Radio and print media, especially pulp magazines, played a big part in publicizing the UFO phenomenon in the early years, Eghigian explained. He likened the reports to serial true crime podcasts today.
“Every new sighting or encounter introduces a new element to the plot,” he said. “What the media loves about UFOs is they’re a mystery — and a seemingly endless one at that. But the media doesn’t show consistent interest in the topic. That interest fluctuates over the years.”
“After the Flying Saucers Came” is meant not to debunk the UFO phenomenon but to tell the history and better understand what humans make of it, Eghigian said.
“The UFO phenomenon has always raised fundamental questions about our past, present and future,” Eghigian said. “Questions like, where do we come from? If there are aliens out there, did they have a hand in building this world?”
Many questions revolve around the existence of UFOs and aliens. If UFOs and aliens don’t exist, Eghigian said, can humans chalk up sightings to optical illusions, and what does that say about the brain? What are these objects, and who is behind them?
And the phenomenon’s focus on science and technology, he continued, serves as an image of what our future might hold.
“Can we achieve these scientific and technological advances?” Eghigian said. “Or are we going to destroy ourselves before we have a chance to do it?”
The stories of UFOs are, at heart, human stories. And that, to Eghigian, is as equally fascinating and mysterious as the UFOs themselves.
