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Encyclopedia > Extraterrestrial life in popular culture
See also: List of extraterrestrials in fiction

In popular cultures, life forms--especially intelligent life forms, that are of extraterrestrial origin, i.e. not coming from the Earth--are referred to collectively as aliens, or sometimes visitors. This is a list of extraterrestrial species that have appeared in various works of fiction featuring aliens. ... Image File history File links Gnome-globe. ... Image File history File links ET202. ... Image File history File links ET202. ... Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Dee Wallace and Peter Coyote. ... Popular culture, sometimes called pop culture, consists of widespread cultural elements in any given society. ... Lifeform is the physical entity which encompasses a life. ... “Green people” redirects here. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... “Green people” redirects here. ... A Visitor, in United Kingdom law and history, is an overseer of an autonomous ecclesiastical or eleemosynary institution (i. ...


This usage is clearly anthropocentric: when humans in fictional accounts accomplish interstellar travel and land on a planet elsewhere in the universe, the local inhabitants of these other planets are usually still referred to as "alien," even though they are the native life form and the humans are the intruders. In general they are seen as unfriendly life forms. This may be seen as a reversion to the classic meaning of "alien" (see foreigner) as referring to "other," in contrast to "us" in the context of the writer's frame of reference. Anthropocentrism (Greek άνθρωπος, anthropos, human, κέντρον, kentron, center), or the human-centered principle, refers to the idea that humanity must always remain the central concern for humans. ... Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin: wise man or knowing man) in the family Hominidae (the great apes). ... // Fiction (from the Latin fingere, to form, create) is the genre of imaginative prose literature, including novels and short stories. ... Artists Impression of the compression of a viewers perspective in front of a ship during interstellar travel Interstellar space travel is unmanned or manned travel between stars, though the term usually denotes the latter. ... The eight planets and three dwarf planets of the Solar System. ... The Universe is defined as the summation of all particles and energy that exist and the space-time in which all events occur. ... Look up native in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An intruder may refer to: An American military aircraft the Grumman A-6 Intruder A person or animal that enters territory that does not belong to them. ... A foreigner, or an alien, is a natural person who is not a citizen of the State in question. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...


Isaac Asimov set out to overturn this convention in a short story in which a youth nicknamed "Red" saves a couple of captive diminutive "aliens" and lets them return to their spaceship. Only in the last paragraph does the reader learn that the sympathetic viewpoint character is in fact a giant crab, called "Red" because his claws were unusually red, and that the escaping "aliens" were Earth humans visiting his world. Isaac Asimov (January 2?, 1920?[1] – April 6, 1992), IPA: , originally Исаак Озимов but now transcribed into Russian as Айзек Азимов) was a Russian-born American Jewish author and professor of biochemistry, a highly successful and exceptionally prolific writer best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. ... Superfamilies Dromiacea Homolodromioidea Dromioidea Homoloidea Eubrachyura Raninoidea Cyclodorippoidea Dorippoidea Calappoidea Leucosioidea Majoidea Hymenosomatoidea Parthenopoidea Retroplumoidea Cancroidea Portunoidea Bythograeoidea Xanthoidea Bellioidea Potamoidea Pseudothelphusoidea Gecarcinucoidea Cryptochiroidea Pinnotheroidea * Ocypodoidea * Grapsoidea * An asterisk (*) marks the crabs included in the clade Thoracotremata. ...

Contents

Aliens in poetry

There is a long history of writing about imagined meetings between aliens and humans, and poetry is no exception. Many serious poets, including former poets laureate Stanley Kunitz and Robert Hayden, have written celebrated poems on the topic of life beyond our world. The best of these poems complicate the expectations of the reader, such as Kunitz's poem "The Abduction" which subverts the popular notion of alien abduction by describing the event surreally and without the typical cast of characters. Other poems take on the topic as a way to offer an alternate view of humanity, or even a cultural critique. In Robert Hayden's poem "American Journal," an extraterrestrial describes American behavior to his superiors, and similarly, "The White Fires of Venus" by Denis Johnson, relates the observations of the inhabitants of Venus about humanity. The Chinese poem Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong (Song Dynasty) Poetry (from the Greek , poiesis, a making or creating) is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. ... A Poet Laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events. ... Stanley Jasspon Kunitz (born July 29, 1905) is a noted American poet who served two years (1974–1976) as the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress (a precursor to the modern Poet Laureate program), and served another year as United States Poet Laureate in 2000. ... Robert Hayden (August 4, 1913 - February 25, 1980), born as Asa Bundy Sheffey, was a United States African-American poet, essayist, and educator. ... For Denis Johnson from London, who invented the bicycle forerunner called hobby horse, see Denis Johnson of London. ...


Historical ideas

The fictionalization of extraterrestrial life occurred before the 20th century. The didactic poet Henry More took up the classical theme of Cosmic pluralism of the Greek Democritus in "Democritus Platonissans, or an Essay Upon the Infinity of Worlds" (1647).[1] With the new relative viewpoint that understood "our world's sunne / Becomes a starre elsewhere", More made the speculative leap to extrasolar planets, (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Henry More. ... Cosmic pluralism or the plurality of worlds describes the belief in numerous other worlds beyond the Earth which harbour extraterrestrial life. ... ‎ Democritus (Greek: ) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher (born at Abdera in Thrace around 460 BC). ...

the frigid spheres that 'bout them fare;
Which of themselves quite dead and barren are,
But by the wakening warmth of kindly dayes,
And the sweet dewie nights, in due course raise
Long hidden shapes and life, to their great Maker's praise.

The possibility of extraterrestrial life was a commonplace of educated discourse in the 17th century, though in Paradise Lost (1667)[2] Milton cautiously employed the conditional when the angel suggests to Adam the possibility of life on the Moon: Title page of the first edition (1667) Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. ... For other persons named John Milton, see John Milton (disambiguation). ...

Her spots thou seest
As clouds, and clouds may rain, and rain produce
Fruits in her softened soil, for some to eat
Allotted there; and other Suns, perhaps,
With their attendant Moons, thou wilt descry,
Communicating male and female light,
Which two great sexes animate the World,
Stored in each Orb perhaps with some that live.

Ancient stories and texts about demons, as in the Bible, may also have some connection to modern stories about alien abductions, mind control, and so on. The demon Satan In folklore, mythology, and religion, a demon is a supernatural being that is generally described as an evil spirit, but is also depicted to be good in some instances. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... The Abduction Phenomenon is as umbrella term used to describe a number of kidnap individuals--sometimes called abductees--usually for medical testing or for sexual reproduction procedures. ...


Fontanelle's "Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds" with its similar excursions on the possibility of extraterrestrial life, expanding rather than denying the creative sphere of a Maker, was translated into English in 1686.[3] In "The Excursion" (1728) David Mallet exclaimed, "Ten thousand worlds blaze forth; each with his train/Of peopled worlds."[4] For other uses of Fontenelle, see Fontenelle (disambiguation). ... Front page of 1701 edition Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds (French:Entretiens sur la pluralité des mondes) was a book by a French writer Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle, published in 1686. ...


See also

Artistic depiction of a Grey Alien
Artistic depiction of a Grey Alien

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (472x1063, 70 KB) Summary Representación artística de un Alienígena. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (472x1063, 70 KB) Summary Representación artística de un Alienígena. ... In Ufology, Greys, also known as Roswell aliens, Zetas, and Reticulians, are alleged extraterrestrial life forms that appear in modern UFO conspiracy theories and other UFO-related paranormal phenomena. ...

Types of alien

Aleshenka (Russian: , Alyoshenka, a hypocoristic for a Russian male first name Alexei) was a small creature found in a village Kaolinovy located near a town Kyshtym in a Russian province Chelyabinsk in August, 1996. ... Hoax photograph by fictitious Dr. Karyl Robin-Evans: Dropa ruling couple Hueypah-La (4 feet tall) and Veez-La (3 feet and 4 inches tall). ... An elder race in science fiction, fantasy, or horror fiction is a fictional alien race that preceded humanity. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... In Ufology, Greys, also known as Roswell aliens, Zetas, and Reticulians, are alleged extraterrestrial life forms that appear in modern UFO conspiracy theories and other UFO-related paranormal phenomena. ... In science fiction, a Jovian is an inhabitant of the planet Jupiter. ... A Martian is a hypothetical or fictional native inhabitant of the planet Mars. ... Nordic aliens is a name given to what are said to be a group of humanoid extraterrestrials. ... It has been suggested that The Reptilian Agenda be merged into this article or section. ... Rods, a rather new entry in the field of Cryptozoology, are said to be creatures that flit about in the air at such a high speed as to not be seen by the naked eye. ... A Venusian is a hypothetical or fictional native inhabitant of the planet Venus. ...

UFOs

UFO can mean: Unidentified flying object United Future Organization, a Japanese-Brazilian electronic jazz band UFO, the rock band that previously featured Michael Schenker UFO, the Gerry Anderson TV series United Farmers of Ontario, a political party that formed the government in Ontario from 1919 to 1923 U.F.O... This article is about UFOs: for other uses see the disambiguation page Black triangle. ... The development of disk shaped aircraft — or military flying saucers — apparently dates back to World War II. Since much of the work has been highly classified, many details are uncertain. ... An unidentified flying object, or UFO, is any real or apparent flying object which cannot be identified by the observer and which remains unidentified after investigation. ... A UFO conspiracy theory is any one of many often overlapping conspiracy theories which argue that evidence of the reality of unidentified flying objects is being suppressed. ... Ufology is the study of unidentified flying object (UFO) reports, sightings, alleged physical evidence, and other related phenomena. ...

Other alien phenomena

This is a list of magazines (some now exclusively web-based) on anomalous and Fortean phenomena. ... The abduction phenomenon is an umbrella term used to describe a number of hypotheses, claims or assertions stating that non-human creatures kidnap individuals—sometimes called abductees—usually for medical testing or for sexual reproduction procedures. ... A crop circle pattern. ... An early approach to the topic, H. G. Wells War of the Worlds First contact is a common science-fictional theme about the first meeting between humans and aliens, or, more broadly, of any sentient races first encounter with another one. ... The Starchild skull is an unusual skull, carbon-14 dated to 1100 AD +- 40 years, found in South America. ...

Alien studies

// Paintings from Val Camonica, Italy, c. ... Seth Shostak and Molly Bentley performing a social experiment for Skeptical Sunday. ... The Disclosure Project is a not for profit orginization dedicated to disclosing, unclassifying, and conducting hearings related to Shadow Governments, U.F.O.s, extraterrestrial life, advanced technologies. ... A Hollow Earth theory posits that the planet Earth has a hollow interior and, possibly, a habitable inner surface. ... Scientology is a system of beliefs and practices created by American pulp fiction[1][2] and science fiction [3] author L. Ron Hubbard in 1952 as a self-help philosophy. ... Ummo or Ummoism describes a series of decades-long claims that aliens from the planet Ummo were communicating with persons on the earth. ... Astrobiology (in Greek astron = star, bios = life and logos = word/science), also known as exobiology (Greek: exo = out) or xenobiology (Greek: xenos = foreign) is the term for a speculative field within biology which considers the possible variety of extraterrestrial life. ...

Aliens in fiction

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into List of alien films. ... This is a list of extraterrestrial species that have appeared in various works of fiction featuring aliens. ... The alien invasion is a common theme in science fiction stories and film, in which a technologically-superior extraterrestrial society invades Earth with the intent to replace human life, or to enslave it under a colonial system, or in some cases, to use humans as food. ... Hawk (right) sidekick to Buck Rogers in the second season of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century The Alien sidekick is a character developed in science fiction literature and motion pictures. ...

References

  1. ^ Democritus (1647). Democritus Platonissans, or an Essay Upon the Infinity of Worlds. 
  2. ^ Milton, John (1667). Paradise Lost. 
  3. ^ Fontenelle, Bernard le Bovier de (1686). Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds. 
  4. ^ Mallet, David (1728). The Excursion. 

Further reading

  • Roth, Christopher F., "Ufology as Anthropology: Race, Extraterrestrials, and the Occult." In E.T. Culture: Anthropology in Outerspaces, ed. by Debbora Battaglia. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2005.
  • Sagan, Carl. 1996. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark: chapter 4: "Aliens"

Insert non-formatted text here Carl Edward Sagan (November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer and astrobiologist and a highly successful popularizer of astronomy, astrophysics, and other natural sciences. ...

External links


Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Science fiction comics such as 2000 AD feature a selection of regular comic strips with a Science fiction theme. ... Poster for 2001: A Space Odyssey, an archetypal science fiction film Science fiction film is a film genre that uses speculative, science-based depictions of imaginary phenomena such as extra-terrestrial lifeforms, alien worlds, and time travel, often along with technological elements such as futuristic spacecraft, robots, or other technologies. ... This is a list of science fiction films organised chronologically. ... This page lists a broad variety of science fiction novels (and novel series)--some old, some new; some famous, some obscure; some well-written, some ill-written--and so may be considered a representative slice of the field. ... A broadcast of the long-running and popular British science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... Image File history File links Nuvola_apps_konquest. ... Note that this partial list contains some authors whose works of fantastic fiction would today be called science fiction, even if they predate, or did not work in that genre. ... Science fiction has been shaped as a literary genre by both science fiction authors and science fiction editors. ... Main article: Science fiction Science fiction includes such a wide range of themes and subgenres that it is notoriously difficult to define. ... The genre of Science Fiction has a number of recognition awards for authors, editors and illustrators. ... This article is on science fiction literature. ... A science fiction genre is a division (genre) of science fiction. ... Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail, or on scientific accuracy, or on both. ... Soft science fiction or soft SF is science fiction whose plots and themes tend to focus on human characters and their relations and feelings, while de-emphasizing the details of technological hardware and physical laws. ... It has been suggested that Post-holocaust be merged into this article or section. ... Comic science fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that exploits the genres conventions for comic effect. ... Smaug in his lair: an illustration for the fantasy The Hobbit Fantasy is a genre of art that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. ... Science fantasy is a mixed genre of story which contains some science fiction and some fantasy elements. ... Horror fiction is, broadly, fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle, or horrify the reader. ... Speculative fiction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The following is a list of science fiction themes. ... “Mechanoid” redirects here. ... Planets in science fiction are fictional planets that appear in various media, especially those of the science fiction genre, as story-settings or depicted locations. ... Artists conception of a space habitat called the Stanford torus, by Don Davis Space colonization (also called space settlement, space humanization, space habitation, etc. ... Poster for the 1960 adaptation of HG Wellss The Time Machine. ... Utopian fiction is the creation of an ideal world as the setting for a novel. ... Science fiction conventions are gatherings of the community of fans (called science fiction fandom) of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. ... This is a list of annual science fiction conventions. ...


  Results from FactBites:
 
Extraterrestrial life in popular culture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (790 words)
In popular culture and conspiracy theories, life forms, especially intelligent life forms, that are of extraterrestrial origin, i.e.
The fictionalization of extraterrestrial life occurred before the 20th century.
The possibility of extraterrestrial life was a commonplace of educated discourse in the 17th century, though in Paradise Lost (1667)
  More results at FactBites »


 

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