We spend most of our time looking either downward or directly ahead, splitting our focus between screens and various realities.
For many of us, looking up is occasional—admiring the moon, watching a plane land, or enjoying a fireworks show. Our upward glances connect us to a world larger and more unknown than comprehension allows.
When you don’t know, you wonder.
Wonder, of any and every kind, is the imagination’s lifeblood. It is the great giver of ideas, the driver of progress, and the unique ability our species shares—or maybe not (we might encounter others). This article asks the reader neither to believe nor disbelieve in visitation from beyond Earth’s borders; only that you look up and let these screen stories spark your wonder.
Science fiction films have bestowed upon us countless opportunities to reflect on our relationship with the unknown. Films about extraterrestrial life and UFOs tap into shared human curiosity, cultural anxieties, and the longing to explore the limits of what we understand. Depictions of other worlds provide space for storytelling that amplifies the voices of those terrestrial dwellers whose experiences, ideas, hopes, and fears we haven’t heard enough of.
1940S–1950S: KLAATU BARADA NIKTO.
The recipe for the signature cocktail of 1940s and 1950s science fiction films called for spirits not often used before, with some components entirely new: Cold War anxiety, fear of nuclear self-destruction, mainstream distrust of government, and three dashes of the 1947 Roswell Incident.
On July 8, 1947, the headline of The Roswell Daily Record read: “RAAF Captures Flying Saucer”—in many ways becoming the starting point of a symbiotic relationship between the news media, the unknown, and the films that would be defined by it.
Three years later, on September 18, 1951, “The Day the Earth Stood Still” was released. Based on the short story “Farewell to the Master” by Harry Bates, its subject matter wouldn’t have been new to a public that had spent difficult war years lost in the pages of cheap pulp fiction novels.
“The Day the Earth Stood Still” opens with scenes of radio broadcasts from all around the world reporting on a flying saucer, interspersed with the reactions of people listening to those broadcasts. The tone is set by Bernard Herrmann’s iconic and otherworldly score.
Science fiction films during this period often explored the truth and transparency of those trusted to share it. Juxtaposing newspaper and radio reports with everyday people reading and listening to them created an onscreen experience that likely invited American viewers to question institutions they hadn’t before.
1960s–1970s: WE ARE NOT ALONE.
During the 60s and 70s, humanity took its first steps on the moon and ventured into new realms of social and personal liberty, with countercultural movements and pioneering films challenging conventional storytelling.
Science fiction prior had often diverged from the narrative complexity of the literary source material for belief that relying primarily on action would result in larger audiences. Those audiences had distinctly different cultural attitudes, informed by the civil rights movement, the war in Vietnam, as well as a distinct shift toward questioning authority and traditional family structures.
The death of the studio system gave rise to mainstream movies with multi-dimensional narratives, complexity of character motivations, and screens showing a morality unable to be measured in black and white as before.
“Close Encountersof of the Third Kind” (1977) emphasized the emotional and psychological journey of the characters, particularly that of the protagonist, Roy Neary, played by Richard Dreyfuss. The journey from his first close encounter to his last is anything but peaceful but so wonder-filled that depth in the human experience is felt as audiences had not been encouraged by the science fiction films made prior. The development of his connection with the extraterrestrial visitors is juxtaposed with struggles to communicate within his family structure and to know the supposed natural contentment that should come with it.
Led to find others with similar experiences, and ultimately gathering for a monumental meeting between humans and extraterrestrials. In a world where we aren’t alone, we may gain the ability to wonder if we are where and with whom we want to be.
2000s: SWING AWAY, MERRILL.
While at a friend’s house on an afternoon in 2003, I crossed my fingers and called my mom to ask permission to watch “Signs” (2002). I knew aliens were involved, but I had no foreknowledge otherwise. Eager to explore every lane, side street, and shady backwater film had to offer... I can still remember the joy I felt when I heard, “Yes.”
“Signs” is the story of a family living on a secluded farm who begin to experience a series of mysterious events, culminating in the discovery of crop circles and an imminent alien invasion. But if left there, I would feel that a disservice to both film and viewer had been done. This film sparked my awareness in what became my narrative tool. In telling a story of the fantastic, we walk closer to the experiences of the characters witnessing the unbelievable.
Alien invasion parallels the real-world fears of external threats in a world reeling from terrorism, with the loss of a loved one intermingled with the loss of faith, safety, and security. Films’ interplanetary visitors come with warnings, intent both ill and benevolent, and always with questions. But our reaction—our response—our gathering of resources can become even more compelling on screen than the little green or gray stars of the show.
The most uncommon element is not the appearance of a crop circle or even that of extraterrestrial invasion; it is the incomprehensible set of events in our lives that lead us to the ones we can’t see yet. In times of pain, fear, and uncertainty, there is hope in knowing that there exists value in what we can’t see and don’t know yet.
2020s: WHAT’S A BAD MIRACLE?
I assumed I’d be first in line for 2022’s “Nope,” but its release window passed before I made it to the theater. I knew, though, that sometime in the near-distant future something glorious awaited me.
Falling into a favorite category for me—Western science fiction horror—”Nope” follows siblings OJ and Emerald Haywood, who run a horse ranch in California. After witnessing strange and unexplainable occurrences in the sky, they discover a mysterious UFO-like entity. To safeguard the experience for those whose first watch awaits them sometime in the future, I will not elaborate any further in terms of the plot.
“Nope” follows the tradition of blending social commentary with science fiction by filmmakers of color. Movies that are evocations of heroes, horrors, histories, realities, and the hopes of those out them on screen.
Strange lights in the distance, stories of abduction, invasion, and phenomena we can’t explain yet connect the past to the future by bending fiction and reality. Inviting us to look up so that we can see backwards, forwards, and into dimensions of experience outside our own.
If they contact you first, please let me know.
