I have to say that the movie that was based on the book was a strange mix. The content, like the book, was complete bullshit, but the movie was technically well made and had quite a pleasant soundtrack. I am not in any way recommending that anyone subject themselves to this bullshit, just saying that it was surprising. I don’t remember how or why I came to watch it, it was a great many years ago.
The essence of what Von Daniken did was to cite a whole bunch of completely unrelated phenomena, like the Nazca Lines and Bermuda Triangle incidents, leap to outrageous and totally unsupported conclusions, and claim that aliens are the commonality behind all of them.
As I recall, it was shown on TV a few times, so maybe you caught one of those airings. I saw it on TV too, but it lost me when it remarked upon an Aztec or Incan stone carving where it was explained that, “This is an ancient astronaut, with his hands on the controls and his foot on what is plainly a gas pedal.” Waitaminute—spaceships have gas pedals? Yeahhh …
But it was entertaining as hell, as long as you accepted it in the same way you accept pro wrestling—you know it’s BS, but it’s entertaining in a weird way.
In about 1975 or so, he gave a lecture in Toronto, and I was gifted a ticket. I think it was more because, “Well, I guess we can’t sell them all, so give away some to make it look like a packed house for the press photographers.” Anyway, I went, and he rehashed pretty much Chariots of the Gods, both book and movie. Nothing new there. But I had taken my copy of the book, and got to meet him and I got his autograph in my book.
His kind of stuff has been with us longer than he has. I recall reading Chariot of the Gods? for the first time and thinking that I already had books from several authors claiming the same things – chiefly Frank Edwards and some French dude. I learned about Charts Fort later. By that time I had also learned about how such writers bent and distorted the truth and ignored or dismissed more rational criticism of their work.
We’ve still got Graham Hancock and Robert Temple and plenty of others.
I’ve disliked EvD for some decades now, but I always thought of him as just a grifter, not an open racist beyond the whole “If it’s impressive and not by Europeans then it’s made by aliens!” general racism of the whole “Ancient Aliens/Atlanteans” shit.
But I just googled “Sign of the gods” and well, let EvD speak for himself:
When I was a young teenager, I avidly read his books, and the Bermuda Triangle books, and I did my biorhythms, and was fascinated by Uri Geller and pyramid power and my horoscope…and I’m glad I did that, because as I got older it gave me a better sense, I think, of how irredeemably fucking stupid all of it is, but also why it can be attractive.
I think a lot of us did, is not a shame to be fascinated by fascinating stuff when younger, but if as you grow older and wiser you fail to detect the bullshit and the racism… well, you have a problem.
For whatever reason the algorithm in my social showed me Giorgio (“I’m not saying it’s aliens, but look at this haircut”) Tsoukalos’ thread on this and to no one’s surprise you’d think a frikkin Nobel Prize Winning Pope had died. Geez…
In the early 80s, in eighth or ninth grade, our German teacher (who was also our history teacher) let us read and analyse texts by von Däniken. It was an example for him to point out manipulative textual techniques and teach us critical thinking. It was a revelation for me, and I’m still thankful for that lesson.
