Movie 'The Fourth Kind' sheds light on UFOs, human beings

Steve Hammons
American Chronicle

October 27, 2009

(This article originally appeared on the Transcendent TV & Media site.)

Are non-human intelligent beings abducting humans? And if so, how and why?

The new movie THE FOURTH KIND deals with a topic that has become part of the tales, rumors and reports associated with UFOs and theories about visitation to Earth of extraterrestrial, extra-dimensional or other intelligent beings.

In the film, due in theatres Nov. 6, Milla Jovovich stars as a behavioral health professional working with clients who have apparent sleep disorders.

She soon discovers that these individuals are having difficulties because they apparently have experienced something very frightening and troubling – they may have been abducted by non-human beings of some kind, and for unclear purposes.

So-called "alien abductions" have been explored in various books, TV shows and movies. But, is there any truth to this phenomenon?

ABDUCTION IN THE MEDIA

The concept of human abductions by "aliens" appeared on many people's radar in 1987 and 1988 with the publication of the books INTRUDERS and MISSING TIME by artist and researcher Budd Hopkins.

Hopkins had become interested in the UFO topic and began to question individuals who, under hypnosis, recalled these strange abduction experiences.

Some critics said hypnosis was an unreliable method to elicit accurate memories and that the people under hypnosis could be inadvertently persuaded to come up with false memories of alien abduction experiences.

However, when highly-respected Harvard School of Medicine psychiatrist John Mack, M.D., began to come to conclusions similar to researchers such as Hopkins, this topic gained credibility. (Mack was also a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, having written a biography of T. E. Lawrence – "Lawrence of Arabia.")

In the early 1990s, Mack conducted a research study of 200 people who felt they may have had an alien abduction experience. He reportedly initially believed these people must have had some type of mental health problem. However, after interviewing and examining them, he found this not to be case.

Mack also noted that he felt an apparent spiritual or transformational experience on the part of these people was significant.

His subsequent 1999 book, PASSPORT TO THE COSMOS: HUMAN TRANSFORMATION AND ALIEN ENCOUNTERS, remains one of the most respected works on this topic. His book ABDUCTION: HUMAN ENCOUNTERS WITH ALIENS was published in 2007.

Another writer who explored this subject was Whitley Strieber. His book COMMUNION, published in 1987, reported what Strieber claimed were his own abduction experiences. He went on to write several other books dealing with this topic.

The 1993 movie FIRE IN THE SKY also brought the alien abduction issue into widespread public awareness. The film was based on an alleged 1975 experience of Snowflake, Arizona, resident Travis Walton, who claimed he was abducted in front of several fellow workers as they drove through an Arizona national forest after a day of clearing brush.

The 2002 TV mini-series TAKEN, produced by the Steven Spielberg organization, also further explored the ideas surrounding alleged abductions.

CREDIBLE REPORTS

According to some UFO lore, when elements of the U.S. Government became aware of unusual visitation to Earth during the 1940s, communication was made and liaison between certain officials and the visitors was established.

Many reports in the UFO literature suggest that it did become known that the visitors wished to examine humans – for purposes that are not entirely clear.

Stories and accounts of these abductions often involve people seeing a UFO, while driving for example, then experiencing "missing time" about which they have no memory – at least, no easily-accessible conscious memory. Later, they may experience troubling feelings or memories, along with physical marks or scars.

In other cases, people claim they are abducted from their beds at night. They report the same kinds of experiences as those who say they were taken while awake.

Both adults and children have may have had these experiences, according to the accounts in various UFO literature.

The tales of these very close encounters range from highly questionable to apparently fairly reliable witnesses and researchers. This has also been the case with those who claim to have seen UFOs. While some reports of sightings may not hold water, many other witnesses have been found to be highly credible pilots, military personnel, peace officers and respectable citizens of all kinds.

When moviegoers head out to see THE FOURTH KIND, there will probably be more discussion about what has been going on with UFOs, unusual visitors and close encounters with humans.

It seems to be a subject worth researching, and there are many reliable and worthwhile sources of information available.

THE FOURTH KIND may help us understand more about alleged alien visitation and about ourselves.

NOTE TO READERS: For more information, please visit the Joint Recon Study Group and Transcendent TV & Media sites and have a look around.