Men in Black
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The term Men in Black (MIB), in popular culture, is used in UFO conspiracy theories to describe men dressed in black suits, sometimes with glowing eyes or other monstrous features, claiming to be government agents who attempt to harass or threaten UFO witnesses into silence. "All MIB are not necessarily garbed in dark suits," writes American writer Jerome Clark. "The term is a generic one, used to refer to any unusual, threatening or strangely behaved individual whose appearance on the scene can be linked in some fashion with a UFO sighting." [1]
The phenomenon was initially and most frequently reported in the 1950s and 1960s; it is contemporaneous with many other conspiracy theories. The MIB supposedly intimidated a reporter in Pinewood, West Virginia to stop writing articles in newspapers about the MIB's presence in Pinewood. Pinewood was near the area where alleged sightings of a creature dubbed the Mothman were popular in the late 1960s, which make some people believe that the MIB are linked with the Mothman.
The term has also been adopted as a tongue-in-cheek term in geek culture for any generic suited government/corporate official. This usage has its roots in both the popularity of shows such as The X-Files and UFO culture, and the "threat" to hackers of Men in Black actually coming for them (in the form of the FBI or other cybercrime institutions).
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[edit] Existence
The actual existence of Men in Black is the subject of much debate. Testimony of supposed witnesses is typically the only evidence presented in alleged Men in Black encounters and eyewitness testimony. (Indeed, one could argue that the involvement of Men in Black is often used as an excuse for lack of evidence in certain alleged UFO encounters, but it is unclear how often this has actually been the case).
Some versions of the Men in Black conspiracy theory have led to the belief of odd mannerisms and dress of the Men in Black are due to the fact that they are aliens or alien-human hybrids, and that their job is to eliminate physical evidence of alien involvement on earth. Others believe that they are actual government agents who intentionally dress and act ridiculously, in an attempt to get UFO witnesses to discredit themselves if they ever report such an encounter.
[edit] Physical description
Aside from the archetypal black suits and sunglasses, Men in Black are often described by alleged witnesses as wearing clothing either radically out of style or not yet in style. Their rarely-seen eyes are described as either slanted and vaguely Asian or "popping" as if from a thyroid condition. They also are described as having very long fingers. Their voices are frequently described as "electronic," with no discernible accent. They also seem to drive antiquated black Cadillacs that seem and smell brand new.[2]
[edit] Behavior
Men in Black always seem to have detailed information on the persons they contact, as if the individual had been under surveillance for a prolonged amount of time. They will also seemingly be confused by the nature of everyday items, such as pens, eating utensils or food, and use outdated slang. The behavior of Men in Black wildly varies from individual to individual, however. They will either act as if they are from an agency trying to collect data about the unexplained phenomena their subject has seen, they are said to use instruments to wipe the memory of their subjects clean or they seem to be trying to suppress information, trying to convince their subject the phenomena never existed. They will sometimes behave exceedingly furtive or be completely outgoing, with wide grins and disconcerting giggles.[2]
[edit] Possible explanations
[edit] Folkloric explanations
Although the phenomenon was initially and most frequently reported in the 1950s and 1960s, some researchers — John Keel and others — have suggested similarities between Men in Black reports and earlier demonic accounts. Rojcewicz noted that many Men in Black accounts parallel tales of people encountering the devil: Neither Men in Black nor the devil are quite human, and witnesses often discover this fact midway through an encounter. The meaning of this parallel, however, has been the subject of debate.
[edit] Alien Explanations
Some UFO cases claim that these entities are aliens themselves. See the MAAR, other websites below and go to www.ufocasebook.com/SEARCH: Men In Black.
[edit] Military/CIA explanations
More prosaically, Clark cites Bill Moore, who asserts that "the Men in Black are really government people in disguise ... members of a rather bizarre unit of Air Force Intelligence known currently as the Air Force Special Activities Center (AFSAC) ... As of 1991, the AFSAC, headquartered in Fort Belvoir, Virginia," and "under the operational authority of Air Force Intelligence Command centered at Kelly Air Force Base in Texas." (Clark, 321–22) Curiously, Moore also reports that AFSAC was inspired by the tales of Men in Black from the 1950s, and had nothing to do with those early accounts.
Similarly, Clark notes that Dr Michael D. Swords has suggested, in an admittedly speculative manner, that the Barker/Bender Men in Black case (occurring shortly after the CIA-directed Robertson Panel issued its recommendations to spy on civilian UFO groups) might have been a psychological warfare experiment.
Individuals who may be considered a risk to national security, based on loose conversation or publishing information after being 'read-in' to or 'read-out' of a special access program, are sometimes visited by 'men in suits,' according to an unnamed source at AFFTC Det 3. These 'men' are very much human but can bring a tremendous amount of pressure to conform to the terms of the signed disclosure restriction statement due to the authority they have from an undisclosed federal agency.
[edit] Hoax explanation
In his article, "Gray Barker: My Friend, the Myth-Maker," John C. Sherwood reveals that at age eighteen, he collaborated with Gray Barker to create a hoax about what Barker called "blackmen," three mysterious UFO inhabitants who silenced Sherwood's pseudonymous identity, "Dr. Richard H. Pratt."[3]
[edit] MIB references in popular culture
[edit] Film and television
There are many references to the Men in Black in film and television, some oblique and some straightforward.
- Men in Black, starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, and its 2002 sequel Men in Black II
- The Matrix film trilogy.
- In the movie The Forgotten, a man who doesn't dress in the MIB style is seen as one of these people performing an experiment.
- In the 1999 film My Favorite Martian, Ray Walston (star of the 60's TV series which inspired the film) plays an MIB pursuing Christopher Lloyd's alien Uncle Martin.
- In the 2007 movie Transformers, agents of Sector Seven -- a secret organization of the United States government -- are portrayed as MIB's.
- The X-Files (TV series)
- In 2007, a short film called Truth, directed by Nic Collins, also centers around the Men in Black conspiracy, showing the Men in Black as aliens disguised as humans and using intimidation to discredit the witness. Features the Majestic-12.
- Dark Skies (TV series. Also features the Majestic-12.)
- In the 2002 film Lilo and Stitch, the MIB stereotype is used to portray a sinister figure of authority. Here, the tall, intimidating Social Worker Cobra Bubbles is a retired CIA agent who was involved in the Roswell incident.
[edit] Music
British rock band The Stranglers, by their own admission, became obsessed with the Men in Black theory around 1979–81, culminating in the release of their concept album The Gospel According to the Meninblack. They attributed the many calamities they suffered around the time to the influence of the Men in Black.
Pixies front man Frank Black wrote about alien sightings and Area 51 in his later work with the Pixies, and continued with the topics into his solo career.
Will Smith also made a song called The MIB (Men in Black) for the movie Men in Black (film) in 1997.
[edit] Books and comics
The Men in Black have been portrayed several times in comics, most notably in Lowell Cunningham's 1990 Aircel comic The Men in Black, later adapted into the two films mentioned above. British comic 2000AD ran a series called "Vector 13" about them.
Horror author Kim Newman also featured featuring MIB-like characters, known as the Undertakers in smoked spectacles, in several of his Diogenes Club stories. The Undertaking is an organisation with connections to the British government, but is often in conflict with the similarly-connected Diogenes agents.
Author David Lynn Golemon wrote a novel, Event, featuring MIB characters.
Irregular Webcomic! also features a Man in Black as a recurring character in the Martians theme. A running gag is the fact that he appears immediately after anyone mentions aliens to convince them that aliens do not exist, sometimes even to the Martians themselves.
Italian comic Martin Mystère features The Men in Black as a secret and ancient society of men aiming to hide knowledge and technology from humanity, waiting for the right moment in the future to unveil them.
[edit] Games
Role-playing and computer games also use the men in black, particularly, West End Games Men in Black RPG, Delta Green, Destroy All Humans!, Mage: The Ascension, Teenagers from Outer Space, Deus Ex, DIB (Duke In Black), Conspiracy X, and GURPS Black Ops.
Many characters in video games are also similar to descriptions of Men in Black, one of the most notable being the G-Man from the Half-Life series.
[edit] See also
- Anomalous phenomenon
- Unidentified flying object
- Aerial Phenomena Enquiry Network
- Chilling effect
- Forteana
- Majestic 12
- Phantom Social Workers
[edit] Notes
- ^ Clark, Jerome (1996). The UFO Encyclopedia, volume 3: High Strangeness, UFO’s from 1960 through 1979. Omnigraphis. 317-18.
- ^ a b The Big Book of Conspiracies pp122-123
- ^ Sherwood, John C.. Gray Barker: My Friend, the Myth-Maker. Skeptical Inquirer. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
[edit] References
- Clark, Jerome (1996). The UFO Encyclopedia, volume 3: High Strangeness, UFO’s from 1960 through 1979. Omnigraphis. ISBN 1-55888-742-3.
- Wallace, Chevon. Albert Bender and the M.I.B. Mystery. Bridgeport Public Schools. Retrieved on 2006-09-10.
- Barker, Gray (1956). They Knew Too Much about Flying Saucers. New York: University Books. ISBN 1-881532-10-0.
- Condon, Edward; Daniel S. Gilmor, ed. (1968). Final Report of the Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects. New York: Batnam. ISBN.
- Dash, Mike (2000). Borderlands: The Ultimate Exploration of the Unknown. Overlook. ISBN 0-87951-724-7.
- Evans, Beriah (March 1905). "Merionethshire Mysteries". The Occult Review 1 (3). William Rider and Sons.
- Keel, John (1971). Our Haunted Planet. Fawcett. ISBN.
- Keel, John (1976). The Mothman Prophecies. Saturday Review Press. ISBN 0-7653-4197-2.
- Randles, Jenny; Peter Houghe (1994). The Complete Book of UFOs: An Investigation into Alien Contact and Encounters. Sterling. ISBN 0-8069-8132-6.
- Druffel, Ann; Dwight Connelly, ed. (February 2006). "Heflin's 1965 Photos Validated". MUFON UFO Journal (454). MUFON UFO Network.
[edit] External links
- The Brother from Another Planet at the Internet Movie Database
- Malevolent Alien Abduction Research Organization: Click on "Species", then See entry on "Men in Black"
- www.maxpages.com/mapit/Men_In_Black
- The Winter Hill MIB Case
- Men In Black Are Aliens
- Staging a UFO Crash to attract MIBs
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