Little green men (complimentary)
A brief exploration of why silly alien art has abducted our hearts
If I had to count the kitschy alien items I have in my house, it may not surprise you to find that it would take a while. I am constantly fighting against my desire to buy every alien item I see, and that urge has existed in me since I was a pre-teen. I’m not talking about any of the skillfully designed creatures from movies like Alien (1979) or the microbial life scientists see as possible evidence of simple extraterrestrial organisms. I mean the big-eyed, long-fingered, large baby-headed aliens you might know from museum displays in Roswell, New Mexico or any quick search for “alien sticker” on Redbubble.
Imagine my excitement when I first watched The X-Files and discovered its reliance on this exact extraterrestrial depiction. What I wouldn’t find out until later is that this 90s show played a huge part in cementing the grey (the green is more for art aesthetics) alien image in the collective imagination after decades of a highly different representation. To understand why creator Chris Carter and others involved in this Fox production chose the big-eyed alien as part of the show’s mythology, I turn to an episode of Decoder Ring, a popular podcast that explores the meaning behind cultural objects, concepts, and habits.
“The First Alien Abductees” tells the story of Betty and Barney Hill, two everyday people who disclosed their alien abduction story to a friend in the 1960s. The Hills were an interracial couple whose story starts on their swift after dark return from a vacation, hoping to avoid any trouble (read: racialized violence). In an unusual turn of events, Barney notices a strange craft following their car. He steps out of the driver’s side and is met with humanoid creatures with big eyes. Unlike the Roswell museum sculpture below, these creatures looked much closer to humans, as Barney describes them with hair and clothing. The couple then recall nothing more than a moment passing before finding themselves in their car, 35 miles closer to home.
They never intended for the news to pick up their narrative, but when it did, it became a sensation. While plenty of people found their story absurd, it was received by some audiences more credibly perhaps because the Hills note themselves that the story sounds unbelievable, or perhaps because the couple felt more relatable than the general “UFO nut.” This virality led to John Fuller’s well-known 1975 book, The Interrupted Journey. In it, Fuller attempts to construct what happened in the time missing from that night, consulting the couple and recording their hypnotherapy sessions. In those sessions, Betty describes the aliens conducting medical tests, but she also recalls a sense of calm while in this otherworldly presence.
If you were taking notes, you may have noticed a lot of these details match with common themes throughout The X-Files. Until the Hills abduction became public knowledge, the most common conception of aliens in media was one of impersonal invasion, i.e. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. The X-Files, whose pilot includes missing time, alien implants, and bright lights from mysterious crafts, drew on the Hill couple’s more personal story of bodily invasion. This narrative is scary enough in its shift of subject to a solo, random victim, but what is even more terrifying is the idea that if this were to happen to you, it’s likely few would believe you.
The most intriguing takeaway of the Decoder Ring episode is the ever-shifting description of aliens in the greater collective imagination. While abduction narratives in the 1890s involved mass invasion leaving society at whole powerless, abduction narratives following Betty Hill’s story of naval needle punctures and tests often focused on extraterrestrials using women’s bodies to create alien human hybrids. When addressing the source of such a narrative, the episode references the anxieties over reproductive freedom in the 60s and 70s, one peak time of feminist activism around women’s autonomy.
It’s perhaps not surprising that in the 90s, The X-Files would once again approach the alien abduction story with a similar vein of non-consensual testing. Distrust of the government in the aftermath of Watergate and revelations about Project MKUltra was much higher than previous decades. However, this time the narrative would involve big-headed, impersonal grey faces with large, inescapable, black eyes in collusion with shadow figures from the very government meant to protect its citizens. The parties responsible in these stories are not only incredible to describe, but they also include organizations protected by the full power of the United States.
Ever-changing, the little green men conception of aliens have become cliché in their position as the first thought many have when they hear the term alien abduction. In the true fashion of consumerism, the cheesy nature of the big-headed extraterrestrial has resulted in products ranging from Claire’s “retro” sketchbooks to ashtrays of aliens smoking blunts on Amazon. Aliens are often drawn giving a prominent peace sign with oddly shaped green fingers and find lots of love among stoners, sometimes called “space cadets.” More recently, aliens have made their way into plushie companies with rounded baby-like features and soft limbs, which is likely to help them remain a trend for at least a little while.
When it comes to my collection, I have always found the little green men conception of aliens cute, even in my favorite horror sci-fi drama. If anything, their version only furthered my enjoyment of the aesthetic. It’s still common for friends and family to gift me alien items like socks, stationery, and earrings, and I wouldn’t change it for the world (and whatever is beyond it).
Notes from the field report: things that have caught my eye recently
Boléro by Keith Leonard
This pin inspired me to make a whole board for Ikea alien content on Pinterest
Chappell Roan’s music always inspires me to add glitter to my face and ufos to my art
I’ve really needed to lean into small acts of self-nourishment lately since I’ve been sick, so I’ve been doing more tarot card pulls. I don’t have this deck, but boy is it on my list
I rewatched “One Breath” (2x08) recently, and this tweet really hit home