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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constitutes an extended exposure to <strong>the</strong> Real. The words <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> abductee under hypnosis, <strong>the</strong><br />
very act <strong>of</strong> description, comprise <strong>the</strong> stuff <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> suture. The goal, <strong>in</strong> short, is to normalize an<br />
experience, <strong>the</strong> thrust <strong>of</strong> which is to shatter any commonplace sense <strong>of</strong> normality. The goal is to<br />
reconstruct <strong>the</strong> experience <strong>in</strong> such a way that “<strong>the</strong> je reemerges from its encounter with nihility,<br />
re<strong>in</strong>forced <strong>in</strong> its position as <strong>the</strong> center <strong>of</strong> its experience... [so that] <strong>the</strong> subjects sense <strong>of</strong> be<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
subject is heightened, not undone.” Through <strong>the</strong> process <strong>of</strong> hypnotic regression, <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>rapist<br />
attempts to reconvene <strong>the</strong> abductee’s sense <strong>of</strong> self as <strong>in</strong>tegrated subject. The reason this sutur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
cannot be entirely effective is that <strong>in</strong> accept<strong>in</strong>g abduction as actual experience—a necessary step<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>tegration—<strong>the</strong> world as it is understood by consensus reality is rendered fundamentally<br />
askew. As one abduction researcher has noted, “I…f<strong>in</strong>d that abductees usually want to believe<br />
anyth<strong>in</strong>g else. The genu<strong>in</strong>e abductee is constantly look<strong>in</strong>g for o<strong>the</strong>r reasons, until <strong>the</strong>y reach a<br />
po<strong>in</strong>t <strong>of</strong> acceptance.” 316<br />
There can be no normalization <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> abduction experience short <strong>of</strong><br />
accept<strong>in</strong>g a world where aliens exist, physical laws are subject to suspension, and time is so<br />
malleable as to be rendered merely conceptual.<br />
The experiential components <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> abduction scenario tear at <strong>the</strong> screen, expos<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />
abductee to <strong>the</strong> naked Gaze. The broader discourse <strong>of</strong> alien presence and contact, upon close<br />
exam<strong>in</strong>ation, shows a proliferation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>matic <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Gaze. The version <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> tale that<br />
places <strong>the</strong> orig<strong>in</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> human species <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> hands <strong>of</strong> extraterrestrials imag<strong>in</strong>es that human<br />
be<strong>in</strong>gs have been subject to <strong>the</strong> surveillance <strong>of</strong> alien <strong>in</strong>telligence for as long as humans have<br />
existed. In this scenario, <strong>the</strong> progress, or lack <strong>the</strong>re<strong>of</strong>, <strong>of</strong> humanity is <strong>of</strong> central importance to <strong>the</strong><br />
“space bro<strong>the</strong>rs.” The grays enact <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>me <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Gaze. In <strong>the</strong> context <strong>of</strong> abduction, humans,<br />
subject to <strong>in</strong>tense scrut<strong>in</strong>y and exam<strong>in</strong>ation, are reduced to <strong>the</strong> level <strong>of</strong> object. They are so<br />
316 Patricia Shaw, “People with Unsubstantiated Claims <strong>of</strong> ET Contact” <strong>in</strong> Alien Discussions: Proceed<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
Abduction Study Conference, ed. Pritchard et al. (Cambridge, MA: Cambridge Press, 1994) 25.<br />
217