Sociohistorical context of UFO conspiracism Cold War tensions :: Essays Papers

Sociohistorical context of UFO conspiracism Cold War tensions More than one analyst (e.g. Jung 1991, Peebles 1996) has noted that UFOs, whatever their true age, only really took off as reports, folklore, and entertainment during the Cold War. They fit into a general pattern of tension and confusion concerning such things as national identity, global security, and human survival. Carl Jung, writing when the contactee phenomenon was reaching a crescendo, emphasized the "space messiah" theme in UFO reports and entertainment. Our more evolved elders were here to save us from ourselves. In the 1970s, abduction reports began to bring home the idea that alien contact may be more for the aliens' benefit than anything. And now, from its position at the heart of US ufology and its firm position in contemporary entertainment, alien abduction exerts an influence making an alien and/or government collusion plausible to many people. Themes of literature and movies Tensions from the great global political contest of the second half of this century formed the subject of much news and academic output, but were also at the core of a great deal of entertainment. We can see this in sci-fi movies from this era: "The Day the Earth Stood Still," in which nuclear weapons testing provokes stern warnings from our galactic neighbors; "This Island Earth," where Earth scientists are forced to help their alien counterparts in a losing battle against an unseen enemy; "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," interpreted as either a McCarthyite warning of Communist infiltration of a denunciation of McCarthyism; and even the many monster movies like "Them" with its giant ants, comments on the destructive effects of heedless technological tampering with nature. Science fiction was not alone in discussing fears about invasions from outside or betrayals within, but it was perhaps the most effective genre in projecting these fears onto the increasingly vast and impersonal s creen provided by scientific views of the cosmos. Actual cover-ups It also bears repeating that, during this period, public confidence in institutional authorities was repeatedly shaken, not least by several actual government cover-ups. Projects of questionable ethical or pragmatic import undertaken by various government agencies under the cloak of "national security" did not always remain secret. A few, like the notorious MK Ultra and Cointelpro psychological control programs, confirmed fears that the government was not above experimenting on its own citizens to achieve its goals. But there were also such exposed cover-ups as the Watergate break-in, the Iran-Contra exchanges, and the eventual confirmation that atmospheric nuclear weapons tests in Nevada had deadly effects on uninvolved citizens downwind.