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Artist's depiction of a Man in Black

The term Men in Black (MIB), in popular culture, is used in UFO conspiracy theories to describe men dressed in black suits 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] Men in Black or The Man in Black may refer to: // Johnny Cash, the American country singer Man in Black (album), a 1971 album by Johnny Cash Valentine Dyall, British radio presenter and actor Dale Earnhardt, an American race car driver Men in Black, associated with UFO conspiracy theories Men... Popular culture (or pop culture) is the widespread cultural elements in any given society that are perpetuated through that societys vernacular language or lingua franca. ... 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. ... An agency is a department of a local or national government responsible for the oversight and administration of a specific function, such as a customs agency or a space agency. ... UFO redirects here. ... Jerome Clark (1946 - ) is an American researcher and writer, specializing in unidentified flying objects and other anomalous phenomena; he is also a songwriter of some note. ...

The phenomenon was initially and most frequently reported in the 1950s and 1960s; it is contemporaneous with many other conspiracy theories. According to Clark^[2], the archetypal men in black encounter was alleged to have occurred in 1953, when publisher Albert K. Bender asserted that he'd uncovered the secret behind flying saucers, but had been threatened by three men who wore black suits and hats. Initially, Bender clearly implied the men were U.S. Government agents, but his later accounts blended supernatural features with UFO lore. The 1950s decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969. ... For other uses, see Conspiracy theory (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Supernatural (disambiguation). ...

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). Sarcasm is the making of remarks intended to mock the person referred to (who is normally the person addressed), a situation or thing. ... The word geek is a slang term, noting individuals as a peculiar or otherwise odd person, especially one who is perceived to be overly obsessed with one or more things including those of intellectuality, electronics, gaming, etc. ... This article is about the TV show. ... Artistic representation of UFOs Ufology is the study of unidentified flying object (UFO) reports, sightings, alleged physical evidence, and other related phenomena. ... For other uses, see Black hat (disambiguation). ... F.B.I. and FBI redirect here. ... Cybercrime is a term used broadly to describe activity in which computers or networks are a tool, a target, or a place of criminal activity. ...

Behavior

According to the accounts of those reporting encountering them, 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 period of time. They have been described as seeming confused by the nature of everyday items such as pens, eating utensils or food, as well as using outdated slang, though accounts on the behavior of Men in Black vary widely.

Accounts indicate that they often claim to be from an agency collecting information on the unexplained phenomenon their subject has encountered. In some cases they are said to use unidentifiable instruments to wipe the memories of their subjects clean, while in other accounts they seem to be trying to suppress information by, for instance, trying to convince their subject the phenomenon never existed. They have been described as behaving in either an exceedingly furtive manner or a completely outgoing one, with wide grins and disconcerting giggles.^[3]

A similar "phenomenon" has also been reported in the United Kingdom, during periods of public concern over child welfare, with anomalous individuals (or pairs thereof) approaching parents, seeking to remove their children under the guise of being "Child Protention" officers from the local authority's Social Services department. When pressed, these MiBs (who generally were reported as wearing conservative clothing) proved unable to produce official identification, and often exhibited "inappropriate" behaviour patterns when challenged, either fleeing, or trying to bargain.

Possible explanations

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. Keel suggests that MiBs are simply a modern-day manifestation of the same phenomenon that was earlier interpreted as the devil. Similarly, folklorist Peter Rojcewicz^[4] 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. John A. Keel. ... “Fiend” redirects here. ... This article is about the concept of Satan. ...

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. Bill Moore (William L. Moore) is a well-known UFOlogist. ... The Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) is a Field Operating Agency (FOA) of the United States Air Force that provides professional investigative services to commanders throughout the Air Force. ... Fort Belvoir is a census-designated place located in Fairfax County, Virginia. ... Kelly Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located in San Antonio, Texas. ... For other uses, see Texas (disambiguation). ...

Similarly, Clark notes that Dr Michael D. Swords has speculated 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. Michael D. Swords is an American scientist. ... The Robertson Panel was a committee commissioned by the Central Intelligence Agency in 1952 in response to widespread Unidentified Flying Object reports, especially in the Washington DC area. ... The U.S. Department of Defense defines psychological warfare (PSYWAR) as: The planned use of propaganda and other psychological actions having the primary purpose of influencing the opinions, emotions, attitudes, and behavior of hostile foreign groups in such a way as to support the achievement of national objectives. ...

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. Australian musician Vinny Pop recounts when he was working for the Government in 1995 his fiance called terrified saying 2 men in black suits attempted to gain entry into the home, fleeing when they heard her, into a large white limo. This took place the week Vinny Pop published his close encounter story in the then named Daily Mirror. This related to a 1988 sighting on the 26th January on a dark road which ran alongside a quarry which then became the Sydney 2000 Olympics site. Edwards Air Force Base (IATA: EDW, ICAO: KEDW) is a United States Air Force airbase located on the border of Kern County and Los Angeles County, California in the Antelope Valley, 7 miles (11 km) due east of Rosamond. ...

On a more practical note, most government law enforcement and intelligence agencies such as the FBI have strict dress codes that ordinarily require their members to wear suits in dark, non-obtrusive colors.

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."^[5]

MIB references in popular culture

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 Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith as Agent K and Agent J. The film was followed by Men in Black: The Series and its 2002 sequel Men in Black II

• The Brother from Another Planet (1984)

• The Agents from 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.

• Men in Black of the The X-Files (TV series)

• In the movie True Lies, agents of the Omega Sector

• 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.

• In an episode of the television show Bones, Dr. Hodgins -- an outspoken conspiracy theorist -- is arrested for calling in a fake terrorism tip. When Brennan asks Booth if they should step in, he replies that being taken away by Men in Black is Hodgins' dream come true.

• In the TV series Danny Phantom, there are a group of antagonists that Danny regularly fights called "The Guys in White". They are a clear reference to the Men in Black, speaking in a very mechanical, concise way and wearing color-inverted variations of the 'Men in Black' outfit (in other words, a white suit jacket, pants, and tie, and a black dress shirt.) They hunt ghosts instead of dealing with UFOs.

Men in Black is a 1997 science fiction comedy action film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith and Vincent DOnofrio. ... Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an Academy Award-winning American actor and director. ... “W. S.” redirects here. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Men in Black II (also known as MIIB) is a 2002 science fiction comedy action film starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. ... The Brother from Another Planet is a 1984 film written and directed by John Sayles. ... From left to right: Agents Brown, Smith, and Jones Agents are a group of characters in the Matrix series. ... The Matrix series spans major motion pictures, Japanese-style animation, and video games in an attempt to tell a story thats part science fiction, part modern myth, with elements of cyberpunk, computer science, philosophy of mind, Hinduism, Christianity, Gnosticism, Buddhism, classical mythology, and other influences. ... The Forgotten is an episode from the third season of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise. ... My Favorite Martian is a 1999 comedy feature starring Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Daniels, Elizabeth Hurley, Daryl Hannah, Wallace Shawn and Ray Walston. ... Ray Walston (December 2, 1914 – January 1, 2001) was a stage, television and feature film character actor who played the title character on the situation comedy My Favorite Martian and Judge Henry Bone on the drama series Picket Fences. ... My Favorite Martian was an American television sitcom aired on CBS from September 29, 1963 to September 4, 1966 for 107 episodes (75 in black and white 1963-1965, 32 color 1965-1966). ... For other persons named Christopher Lloyd, see Christopher Lloyd (disambiguation). ... For the 1986 animated film, see The Transformers: The Movie. ... MIB agent showing off what they do best In The X-Files television show, The Men in Black (MIB for short, and singular, Man in Black) refer, unofficially, to a group of enforcers employed by the Syndicate to take care of the dirty work of the conspiracy (i. ... This article is about the TV show. ... True Lies is a 1994 action/comedy remake of the 1991 French film La Totale!. It was directed by James Cameron, and stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Tia Carrere, Charlton Heston and Art Malik. ... The 1947 letter, purported to be signed by Harry Truman, authorizing Operation Majestic Twelve. Majestic 12 (also known as Majic 12, Majestic Trust, M12, MJ 12, MJ XII or Majority 12) is the purported code name of a secret committee of scientists, military leaders, and government officials, supposedly formed in... Dark Skies is an United States sci-fi/drama television series which aired 1996-1997 for 20 episodes. ... The 1947 letter, purported to be signed by Harry Truman, authorizing Operation Majestic Twelve. Majestic 12 (also known as Majic 12, Majestic Trust, M12, MJ 12, MJ XII or Majority 12) is the purported code name of a secret committee of scientists, military leaders, and government officials, supposedly formed in... Lilo & Stitch is an animated film, set in Hawaii. ... Cobra Bubbles and his voice actor Ving Rhames Cobra Bubbles was an early fictional character from Walt Disney Pictures Lilo & Stitch movies and the spin-off television series. ... The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ... Bones is an American drama television series that premiered on the Fox Network on September 13, 2005. ... A conspiracy theory is a theory that defies common historical or current understanding of events, under the claim that those events are the result of manipulations by two or more individuals or various secretive powers or conspiracies. ... Danny Phantom is an animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon, produced by Billionfold Studios. ...

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. The Stranglers are an English rock music group, formed on September 11, 1974 in Guildford, Surrey. ... The Gospel According to The Meninblack is an esoteric concept album made by The Stranglers and released in 1981. ...

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 including the song "Men in Black" on the album The Cult of Ray. For other persons named Frank Black, see Frank Black (disambiguation). ... This article is about the U.S. Air Force installation in Nevada. ... For other uses, see Pixie (disambiguation). ... The Cult of Ray is the last Frank Black album recorded for a major record company and it is maybe the most controversial and least appreciated. ...

The Blue Öyster Cult song "E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)" concerns "three men in black" looking to suppress the discovery of flying saucers. One of them is referred to as "Balthazar", suggesting that the "three men" could really be the Biblical Magi. Blue Öyster Cult is an American rock band formed in New York in 1967 and still active in 2008. ... Three Kings, or Three Wise Men redirects here. ...

Will Smith also made a song called "Men in Black" for the movie Men in Black in 1997. “W. S.” redirects here. ... The song Men in Black was recorded by rapper and actor Will Smith (also featuring singer Coko) for the movie Men in Black, in which he also starred. ... Men in Black is a 1997 science fiction comedy action film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith and Vincent DOnofrio. ...

The Underground Alternative Rock band 9 Second Eternity references Men in Black and the New World Order on several of their lyrics. The term new world order has been used to refer to a new period of history evidencing a dramatic change in world political thought and the balance of power. ...

Roger Waters' 1987 Wembley performances of the Radio K.A.O.S. tour featured a film sequence dramatising Dr Herbert Hopkins' 1976 MIB encounter with the words: "neither you nor any other… humanoid… will see this coin again". This article is about the Roger Waters album. ...

Books and comics

The Men in Black have been portrayed several times in comics, most notably in Lowell Cunningham's 1990 Aircel comic book The Men in Black, later adapted into the two films mentioned above. The British comic 2000 AD ran a series called Vector 13 where Men in Black acted as narrators for a series of strange tales, at the time when they were portrayed as ousting the editor Tharg the Mighty. Lowell Cunningham is the creator and writer of the comic book series the Men in Black. ... Aircel Comics (aka Aircel Publishing) started as a Canadian publisher of comic books. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Cover of the first issue of 2000 AD, 26 February 1977. ... Vector 13 is a 2000 AD comic strip which featured the eponymous agency setup to investigate anomalous phenomena and conspiracy theories. ... Tharg, drawn by Kev Walker The Mighty Tharg is a recurrent character in science fiction comic 2000 AD, one of only two characters to appear in nearly every issue of the comic (the other being Judge Dredd). ...

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. Kim Newman (born July 31, 1959) is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. ... The Diogenes Club is a club featured in a few Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, most notably The Greek Interpreter. Probably named after Diogenes the Cynic, it was co-founded by Sherlocks older brother, Mycroft Holmes. ...

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. Irregular Webcomic! is a webcomic created by David Morgan-Mar, an Australian physicist. ...

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. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

The Minutemen of 100 Bullets are styled after the standard black-suit-and-tie of MIB lore. 100 Bullets is a fictional crime drama published by DC Comics. ... For the game, see 100 Bullets (video game) 100 Bullets is an Eisner and Harvey Award-winning comic book written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Eduardo Risso. ...

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),Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Conspiracy X, and GURPS Black Ops. Sim City Societies also features men in black who act as corporate enforcers. West End Games (WEG) is a company that makes board, role playing, and war games. ... Delta Green is a setting for the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game created by Adam Scott Glancy, Dennis Detwiller, and John Tynes of the Seattle gaming house Pagan Publishing. ... Destroy All Humans! is a video game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by THQ. It was released for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 computer entertainment systems on June 21, 2005. ... Mage: The Ascension is a role-playing game based in the World of Darkness, and is published by White Wolf Game Studio. ... Teenagers From Outer Space is a rules-light comedy RPG from R. Talsorian Games, inspired by gag anime such as Urusei Yatsura and Ranma 1/2. ... This article is about the video game. ... Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is the fifth video game in the Grand Theft Auto series. ... Conspiracy X is a role-playing game published by Eden Studios, Inc. ... A sourcebook for the GURPS role-playing game, Black Ops is a setting that has our planet under threat from various alien, supernatural and other monstrous powers. ... SimCity Societies is a new upcoming game released by Electronic Arts (EA) and is scheduled to be a part of the Sim games series. ...

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. For other uses, see G-Man. ...

In the game AdventureQuest, the MIB are referenced as N.O.V.A., or the Network of Vespirian Agents. AdventureQuest (also referred to by its website name BattleOn or simply as AQ) is an online single-player RPG developed by Artix Entertainment in 2002. ...

The game Heroes Unlimited, Re.: Aliens Unlimited refers to these entities. Heroes Unlimited is a role-playing game based upon the Palladium Books Megaversal system; it is compatible with any other game on the Palladium system. ...

See also

• Anomalous phenomenon
• Unidentified flying object
• Aerial Phenomena Enquiry Network
• Chilling effect
• Forteana
• Majestic 12
• Phantom Social Workers

An anomalous phenomenon is an observed event which deviates from what is expected (an anomaly) according to existing rules or scientific theory. ... UFO redirects here. ... The Aerial Phenomena Enquiry Network (usualy shortened to APEN) are an unknown group of investigators that specialise in the field of UFOs who regularly contact researchers via letter and cassette tape offering pieces of information yet never supply contact details. ... It has been suggested that Legal terrorism be merged into this article or section. ... Charles Fort, 1920 Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 - May 3, 1932), writer and researcher into anomalous phenomena, was the son of an Albany grocer of Dutch ancestry. ... Majestic-12 (sometimes written simply as MJ-12 or MJ-XII) is the codename of a secret committee, supposedly formed in 1952 to investigate UFO activity. ... The term Phantom Social Workers (also known as Bogus Social Workers) arose in the UK and US due to sporadic reports to police and media by members of the public, usually women (very rarely men), claiming to be social workers and attempting to take babies and infants from their parents...

Notes

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 283rd day of the year (284th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

Jerome Clark (1946 - ) is an American researcher and writer, specializing in unidentified flying objects and other anomalous phenomena; he is also a songwriter of some note. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A car from 1956 Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the state. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the state. ... Bantam Books is a major U.S. publishing house owned by Random House and is part of the Bantam Dell Publishing Group. ... Mike Dash (b. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... The Occult Review was a British illustrated monthly magazine containing articles & correspondence by many notable occultists of the day, including Aleister Crowley, Meredith Starr, Arthur Edward Waite, W.L. Wilmhurst, Franz Hartmann, Florence Farr, and Herbert Stanley Redgrove. ... John A. Keel. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... Fawcett Publications was an American publishing company founded in 1919 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota by Wilford Hamilton Captain Billy Fawcett (1883-1940). ... John A. Keel. ... Year 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This page is about the book, for the movie see The Mothman Prophecies (film) The Mothman Prophecies is a 1976 book by parapsychologist John Keel, described as nonfiction. ... Jenny Randles is a British author and member of BUFORA who specialises in writing books on UFO and paranormal phenomena. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. ...

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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