One of our local TV stations is (even as I type) doing a rebroadcast of the ‘Alien Autopsy - Fact or Fiction?’ thing. In prime time, during the season opener month. Since there have been a number of UFO (or was that ULV, can’t find the appropriate thread now?) threads here, I’d thought I’d post a few thoughts.
I watched the first bit waiting for some hint of the ‘Fiction’ half and it didn’t seem to be forthcoming; but - as far as I know, the film has even been discredited by most serious UFO researchers. Words escape me, let’s just say that this … saddens me. Fighting ignorance since 1973, and the media still exposes the masses to this kind of obvious money grubbing hokum. You have to wonder what the point is (the point of the fight, not the point of the film - when I first saw the thing, I did some poking around and it was pretty obvious that the point of the film was to get a bunch of network air time).
I’m undecided as to which forum to post this in. Could be a great debate, unless I ask Contestant #3 for an opinion, in which case it should go in the BBQ pit (and unless someone’s come up with a dramatic new piece of evidence, the debate was over years ago anyway). Could be a MPSIMS I guess, doesn’t seem to be a general question; what to do, what to do?
I guess I’ll toss in the pit as a personal challenge to C#3 - come up with some compelling heresay or maybe >one< web page that will make me believe that the film is real …
Sigh, try to make it reasonably compelling, please? Thks,
-E-
Dilbert: But that would be dating myself
Dogbert: Well, it’s not like anyone else would date you
Thanks, C3, and I apologize for generalizing. I did an assume, and I’ll take any consequenses. Maybe this really should have gone to General Questions or somewhere else entirely. I suppose the reason I finally decided on the pit was that I’m really pissed off about the state of awareness today. People REALLY do believe this kind of crap and this depresses me no end. I have no opinion about aliens; once one finally walks up to me and introduces itself, then I’ll have an opinion. Until then … I try to keep an open mind.
Okay, let’s start over: PEOPLE ARE IDIOTS!!! WhO COULd PISSIBLY BELIEVE THAT THE ROSWEL AUTOPSI WAS FAKED???
Better? Nah, didn’t think so.
The point is, I’m starting to believe that most people REALLY are idiots. This stuff was on during prime time, and a whole whack of people watched just because the TV was on; and a whole whack of people will believe the show is true just because ‘It’s on TV, it must be true’. There’s an entire generation of people who have been conditioned by the media and they’re prepared to believe anything they see on TV as absolute truth. Witness the number of people who think that the soap opera actors are actually their characters. Idiots, but they’re all around us.
Okay: so the real rant is - what the hell are people thinking? Do we all buy into the collective hive and give up our selves? Or do we try to live our lives and maybe make an informed decision once and a while? Oh, gawd, this really does belong in Great Debates.
Sorry, wrong topic …
Dilbert: But that would be dating myself
Dogbert: Well, it’s not like anyone else would date you
The “Alien Autopsy Film” is an obvious hoax, and it is very unfortunate that serious UFO research has to suffer because of this kind of nonsense.
I think “Contestant #3” (intersting name) was right on with his comments that: “Sure, some sightings are natural phenonema, some are hoaxes, some are delusions, some are weather balloons, some are terrestrial aircraft, etc…but some probably are extra-terrestrial crafts…”
At the extremes we have those who are either foolish enough to believe that we are alone in this vast universe or foolish enough to believe that there is an alien behind every bush and tree :)!
I can only hope that serious and unbiased research will finally uncover the truth.
Well, I may be a sprikng chicken when it comes to posting, but I feel like an old-timer compared to 1420Vel. Since I don’t have my John Madden telestrator handy, I’ll do the best I can.
Bad sign #1. We start off with 4 posts that are thought out, cogent, solid give and take, and pretty decent ideas written out. This is lovingly followed up with a sentence that includes as many punctuation marks as vowels.
Bad Sign #2. The sole reasoning behind the “No aliens” thought is the F-word. Well, I don’t know about you, but my opinion has been swayed. I am now a full believer that we are alone in the universe. Don’t let this guy anywhere near the X-Files, because his argument would obviously debunk everything the show goes for.
Bad Sign #3. The sentence “My 1st post in the pit - hope I do it right.” Maybe, just maybe, this wouldn’t be such a bad signal if it had been followed with anything other than a grunt, a couple of words whacked out on the keyboard, and the possible (but unlikely) use of an opposable thumb in hitting the enter key.
Try again, give an effort, use some verbs.
It’s not bragging if you can do it - Satchel Paige
Okay, let’s start over. The problem I have here is the fact that network TV is broadcasting some crap that anyone with more than forteen viable brain cells would believe is obviously false. They also use what’s-his-name Rikker from STTNG as a face to try to make it more credible. During prime time. And present it as a documetary with a title ‘Fact or Fiction’ and then pretty much ignore the ‘Fiction’ aspect.
The thing followed Jepoardy, for what it’s worth - I wonder how many mouth breathers actually had to watch part of the only intelligent game show left because they flipped channels too early? Bet they didn’t do too well, Alex (as far as I know) has never used the f word on the show. Or, if he has, it never got to air …
I think this is going to be a gumpy day, wish me luck everyone.
Dilbert: But that would be dating myself
Dogbert: Well, it’s not like anyone else would date you
You know, since this is the pit, I would just like to say that people could try doing a search (even a quick one) to find answers before posting. (I don’t just mean this question, I mean on all the boards). Most times I find the answer in less then a minute by doing a simple search. This one was from Cecils classic columns…
Zette, thanks for posting the link. As soon as I opened it, I recalled reading it. My question, though, was not “Oh my gosh, is this real?”, it was more like “How can they show this kind of arrogance airing such obvious crap?”
A bit of background: earlier in the day yesterday, a coworker went to great lengths telling me about a bit he’d seen on one of those pseudo news shows (he didn’t remember the show’s name, but it sounded like a 20/20 type of thing). The amazing revelation he came away with was that not only is there a new strain of resistant TB that’s almost universally fatal, but the Russian prison system is to blame for unleashing it on the world. Well, maybe little tiny bits of this story are true, but jeeze … The guy is otherwise fairly intelligent but somehow the fact that the story showed up on TV made it credible. Then I saw the autopsy was back and sort of lost it.
Finally, the pit is probably the best place to post this thread after all. My original intent should have been to tell the world that I’m pissed off with the frigging TV and if it wasn’t for the kid’s PlayStation (and his addiction to football), I’d have a formal dropping it off the roof ceremony. Probably wouldn’t accomplish much but I’d feel a lot better.
Regards,
-E-
Dilbert: But that would be dating myself
Dogbert: Well, it’s not like anyone else would date you
I agree that it’s really irresponsible to present that “Alien Autopsy” with promos like “fact or hoax”. It’s neither- it’s just a movie…but it’s also the stuff that makes people believers and it gets ratings, so they don’t care. Kind of how the Enquirer sells papers. The truth isn’t important- just the bottom line…
OK, here’s the solution. Jonathan Frakes (sp?) hosted a (blessedly) short-lived show on (I think) Fox called “Fact or Fiction.” He’d run through several weird stories and ask the viewer to contemplate the veracity of them. Then, only at the very end after the last commercial break, did he reveal which ones actually happened.
I don’t know whether he claimed this particular one was fact or fiction, nor do I know whether the determinations the show made were correct in general. This was a junk show of the worst kind, making “In Search Of” look like groundbreaking research by comparison. But that’s the show you saw, and he probably said “fiction” at the end.
I now return you to your regularly scheduled (and justified) rant.
Fact or fiction? Well, I take some credit for the fact that I didn’t watch the whole fiction to find out.
I did a short search of the web looking for a site promoting all this as true. Knowing the web, there have to be a few, but the anti sites were all at the top of the lists. Maybe there’s some hope after all.
I’ve got the radio on now, and I feel strangely relaxed …
Dilbert: But that would be dating myself
Dogbert: Well, it’s not like anyone else would date you
Sorry. It turns out you were right all along. Frakes, in addition to the short-lived trash show I saw, did in fact host an even trashier hour-long ditty called “Alien Autopsy - Fact or Fiction” which, while pretending to maintain a veneer of objectivity, never explicitly debunked the “autopsy” for the fiction it is.
Unfortunately, I have to agree with SuperNerd, the majority of people actually believe what they see on TV! What a sad state of affairs that is considering what crap is being broadcast these days, including the docu-hoax “Alien Autopsy”.
You can’t even rely on an unbiased news report! Since GE owns, I believe, NBC do you think NBC is ever going to be critical of anything GE does?! The same goes for newspapers! They openly endorse politicians running for office! So, of course, they are going to slam those they did not endorse!
So it goes back to what SuperNerd said about if its in the papers (media), it must true.
And most of the ones who don’t believe what they see/hear from the media are the extremists like those at Ruby Ridge, Waco, The Freemen, The Unabomber, etc. But then they don’t believe anything except the voices in their heads!
1-800-77ALIEN? Now I’m depressed again - this thing was obviously a hoax (Diane mentioned that the perpetrators had actually confirmed this, true or not?), and … it’s still on TV and they’re still selling video copies?
manhatten: yeah, I figure the one I bumped into was the special one hour version. Complete with Frakes looking berry berry serious and directing pointed questions to the camera. Kind of pitiful, what’s he been doing since he lost his job at star fleet?
Dilbert: But that would be dating myself
Dogbert: Well, it’s not like anyone else would date you
[quote]
mullinator, I did not say that we are alone in the universe only that they have not visited us. All that analysis and you still missed the point.[\quote]
My questions - Where in the world did you say that? How the heck was there any point to miss in your first post? Hard to miss a point when all you give me is a dull edge.
It’s not bragging if you can do it - Satchel Paige
Heh. Tune into Art Bell or Rush Limbaugh* if you want a reminder that radio audiences can be JUST as gullible as TV audiences.
*) I put Limbaugh in the same category as Art bell because, whether or not you agree with his politics, he has a nasty habit of not checking his facts properly.
