A Genealogy of the Extraterrestrial in American Culture
A Genealogy of the Extraterrestrial in American Culture
A Genealogy of the Extraterrestrial in American Culture
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attached to cultivat<strong>in</strong>g a follow<strong>in</strong>g spoke strongly aga<strong>in</strong>st consider<strong>in</strong>g such contactees reliable<br />
witnesses. Thus <strong>the</strong> research agenda <strong>of</strong> ufology <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> 1950s was unconcerned with contact as<br />
we have previously discussed it, except as a po<strong>in</strong>t <strong>of</strong> embarrassment. While <strong>the</strong> so-called<br />
“extraterrestrial hypo<strong>the</strong>sis” (hold<strong>in</strong>g that UFO’s are <strong>of</strong> extraterrestrial orig<strong>in</strong>) was among <strong>the</strong><br />
explanations put forward to expla<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> apparent presence <strong>of</strong> UFO’s, <strong>the</strong> focus was on <strong>the</strong> object,<br />
not on any ostensible occupants and certa<strong>in</strong>ly not on any “message” <strong>the</strong>y might have for<br />
humanity.<br />
The first efforts at <strong>the</strong> systematic study <strong>of</strong> fly<strong>in</strong>g saucers or UFO’s were carried out by<br />
U.S. armed forces. In that <strong>the</strong> objects seen <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> sky were potentially manned craft cruis<strong>in</strong>g U.S.<br />
airspace, <strong>the</strong> Air Force seemed a natural candidate for assess<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> nature <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> fly<strong>in</strong>g saucer.<br />
The Air Force had a long relationship with UFO phenomena that began shortly after Kenneth<br />
Arnold’s sight<strong>in</strong>g over <strong>the</strong> Cascades <strong>in</strong> 1947. Follow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> recommendation <strong>of</strong> Lt. Gen. Nathan<br />
F. Tw<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g, head <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Air Material Command, Project Sign began operation <strong>in</strong> January <strong>of</strong><br />
1948. In that first year <strong>of</strong> operation a clear split emerged between those sympa<strong>the</strong>tic to <strong>the</strong><br />
position that UFO’s might be <strong>in</strong>telligently piloted extraterrestrial craft (<strong>the</strong> e.t. hypo<strong>the</strong>sis) and<br />
those wholly unsympa<strong>the</strong>tic to <strong>the</strong> idea that UFO’s were anyth<strong>in</strong>g that could not be<br />
conventionally expla<strong>in</strong>ed. The early hypo<strong>the</strong>sis that UFO’s were potentially a Soviet technology<br />
was quickly dismissed after <strong>in</strong>itial <strong>in</strong>vestigations (though parallels between <strong>the</strong> Soviet menace<br />
and alien presence would cont<strong>in</strong>ue to be explored with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> prec<strong>in</strong>cts <strong>of</strong> popular culture). The<br />
split between <strong>the</strong> two factions came to a head when <strong>the</strong> pro-e.t. cont<strong>in</strong>gent prepared an<br />
“Estimation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Situation” and sent it up <strong>the</strong> ranks. The existence <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> document <strong>in</strong> question<br />
is controversial, <strong>the</strong> Air Force hav<strong>in</strong>g denied its existence for years. No copy <strong>of</strong> it has yet<br />
surfaced. Ostensibly <strong>the</strong> document suggested <strong>in</strong>terplanetary visitation as <strong>the</strong> most plausible<br />
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