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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after all <strong>of</strong> space ships—open <strong>the</strong> door to a renewed effort to establish scientific credibility for<br />
<strong>the</strong> phenomena <strong>of</strong> extraterrestrial contact.<br />
CONCLUSION<br />
In <strong>the</strong> current context, <strong>the</strong> period follow<strong>in</strong>g World War II is most notable for <strong>the</strong> arrival <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
fly<strong>in</strong>g saucer. The appearance <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se unidentified fly<strong>in</strong>g objects marked a bifurcation <strong>in</strong> our<br />
tale. In <strong>the</strong> cont<strong>in</strong>u<strong>in</strong>g saga <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> space bro<strong>the</strong>rs, <strong>the</strong> saucer made its appearance only<br />
sometimes. In <strong>the</strong> case <strong>of</strong> Dorothy Mart<strong>in</strong>—a case that bore all <strong>the</strong> earmarks <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> space bro<strong>the</strong>r<br />
ethos—<strong>the</strong> saucer played no discernible role. Mart<strong>in</strong>’s contacts were from o<strong>the</strong>r planets, a fact<br />
that lent an <strong>in</strong>creased solidity to <strong>the</strong>ir pr<strong>of</strong>ile, but <strong>the</strong>y had no evident need for material transport.<br />
In that <strong>the</strong>y communicated to Mart<strong>in</strong> via traditional occult means—automatic writ<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> this<br />
particular case—<strong>the</strong>y had no need to travel physically <strong>in</strong> order to convey <strong>the</strong>ir wisdom.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> case <strong>of</strong> Adamski, <strong>the</strong> space bro<strong>the</strong>rs appeared <strong>in</strong> embodied form and thus, <strong>in</strong> a<br />
rationalist framework, would require physical transport. The <strong>in</strong>sertion <strong>of</strong> a physical craft <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong><br />
alien-human communication nexus is an ironic turn given <strong>the</strong> general movement away from<br />
embodied communication foreshadowed by <strong>the</strong> rise <strong>of</strong> electronic media. The advent <strong>of</strong><br />
telegraphy was perhaps most notable for its divorce <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> message from an embodied<br />
messenger. Before telegraphy, communication between two parties at a distance required <strong>the</strong><br />
physical (versus electrical) transportation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> message across space. This newly disembodied<br />
mode <strong>of</strong> communication was reflected <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> modes via which <strong>the</strong> O<strong>the</strong>rs <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> contexts <strong>of</strong><br />
Spiritualism and Theosophy (most <strong>of</strong>ten) communicated with humans. With <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>troduction <strong>of</strong><br />
embodied encounters with masters and sundry O<strong>the</strong>rs from distant planets, <strong>the</strong> physical<br />
component <strong>of</strong> communication was re-<strong>in</strong>troduced. The <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g presence <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> fly<strong>in</strong>g saucer <strong>in</strong><br />
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