Men in Black

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Men in Black (MIB), in popular culture and in UFO conspiracy theories, are men dressed in black suits who claim to be government agents who harass or threaten UFO witnesses to keep them quiet about what they have seen. It is sometimes implied that they may be aliens themselves. The term is also frequently used to describe mysterious men working for unknown organizations, as well as to various branches of government allegedly designed to protect secrets or perform other strange activities. 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]

Contents 1 Origin 2 Appearance 3 Behavior 4 Possible explanations 4.1 Alien explanation 4.2 Folkloric explanations 4.3 Military/CIA explanations 4.4 Hoax explanation 5 In popular culture 5.1 Film 5.2 Television 5.3 Music 5.4 Books and comics 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Origin

The phenomenon was initially and most frequently reported in the 1950s and 1960s, initially in a 1956 book by Gray Barker. According to Jerome Clark,^[2] the archetypal Men in Black encounter occurred in 1953, when publisher Albert K. Bender asserted that he 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. In fact, Bender himself was initially skeptical of the Men in Black phenomenon and first encountered them "in the flesh" after publishing an account of the Maury Island Incident, which occurred in 1947. Harold Dahl reported pieces of a UFO fell on the boat he was on in Puget Sound, killing his dog. The next day Dahl was allegedly warned by a man in a black suit, driving a black 1947 Buick, that he would do well to keep silent about the incident. Hilary Evans points out that all elements in the MIB scenario (three visitors of swarthy or "foreign" complexion, in a black Cadillac) is never played out in complete form (e.g., some were limited to telephone calls).^[3]

[edit] Appearance

Early reports of Men in Black often described them as men of short stature with swarthy complexions, as if they were deeply tanned. Some reported them as Gypsies. Sunglasses, black suits and black cars have been a feature for the entire period since modern sightings began in 1947, but according to UFO historian Jerome Clark, "All MIB are not necessarily garbed in dark suits."

[edit] 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 long 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 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.^[4] In the UFO research community the Men in Black often claim to be from the U.S. Air Force or the CIA. Those who have encountered them say they produce identification, but when verification is later sought, the people described either don't exist, have been dead for some time, or do exist but have a different rank.

[edit] Possible explanations

[edit] Alien explanation

Some ufologists^[who?] believe that Men in Black are in fact either aliens or androids controlled by aliens. According to this theory, they are sent out in order to cover up alien activity on Earth. All oddities in their appearance and/or behavior may be explained by the Men in Black's extraterrestrial origin and their unfamiliarity with norms of the human society.

[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. Keel suggests that MiBs are a modern-day manifestation of the same phenomena that were earlier interpreted as the devil or encounters with fairies. Similarly, folklorist Peter Rojcewicz^[5] 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. Even so, the term "the black man" was used for centuries in reference to the Devil,^{[citation needed]} up until contemporary times when "black man" was used to replace the term "Negro" and the satanic sense was lost. In witchcraft trials "The Black Man" was often reported as meeting with the accused and having sexual intercourse with them. In Washington Irving's story "The Devil and Tom Walker" set in 1727, Irving tells how Tom asks "the black man" who he is. The man says he goes by many names and is called the black miner sometimes or the black woodsman. He says that since the Indians are gone, he presides over the persecutions of various religious sects, supports slave-dealers and is the master of the Salem witches. Tom replies that he must be "Old Scratch", which is another name for the devil, and the black man acknowledges that he is Old Scratch. In 1932, H. P. Lovecraft also used the figure of The Black Man in his tale "The Dreams in the Witch-House" as a synonym for the Devil, but also uses the term and description for Nyarlathotep, a malevolent entity of his own creation. In the Middle Ages The Black Man was not a man with African features, but rather a man colored black and dressed in black.

[edit] Military/CIA explanations

More prosaically, Clark cites Bill Moore, who asserts that "the Men in Black are really government agents 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 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. On a more practical note, most US 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.

[edit] Hoax explanation

In his article, "Gray Barker: My Friend, the Myth-Maker," John C. Sherwood reveals that at age 18, he cooperated when Gray Barker urged him in the late 1960s to develop a hoax - which Barker subsequently published - about what Barker called "blackmen," three mysterious UFO inhabitants who silenced Sherwood's pseudonymous identity, "Dr. Richard H. Pratt."^[6]

[edit] In popular culture

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In contemporary pop culture, 'Men in Black' has been adopted as a tongue-in-cheek term, possibly originating in geek culture, for any generic suited government/corporate official, originating as a result of the popularity of shows such as The X-Files, 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).^{[citation needed]} As a result of its popularity, Men In Black have been featured in a number of fictional works and media. There are many references to the Men in Black in film and television, some oblique and some straightforward.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Film

• Hangar 18 (1980), starring Gary Collins, Robert Vaughn and Darren McGavin of Kolchak: The Night Stalker fame. Typical agents in black suits try to prevent astronauts from finding out the truth about a flying saucer, and in the credits, the actors are listed as mib 1, mib 2, mib 3 & mib 4..^{[citation needed]}

• Men in Black (1997), 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. Men in Black III-D is scheduled to be released in 2012.^{[citation needed]}

• The Agents in the 1999 film The Matrix are based on the image of the MIB and G-men.^{[citation needed]}

• In the 2007 movie Transformers, agents of Sector Seven—a secret organization of the United States government—are portrayed as MIB.^{[citation needed]}

• John Sayles' 1984 feature film The Brother From Another Planet shows an alien chased by two synchronically moving Men in Black, played by director Sayles himself and David Strathairn.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Television

• Perhaps the first mass-audience appearance of UFO-related Men in Black occurred in the second aired episode of the cult television series The Invaders, written by the series' associate producer, Anthony Spinner, directed by Joseph Sargent and first aired Jan. 17, 1967. In the episode, titled The Experiment, an astrophysicist has learned space aliens have assumed human form on Earth; he is abducted by two sinister men who wear black trenchcoats and MIB-stereotypical black fedora hats and claim to be government agents; another "man in black" is dressed as a minister. The scientist later is found dead, and is thus effectively "silenced." The series hero later is subjected to a mind-control device by the three black-garbed men, aided by others who are all presumed to be space aliens. This dramatic use of the MiB theme in the mass media occurred during a period of widespread public fascination with UFOs, shortly after the March 1966 Michigan UFO/"swamp gas" flap (notably involving U.S. Air Force UFO researcher J. Allen Hynek) and the 1966-67 "Mothman" sightings in West Virginia.^{[citation needed]}

• The Second Series of Lost in Space introduced an alien race known as the Saticons who appear in groups of three, and apart from their covered faces, resemble MIB in appearance. They first appear, unnamed, in Wreck of the Robot where they display similar abilities to the MIB of UFO mythology. A solitary Saticon-type alien appeared in Treasure of the Lost Planet. They made their last appearance in The Galaxy Gift where they are named the Saticons, aliens with advanced psi-powers from a dead planet.````^{[citation needed]}

• In The X-Files television show, The Men in Black refer, unofficially, to a group of enforcers employed by the Syndicate to take care of the dirty work of the conspiracy (i.e., murders, intimidation, sabotage, cover-ups, etc). Most of them were ex-military, highly trained, loyal, cold-blooded, mafia-style hitmen, who worked, as a front, in government agencies such as the FBI, DOD, and NSA. Some, mostly shown in comedic episodes, parodied the traditional view of MIBs from UFO lore. Most had no known civilian identities, though there were some exceptions. They tended to have few, if any, lines.^{[citation needed]}

• In Joss Whedon's short lived science fiction television series Firefly, its follow-up film Serenity, and the bridging comic book series Serenity: Those Left Behind, MIB-style men appear wearing Blue Gloves (to which River refers as, “Two by two, hands of blue.”) They also have a device similar to the devices used by the MIB in the 1997 film and its sequel, though the devices have different effects.^{[citation needed]}

• The TV Series Fringe features a group of characters known as Observers who are very similar to Men in Black. They can be seen frequently throughout the series.^{[citation needed]}

• The American TV Series "Unsolved Mysteries" hosted by Robert Stack. Hosted a segment on "The Men In Black." The segment dealt with the issue of "The Men In Black" with solid witnesses, stating to have had the visitation from the "Men In Black." A New York woman who passed alone figure of "Man In Black." passing by her on the street.^{[citation needed]}

• In the Doctor Who animated episode Dreamland four Men in Black appear; it is revealed that they are alien robots, the 'Alliance of Shades', responsible for policing extraterrestrial activity on Earth.^{[citation needed]}

[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.^{[citation needed]}

• 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. As well, the song "Bad, Wicked World", on the album Teenager of the Year, is about David Vincent and The Invaders.^{[citation needed]}

• 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. Another song by the band, "Take Me Away", about the singer's wish to be abducted by aliens, contains the lyric "Don't ask if they are real, the men in black - their lips are sealed".^{[citation needed]}

• Will Smith also made a song called "Men in Black" for the movie Men in Black in 1997.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 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.^{[citation needed]}

• 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.^{[citation needed]}

• 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.^{[citation needed]}

• 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.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] See also

• The Grinning Man
• Majestic Twelve
• Gray Barker
• Agent (The Matrix)
• Men In Black (film)
• Black helicopter

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Men in Black/MIB's at maar.us
• Men In Black Are Aliens

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