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In 1951, two movies came out which are both classics of science fiction. They were also complete opposites in their message.
The first was the original The Day the Earth Stood Still. In it a man from space comes to Earth to warn us to cease our warlike ways. During the film, he is killed and subsequently brought back to life. He describes it as being temporary, but its difficult to describe what occurred as anything but resurrection, making him a somewhat Christ like figure.
Then there was The Thing From Another World..
The story takes place in the arctic where a team of military men and scientists are surprised to find a flying saucer buried in the snow. An aliens awakens and begins to kill anyone he can find nearby. The soldiers ultimately dispatch the alien, noting that it is capable of reproducing itself incredibly quickly if not put down, and that it might ultimately overrun the Earth. The alien never attempts to communicate, and kills the scientist who tries to speak with it. It is hostile from beginning to end.
In these early years of cinema, these movies set the tone for science fiction to this day. Whenever aliens appear, they either try to save humanity, or try to destroy it. In pretty much every one of these movies, people will either rush to attack the aliens once they know they are there, or will hesitate to attack them, whichever reaction is wrong.
In the vast majority of those films, a scientist is present who immediately tells the protagonists one of two things.
Choice A:
“You fools! Don't you understand they are here to save us?”
Choice B:
“You fools! Don't you understand they are here to kill us all?”
The scientist automatically knows this. He usually hasn't had time to watch the aliens so he can base his ideas on evidence. Instead, he has some automatic knowledge of the way aliens are, because they are alien. In some of these stories, especially the earlier ones, he would loudly proclaim that such a superior advanced race would never be warlike.
This makes aliens in science fiction very similar to UFO sightings.
Some people simply claim to see a flying object. If they describe an encounter that lasts longer than that, they describe either saintly aliens who try to teach us the error of our ways, or horrific experiences with aliens who probe various recesses of their body for incomprehensible reasons.
UFO sightings began not long after we began to talk seriously of launching men into space. There was an explosion of people seeing flying objects in the sky once we began to talk serious of launching men into space. In previous eras nobody ever reported seeing flying saucers in the sky. In the middle ages, there were many sightings of angels and devils.
When someone writes a story, he usually tries to anticipate what his audience wishes to see. Some people wish to be saved. On the other hand, some people feel so much naked aggression, their fondest desire is that their aggression and fear will actually be vindicated. In other words, they want enemies that justify their going to war.
As the decades have gone by friendly aliens have showed up less and less. Mostly these days we have an endless progression of stories about aliens who have come to conquer our planet or steal our resources.
However, the same cannot be said of people who claim to see UFO's. The desire for a saviour seems to show up more often, while Hollywood concentrates on visions of violent world-conquering aliens.
Since we really have no idea what may or may not exist in the cosmos outside our own solar system, alien life is a kind of blank canvas where we paint what we expect or desire out of life.
The Thing From Outer Space was eventually remade as The Thing by John Carpenter. It had some of the most bloody, gory action seen yet. However, in the years since that film was made, the bar has been lowered again and again. It shocked viewers in its day, but today that level of violence would probably not draw much comment.
If you don't like graphic violence you may want to pass on this trailer.
In a story I am writing, the aliens are a bit more complex. This is partly because I've noticed the trends in cinema, and I decided I wanted to do something different. When you look at what people have done, its remarkable how the same ideas are repeated again and again.
I hope everyone has a good morning.