists because there is information regarding it; YouTube videos, blog posts, books, TV shows, documentaries, podcasts, and late night radio shows. However, it also does not exist, as it is not a shared or common human experience. When faced with a story of abduction and/or contact, we, individually, must decide its reality, yet the ‘act of decision’ is objectively impossible. The story, the narrative, is not simply the telling of an event, but a vast collection of technological data, interpretation, and a subject with very little judgeable information flooded by opinions of ‘experts’ on both sides of the debate. In other words, the abduction/contact story is not the event itself, but the collection of ideology which surrounds that event. One cannot separate one instance of abduction/contact from the rest; there is no place to stand from which to do that, as no one can shed their ‘knowledge’ concerning the phenomenon. We cannot remove ‘the image’ from the picture. The act of support by the general UFO community for the abduction/contact narrative is ultimately a simulacrum. It is pretend, not because members of the community do not mean it, but because they want it to have meaning. The UFO community inundates the abduction/contact narrative with other illusions and ideologies, compounding it, influencing it, and only widening the expanse between real and ‘hyperreal.’ Charges of government conspiracy, insidious hybrid baby breeding, Disclosure, secret space programs, and many other scenarios complicate the narrative. The ‘information’ spins and churns and collapses on itself only to spin and churn and collapse again, ad infinitum. Similar to the lights and sounds of the Las Vegas strip, the city becomes lost in the fantasy, and the fantasy becomes the city itself; the two cannot be separated. This relativist support for the abduction/contact narrative is, in totality, tied into the web of information, but essentially meaningless. Where does this leave us? The problem with ideologies is that they cut both ways. While the UFO community may look upon mainstream power systems, such as modern Capital or Government, with disdain and mistrust, the community itself does not have some special access to ‘truth’ or ‘reality.’ While mainstream society and culture may be a hyperreal state of constructed illusions, the UFO subculture, and the politics it supports, is also illusionary. As the famous X-Files quote suggests, “The truth is out there.” That is to say, it is not in here with us, the UFO community. It is and forever will be “out there.” With all of this, we still see the UFO community, and the abduction/contact narrative relegated to the fringes of general society. Regardless of the illusion, contemporary power systems require their ideological constructs to keep them functioning. The abduction/contact narrative, while ideologically motivated, still challenges the status quo. While it is merely the swapping of one ideology for another, albeit a more democratic ideology perhaps, current social, political and economic interests do not want a trade to occur. The support for abductees/contactees among the general UFO community, that posturing haka, is still dangerous for the status quo. While we may never be free of ideology, perhaps some ideologies are “better” than others. This acceptance of those who interact with an alien Other shows a glimpse into the world of stark individuality, and a world where even the most alienated can find a place and voice within society. Is it perfect? No. Is it less worse? Maybe. Do people get abducted or make contact with an intelligent Other? I personally do not know. Strange things do happen, and I’ll leave it at that. Whether it happens or not, the ideologies behind the abduction/contact event are truly what shape it, more so than the event itself. We cannot have the experience alone, that is impossible, rather we have ‘the image’ first, and the experience comes after. -MJ Banias [Featured image: Alien Abduction (2014 film)] Alien Addiction
5/22/2017
TV Shows and Why We Can't Shake the ET HypothesisI recently watched an episode of “UFOs: The Lost Evidence”. For the uninitiated, it is a resurrection of the typical UFO TV show, with the main differentiator being that many of the cases, images, videos or audio “have never been seen before on television.” It’s your typical UFO ‘expert’ interviews blended with recreations and stock footage. As I was watching the show, I began to consider other cable shows regarding the UFO question (Hangar 1, UFOs Declassified, UFO Hunters, etc.), as well as the general Ufological ideologies present among those outside of the UFO discourse who look in from time to time. These shows, along with various other forms of popular media, typically revolve around the UFO phenomenon being caused by aliens from another planet. The extraterrestrial hypothesis basically pervades the UFO question to those in the mainstream. In other words, those who do not actively engage in UFO discourse regularly, but are ‘tourists,’ have a coerced notion that the UFO debate primarily concerns otherworldly aliens. UFO discourse and Ufology paint themselves, to the broader culture via TV shows and other mainstream media, as being primarily the study of a phenomenon caused by aliens from another world. While some in the UFO discourse also share similar ideologies, there are many others who oppose a hypothesis regarding a physical ET from another planet who travels about in interstellar craft. The UFO discourse is a small field made up by a collection of fringe dwellers, who, in order to pull in future community members and to bring awareness of the topic, require these shows to act as bridges from mainstream culture to the subculture. The bizarre twist here is that these shows portray an oddball subculture of ‘believers’ in aliens, which further pushes the discourse itself into the outer edges of popular culture. These programs enshrine the concept that the UFO topic is a fringe one, yet are required by the UFO discourse to spread its message beyond the current subculture. To add to this ‘catch 22’ is the addiction to the ET hypothesis which is not really representative of the UFO discourse as a whole. The UFO discourse requires these shows, and continues to impress upon them an ideological construct that aliens are somehow involved in the phenomena. However, some of the most respected members of the UFO discourse, such as Vallée, would argue that the extraterrestrial hypothesis is not the answer to the UFO question. We arrive at a cultural oddity. An assortment of television shows that solidify one hypothesis within UFO discourse, and all the while, continue to enshrine the topic as one for the outer rim of social and cultural ideology. However, these shows ensure the survival of the discourse. They maintain the UFO topic within the mainstream cultural milieu. This begs a question; why do cable networks and TV producers focus only on the ET hypothesis, when the UFO discourse is a chorus of many different hypotheses as to the ‘source’ of the phenomenon? One can imagine the hesitancy of many TV show producers to engage in a show concerning the more metaphysical or mystical sides of the UFO debate. Aliens are already a cultural icon, an aspect of our shared mythos, archetypal, and generate a deep seated anxiety. From a cultural perspective, dealing with mystical beings, and non corporeal intelligences that exist in some metaphysical ether is difficult to consume and process. They are not visible. They do not exist physically like we do, and they do not generate discomfort among broader society and culture. Extraterrestrials, on the other hand, do. The aspect of a physical being, or an intelligence that can take on physical form, and interact with humans on a one on one level plays at every instinctual fear we possess. Within the physical alien is the human self, the ultimate Other, the chaos of humanity that exists outside of the cultural norms of a given terrestrial society. They are like us in that they have some form of agency. Everything else is different. They are unreadable, unknowable, and they force us to dive deep into our own psyche and extract those pieces of us that we find frightening. It is not that ‘they’ are evil or good (by human standards), it is that they live outside of that duality, and that is scary. It blurs the line in our minds as to whether we are the predator or the prey. It challenges our place in the world, the place we know and can easily negotiate, and throws all that out the window. It puts into our collective mind the question of, “do we actually have the power in this situation?” It dispels the illusions that humanity is the sole proprietor of its own destiny, agenda, and environment. The beauty of anxiety is that it is typically addictive. We enjoy the feeling of fear. This is why movies like Armageddon (1998), Deep Impact (1998), and The Day After Tomorrow (2004) are so popular. Sigmund Freud and Wilhelm Stekel posited that we all possess a ‘death drive.’ We all fear our own demise and loss of power, but we fettishize it too. We are drawn to the idea of it. If we really examine the constant tropes of Ufological television shows, they carry with them tones and motifs that push a feeling of anxiety. As the narrators often ask, “what do these UFOs want?” This question is essentially the same question the ET hypothesis asks, “what do they want and why are they here?” If you really think about it, the answer is significantly less frightening than the question. Finally, the ET hypothesis establishes a clear dichotomy; us and them. It retains ‘the self’ as a social subject within the mechanisms of a capitalist global culture and framework. The ET hypothesis allows us to continue dwelling within our collective cultural illusion. While a public and open ET arrival may shift our cultural landscape to something totally different, that has yet to happen. The mystical approach to the UFO question challenges our current ideological framework regarding power, economics, and politics. It identifies the illusion, and informs its followers that the status quo ideological reality is a falsehood. Mainstream culture is not interested in radical change, and the media, television included, is designed to propagate culture, not challenge it. The thought that these TV shows are a fundamental part of UFO discourse is undoubtedly making many within the UFO community gag. When these shows air for the first time, Facebook is typically riddled with negative comments. There are concerns over the use of debunked evidence, criticism of the ‘experts’ chosen to be interviewed, and even disapproval for the various UFO incidents and events that get selected for (re)examination (I’m looking at you Roswell…).
That being said, the UFO discourse often demands to be accepted into mainstream culture without success. The cable shows ironically are the only method to achieve that goal. However, with every episode, UFO discourse moves farther and farther away into the cultural fringe. -MJ Banias "I am Indrid Cold"
5/10/2017
Archetypes, Tricksters, and Divisions in UFO DiscourseIn an April 21st blog post, Jeff Ritzmann wrote, “Folks have written me asking about the literary Trickster themes and how they play into, or pertain to the phenomenon. Wikipedia says of literary Tricksters: "In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a Trickster is a character in a story (god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphisation), which exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge, and uses it to play tricks or otherwise disobey normal rules and conventional behaviour." Lewis Hyde describes the Trickster as 'boundary crossers'.” Ritzmann explores the Trickster archetype in this blog post, and its connection to various paranormal phenomena, including that of the UFO. Reading through this article several weeks ago, I was drawn to it again by an interview with Susan Demeter-St. Claire and Greg Bishop on the Radio Misterioso podcast. A day later, I was given the opportunity to preview Seth Breedlove’s The Mothman of Point Pleasant, and as I was watching the documentary, my jaw literally dropped. ![]() Just as the film’s narrator mentioned the name Woodrow Derenberger, the podcast and Ritzmann’s article came rushing into my mind. Just as the main ideas for the blog post you’re reading began to form, I was shown on the screen an animation of the man named Indrid Cold. I had to press Pause. I stood up. I went to have a think outside. I’ll return to the above point in a moment. I’ve mentioned before on my blog that there is a divide within UFO discourse. On one pole sits a belief that the UFO narrative stems from scientific nuts and bolts extraterrestrials from other planets. On the other, the UFO and associated events are somehow mystical in nature, an aspect of human consciousness, influenced by some Other (or not), that exists outside of our physical realm. This division, and the debate around it, is old hat. It’s been debated for decades. More importantly, it’s also merged into complex systems of beliefs that tie in both ideologies. Physical and spiritual. Nuts and bolts technology blended with metaphysical states of reality not totally clear to our everyday life. That being said, the UFO community has yet to find consensus. It continues to engage in this exophilosophical debate, citing evidence, cases, incidents, events, and various other forms of data that attempt to prove “the reality of the situation.” This debate is not a bad thing. It simply is part of the Ufological discourse. Back to Indrid Cold. In 1966, a sewing machine salesman by the name of Woodrow Derenberger was driving down Interstate 77 near the famous Point Pleasant, in his truck when he noticed a large object move past his vehicle and land on the road. Pulling up to the large object, the shape resembling “an old fashioned kerosene lamp chimney,” he witnessed a man exit the craft and approach him. Wearing a strange greenish metallic topcoat, and a strange grin, the odd man introduced himself telepathically to Derenberger as Indrid Cold. The story of Indrid Cold is an old one. It was first featured in John Keel’s The Mothman Prophecies, and received significant attention from the media. You can hear an interview with Derenberger here (#47). The man even went on to write a book about Cold, called the Visitors from Lanulos, and the two allegedly enjoyed multiple visits together. Keel himself went on to claim that he received many phone calls while investigating the Mothman legend from a person said to be Indrid Cold. This story, this very bizarre story, leads us down an interesting path in UFO discourse. Many other people came to have experiences with a strange man bearing a huge grin, and their tales vary from stark contrast to identical similarity with the Derenberger event. Before us lies odd situation, one that calls into question the Ufological divide that exists between scientific and the mystical. What is the difference between the two? What series of arguments can one make to suggest one side is right, and the other is wrong? The sides would both use scientific language, such as “look at the evidence” or “use logic and reason” to establish their cases. They would dive into the realms of psychology, citing deep seeded genetic archetypes established by evolution. They dive into religion, Buddhist and Hindu philosophies, and even provide historical evidence to prove that the UFO phenomenon is spiritual or scientific, or some mix of the two. They would provide big data, UFO sighting information, shapes, sizes, colours, and the rest. Whatever form the debate takes, it will ultimately run into the ever present brick wall; what differentiates the mystical from the scientific? What objective fact present in UFO discourse will shout, “Eureka!” and end the debate? Nothing. There is no fact. No objective truth. That is the point of Indrid Cold. No member within the UFO community can claim with any objective truth that one Ufological event occurred, and the other did not. There is no fundamental difference between a witness seeing odd lights in the sky defying the laws of physics, and one man on a lonely stretch of highway bumping into a grinning man in a shiny suit. What is the difference between twenty people staring up at a strange disc hovering over Chicago’s O’Hare Airport in 2006 and twenty people having telepathic conversations with a man named Cold over several decades? Even the physical trace evidence can be called into question, is typically inconclusive, and is often fraught with issues concerning provenance and legitimacy. Does our interpretation of truth simply boil down to what sounds less crazy, and what fits more nicely into our consensus reality? It can be argued that both events are equally mind boggling. Yet, what evidence do we have for either case that proves one is true beyond the shadow of a doubt? What evidence exists that, without question, proves there is a UFO phenomenon, and it is caused by X? Jeff Ritzmann’s definition of the archetypal trickster as that which “disobeys the rules and conventional behaviour” is the cornerstone to the UFO question. The debate rages around the extraterrestrial hypothesis, co-creation, mysticism, the psychosocial hypothesis, and many others because the UFO itself is that which “disobeys the rules.”
I do not claim that the Indrid Cold case is legitimate or a hoax. I honestly don’t care. What does matter is the symbolism of Indrid Cold, and that these three events lined up for me to write this post. Cold did not literally visit me in my basement as I watched Breedlove’s film that evening, but in a way, he did “tell” me something as his eerie visage appeared on the screen before me. He showed me, as Ritzmann says, to explore the idea of being a “boundary crosser.” I do not believe in one UFO reality over another, and the luxury of my work within UFO discourse is that very freedom. Critical theory and philosophy allow me to dwell in many thought worlds, in the various systems of truth, and there are essentially no limits to logic experiments of the mind. This is the beauty of working with, what many have come to call, “exophilosophy.” Some will argue that these thought experiments are useless, and only add to the “pile of bullshit” that is UFO discourse. Perhaps. To those who make that argument, I would ask them to provide tangible evidence that their scientific or mystical approach has made any headway. The filing cabinets and internet databases of sighting reports, cold case files, rehashed UFO events, charts, tables, declassified documents, hypnotherapy evaluations, psychological reports, and testimonies from ‘credible’ witnesses are all well and good, but they still form one big pile...and I don’t have to tell you what it all smells like to me. The razor cuts both ways. Whatever is responsible for the UFO phenomenon, much like the trickster, it seems to sow chaos. Much like Derenberger on that night in November, we find ourselves in an unsettling place trying to figure out what is going on. As every second passes, we are left with only more questions, and significantly fewer answers. Praying that some light can be shed on this bizarre moment, we are greeted by a strange grinning man named Cold. -MJ Banias The Mothman of Point Pleasant
5/8/2017
A Review of Seth Breedlove's New Documentary![]() Seth Breedlove’s The Mothman of Point Pleasant opens with an eerie approach to the doorway of an old abandoned TNT bunker. It is a dark place, a silent place, a solid building constructed by men in a bygone age and destroyed by time and mother nature. The open door beckons the viewer to enter this shadow world, but the courage never musters. Breedlove’s documentary about the Mothman takes us to that doorway, and like his other three films, dares us to enter knowing full well we never will. The Mothman, and the other mysterious creatures of paranormal folklore, dwell inside that shadowy place, often escaping from it into our world where countless people see and interact with them. However, their world is not our world, and we are reminded of that fact by the haunting voice of Lyle Blackburn, the film’s narrator. The documentary is spooky and beautiful, with a chilling original soundtrack by Brandon Dalo, that stalks the viewer as they travel down the banks of the Ohio River and into Point Pleasant. Breedlove provides a chronological timeline that follows the sightings that pepper the 1960’s and truly culminate in 1966 and 1967. The collection of interviews provide great insight into the events, and draw the viewer ever deeper into the world of the winged monster. It is intelligent, concise, and does not waste time on tropes. It is authentic and thought provoking. For fans of the Mothman, this film is essential viewing. It offers a significant amount of original newspaper articles, audio interviews, and wonderfully animated recreations. The documentary provides varying interpretations of the Mothman, and its identity. However, it gives no special treatment to any of the theories; a large bird, a depressed and sad otherworldly being, or an evil demon- the documentary does not seek that answer. Rather, this is a documentary about the people who were affected by the Mothman, their stories and their lives after their sightings, and after the tragedy of the collapse of the Silver Bridge. Where this documentary truly shines is the encapsulation of all the paranormal and strange events that occurred in and around Point Pleasant during the mid to late 1960’s. Breedlove goes beyond the large bird sightings. He treats the viewer to the various UFO reports, close encounters with the grinning man named Indrid Cold, and other strange happenings that hit the area like a wave. He builds a powerful case that the men, women, and children of Point Pleasant were not only being watched by a pair of glowing red eyes, but by the shadows themselves, ever present, reaching out from their obscure and bizarre world. In the film’s opening, Blackburn refers to this collection of strange events as a “carnival of horrors” and Breedlove expertly crafts that notion into the film. The documentary does not scare or shock. It does something much worse to the viewer. It unsettles them. It creates a picture of the world that is not quite right, awry, and exposed to a thing we’ve come to call the Mothman, and all the strangeness that it brings. For fans of anything paranormal, weird or strange, this is a must watch. Click here to check it out. -MJ Banias Part 3 - Feeling Alienated
4/27/2017
Part 1 - Feeling Alienated
4/14/2017
Involuntary Shapeshifters
4/2/2017
ET, God, and The Co-Creation Hypothesis
3/11/2017
God, E.T. and Anselm's Ontology
2/22/2017
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