Each age seems to change or rewrite some essential myths.
In the present age, which is also the virtual reality age, one of the more
widespread legends concerns UFO, unidentified flying objects or flying saucers.
Ever since pilot Kenneth Arnold reported seeing strange
objects flying over the state of Washington in 1947, rumors and reports of
spacecraft piloted by extraterrestrial beings have surfaced in the media.
By the late 1990s, the UFO myth had grown into an
elaborate set of stories about various kinds of aliens, some of which kidnap
humans. UFO stories bear striking similarities to earlier myths, such as
kidnappings by fairies and mysterious appearances of ghosts or demons.
Of course, in this “society of the spectacle” the
myth
becomes a commodity that can be sold and bought in the form of books, videos,
movies and courses. We find the professionals of the extraterrestrial visitors’
mythology; priests of the new religion promising to the believers the revelation
of the ufological mysteries and sacraments.
Ironically, the
lack of reliable evidence to support UFO claims reinforces the mythology, as the
self- proclaimed experts maintain that the absence of evidence points to a
government conspiracy or cover-up.
Conspiracies—secret forces that shape events and conceal
the truth from the public—appear in a number of modern myths, reflecting a failure of trust in previous
legends and the old belief in concealed and powerful cabals and shadow
organizations that control and manipulate the information and forbidden
knowledge.
En the UFO=ET mythology, the imaginary alien civilizations
multiply and some of these are “good”
and angelic, while others are “evil” or
daemonic.
Of course this Manichaeism is the new version of the traditional
fight between God and the Devil; the same opposition presented in a new form
for the modern consumer.
Again, since the presumed aliens are never present, the
professional exo-mythologists sooner or later must produce a new theology with
its mysteries and sacraments.
The “contactees” are now the prophets
who write the new sacred books.
The presence of the extraterrestrials is the new promise,
and the disclosure will bring the “kingdom
of heavens” to Earth in what looks as a new version of the Christian mythology.
In the new mythology the fight between the “true faith”
and heresy is evident in the mutual accusations of those who have different
interpretations of the UFO=ET dogma. It’s difficult to predict who will be the
winners, the representatives of the ‘true faith” and the losers or heretics.
