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The search for extraterrestial life in popular culture and film

by Shirley Love

Created on: June 20, 2009

Ezekiel said, Heaven opened and I saw visions.

I looked and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north, an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal.
New International Version @1984

This passage from the book of Ezekiel has served to spark the curiosity and the imagination of men for centuries. What was it that Ezekiel saw? Was it a message within the vision to be interpreted in diverse ways or was it what we might refer to today as a UFO?



Prehistoric drawings on the walls of caves depict what might be the likeness of astronauts and flying discs in the sky. Some ancient paintings also include mysterious orbs or objects hovering in the sky over otherwise serene landscapes.

The search is centuries old, but the reports of sightings began in earnest in the decade of the 1940's when a pilot, Kenneth Arnold, reported seeing several objects in the skies over Mt. Rainier, Washington which he described as like a saucer. That was in June of 1947. Shortly thereafter, we were introduced to The Roswell incident, which is a familiar story to everyone.

However, there was an earlier event much like the one at Roswell which has not received as much publicity. The story unfolds in the Spring of 1941 when an unidentified object crashed near Cape Girardeau, Mo. A minister called to the scene witnessed a disc-like object that had contained three human like creatures, but were definitely not human. He was asked to perform the last rites over these bodies, and then sworn to silence as a part of national security. This incident, questionable I realize, can be found in the article, Famous UFO Cases from the 1940's according to ufocasebook.com

During that time, and into the early 1950's there were hundreds of reported sightings not only in the US but from all points of the globe. When several UFOs were reported over Washington D.C. the flight to fantasy, or the quest for truth, (depending on your point of view) was in full gear.

Authors of books, magazines, and scripts for Hollywood movies using a UFO theme began flooding the market. One of the earliest, and most impressive in my opinion was The Thing from Another World directed by Howard Hawks in 1951. It serves to remind us that we may not be alone! A group of scientists and Air Force personnel observe the radar image of an aircraft which crashes not far from their base. When they locate the crash site they discover the craft is round, and firmly

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