A Michigan resident, "John Bro" Wilkie is a ex-military propulsion technician -- with extended experience in the sighting and documentation of UFOs. He is also the original author of 'Solar Obliteration' - and for this, has appeared on multiple television and radio segments including Coast To Coast AM-- for over a decade now. A longtime member of the Screen Actors Guild, 'John Bro' has also portrayed space aliens on several network Sci-Fi television shows -- including 'Star Trek: Voyager' and 'SPACE: Above and Beyond.' Visit John's websites: http://www.Johnbro.com and http://www.skymonsters.com. Email 'John Bro' Wilkie
Hollywood & Space Aliens: creating ET in our own image
Recently, Mr. Dirk Vander Ploeg proposed an interesting topic. He suggested that should I write an article featuring comparisons between space alien characterizations in Hollywood and the alleged 'real thing.' I had been attempting to choose between taking some pseudo-technical approach - or simply to drop names from my Hollywood past.
During the mid 1990's, I found myself making multiple television and radio appearances concerning the topic of UFOs caught on videotape. Simultaneously, my day job was to portray space aliens on a couple of network television shows. But I also want people to know that the irony of that time in my life was not lost on me. As much as I could, I tried to keep the two separated. Inevitably the paths crossed. Actually, I thought about that a lot.
In Hollywood, the body armour of a fearsome space predator/ lizard man - is damn uncomfortable to wear. It mostly consists of padding and rubber and ill-fitting fiberglass parts. To jump around in that contraption for 40 'takes' absolutely leaves cuts and bruises on a person. It would require a truly athletic performance to endure a day in that outfit. It was painful just to move in the costumes and was exceedingly warm. That alone and I knew that I wouldn't want to actually be a space alien. But I needed the money.
Then there was the obligatory glow-in-the-dark alien green blood. That was always rather gross. And I felt like I was one of the background soldiers on the old television series 'F-Troop.' Episode after episode, we'd always come back. The difference in Sci-Fi is that we got killed. It was seriously hard work.
******
I am glad that the Sci-Fi genre exists. It shows that people are thinking through future possibilities. But surprisingly, most of the people that I met - in the industry - or even at the conventions - don't actually believe that space aliens have yet come to the planet - or that they could even be stealthily moving amongst us at will.
On the big screen, space aliens have incredible technologies and machines that we could only dream of. But in a Hollywood script - a Hero is only as good as his adversary - and so, the brutality and violence of the 'bad aliens' makes the enemy come across more soul-less and homicidal. It is a tangible thing. At some point, the underdogs and the seemingly-beaten will ultimately vanquish the evil. It always seems to lead to a constant theme of overcoming violence with cunning and even more violence.
I believe that in a real-life scenario, it would not be nearly so romantic. Firstly, the character of the 'Hero' in the movies already believes in aliens. He is already preparing his counter measures. He doesn't 'need a little time to adjust to it.'
Please suspend your beliefs with me for a moment - and let's just say that, for the purpose of presenting this article - that space aliens have overcome all that it would take to get here - and that they actually exist. Now lets just say that - all of your life, you never believed in any of that nonsense -- and suddenly one day... you were standing right in front of an alien -- or had a close encounter with a UFO.
I now have to ask you to consider this seriously. If your paradigms/belief systems were quickly shattered right before your very eyes, could you still perform your duties? If you were suddenly interacting with something that you didn't even believe in -- yet were afraid of -- what could you calmly do to assure your survival?? And this is all thinking in human terms. If a space alien was malevolent in its intentions - it surely would not be playing by our rules.
Imagine, if you will, that your opponent could be telepathic and possessed inter-dimensional abilities. If one of these beings could slow down in relationship to our time continuum, we would completely be at its mercy. Something like that could conceivably stand right in front of a person's eyes and not be seen. It could exploit us beyond our conception. It could influence everything from GW being re-elected to the price of gasoline. It could blow up a space shuttle. None of us want any of this to be true. But these are examples of what it could be like.
With humans, one way to get the best possible results on psychological trials would be that the test subjects did not know that there was a study. To control an intelligent and technological species - without them knowing - would be the ultimate coup. Humans might require a vast intellectual and spiritual evolution to understand it at the most rudimentary levels. We just may not yet possess the facilities. We know enough to emphatically state that we just don't know. It is possible, if not probable - that nothing we see is actually what it seems.
With the majority of people, if they were to witness a glowing specter (that was actually a space entity) run right through a wall and into their living space - then back out the other side; they would be traumatized for months. Imagine that when it ran through, the alien stopped and reached out to touch you. The shock of such an experience might cause your senses to overload to the point where the incident was erased from your consciousness. It would require a well-conditioned mind to interact with one of these entities.
When individuals witness UFOs or alien space beings, have they been selected to do so? Are they being allowed or are they simply open-minded enough to not readily engage their denial mechanisms? Is it all coincidence, intentional - or group hallucinations - that account for the relative handful of folks that report multiple examples of personal sightings? Now with thousands of well-documented cases - and over 1 million photographs and videos in existence, what are the chances that all of them could be mistaken? What are the odds that people that have never had knowledge of, or contact with one another - would have the same hallucinations? In the minds of true 'experiencers,' there is no question to the legitimacy of those people. In the television shows that I have been a part of, the humans ultimately held up very well against space invaders. Also, man (& women) has ventured out to into the cosmos. They are on the enemy's turf. On these shows, it is most often a ship's crew - or maybe a space colony that is at risk. They often match up well - but also possess the weaponry to do so.
These are Sci-Fi depictions of a possible future. In more contemporary screen dramas (re: "Independence Day" & "War of the Worlds") - mankind has no viable weapons to stand up to the invaders, yet the aliens succumb to 'viruses' - digital in one film, biological in the other. It is only my opinion, but I am thinking that the evil alien vanguard might have foreseen such threats - gotten themselves immunized - and installed a 'spam blocker.' Don't you just hate it when you are attempting to invade another world - and you get slammed by all of those pesky 'pop-ups'?
It is more than reasonable to expect that most would be skeptical of the entire genre of UFOs and space aliens. Without universal consensus, the subject is mute - unsubstantiated and 'un-provable.' Without cooperation, a Zeti saucer landing on the front lawn of the White House would not be enough. Ten thousand tourists could be there to witness the event, along with their cacophony of camera shutters clicking away - and sans established and reputable media coverage, the incident would progress little beyond the realm of sensationalism and folklore.
Separate human cultures can't seem to agree on the hue of horse droppings. Extra-terrestrial praying mantises probably aren't too keen on the idea of 'earth-boy' gallivanting through their neighborhoods and yelling 'Gimme!' everywhere they land. Human space-farers don't clean up their campsites before they leave - and are always looking for ways to skip out on their bill. You always have to check the silverware when they are leaving. If it were up to me, I am thinking that I might just herd those silly rabbits back into their pen. They just can't seem to behave themselves.
In entertainment and media, space monsters most likely are symbols or metaphors for the worse aspects of human behavior. Maybe not literally, but they are being fashioned in our own image. And what could be scarier than Dick Chaney's hunting party - showing up in a flying saucer? Would you really want to spend a weekend, drinking with these guys? Most people don't require hospitalization after being probed by a grey.
Regardless of which side of the 'alien presence' debate that a person is on, thanks to television and movies - nearly everyone on the planet is aware of the tales of little grey guys arriving in silvery saucers from the far-reaches of the cosmos. And taking into consideration that more people voted for who should win 'American Idol' than the presidency of the United States, I feel that the emphasis is on the entertainment value - and not political substance. As long as the space aliens can sing well - and look good on TV, who cares if they are invading?
Seriously though, people don't want this stuff to be true. But they love the fantasy.