Customer Reviews

Picturing Extraterrestrials: Alien Images in Modern Mass Culture

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's possible that Professor Moffitt may have something to say. It's not possible to know, because he's so incapable of saying anything clearly. The book is 550 pages of parentheses, interpolations, snarky side comments, mean-spirited irrelevancies, odd and glaring logical errors, and downright ranting, presented in a rambling and repetitious prose which goes nowhere and leaves me wondering whether, cut to perhaps 100 pages, there might be an argument here. As it stands, good luck finding one.

To focus on the book's mean-spiritedness. Professor Moffitt seems to hate pretty much everyone. It's a long and tiring catalog. He quite irrelevantly emphasizes his intense antipathy for people who make more money than he does; who make less money than he does; who have more books in print than he has; who watch TV; who aren't trained as art historians; who belong to the bourgeoisie, or the petty-bourgeoisie, or the proletariat, or the lumpen-proletariat; who listen to popular music; who read paperback books. To show you that I'm not exaggerating, here's one random example, from page 521: "Pullulating at the lower rung of the (chronological) postmodernist audience culture are those bio-organisms who merely consume any sort of television, also patronizing rock concerts, blockbuster movies, and mass sports events, all essentially just to 'kill time.' These people, of which there are millions and millions, are to be found swarming at the bottom of the postmodernist cultural pond, essentially because this inferior siting seems to be their social, economic, and/or educational birthright." What this may or may not have to do with the way supposed extraterrestrials are pictured is not made clear. Not much of anything is made clear except that the professor has a large number of strong dislikes, which he catalogs on page after tiresome page.

When he touches on areas where I have specialized training, his discussion is superficial and frequently wrong. He contradicts himself at what seem to be key points. He doesn't seem to be able to argue coherently.

This is a shame. As noted, it's possible he might have something to say. If this book is where it's located, good luck finding it.

Let me preface this review by saying that I'm well educated. While I don't have a master's degree or Ph.D., I do have two bachelors (one BA and one BS) and two minors (one in history) from a well-known four year liberal arts university. I have read and still read plenty of academic works, and this book was obviously written by an academic for a limited academic audience. In this book, Dr. Moffitt has a penchant for using pretentious wording and foreign phrases which unfortunately is too common in academic writing. Apparently he has not read "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White, or if he has read it then the good doctor has chosen to ignore their advice about not using "a twenty-dollar word when there is a ten-center handy, ready, and able." On the topic of using foreign languages, Strunk and White wrote that "some writers... from sheer exuberance or a desire to show off, sprinkle their work liberally with foreign expressions, with no regard for the reader's comfort. It is a bad habit." This describes "Picturing Extraterrestrials" succinctly. No matter; I happen to be fluent in French and I also know some Latin, though I must confess ignorance of German. While not as bad as other academic works I've read, the overly ornate word choices can be an unnecessary annoyance to readers as well as a hindrance to effective communication. As another reviewer said, this book is longer than it needs to be (in my opinion it is at least twice as long as it should be), and is a repetitious and tedious read.

Stylistic complaints aside, the description of this book is misleading and does not fit well with the content. I was very enthusiastic about reading this book. However, it turned out to be less about the history of extraterrestrial depiction in art and culture and more about debunking the UFO and alien abduction "phenomena." When it comes to UFOs or alien abductions, or anything considered "supernatural" for that matter, I'm thoroughly a skeptic (though I think such topics can make interesting works of fiction). However, Dr. Moffitt's criticisms are not scientific and, as another reviewer said, they are quite mean-spirited. While I agree with the overall assessment that UFOs and alien abductions are almost certainly misinterpretations of natural phenomena such as hypnagogic hallucinations, misidentification of aircraft, or are hoaxes, or are false memories, or are products of overactive imaginations (often perpetuated by media and profitmaking), I believe that the way the criticisms are presented in this book has the potential to do more harm than good if the goal is to show "True Believers" through well-reasoned arguments why their way of thinking is fallacious or their beliefs untrue or unproven.

However, since this book seems to be written for an audience already dismissive of claims about UFOs and alien abductions rather than for "True Believers" in an effort to persuade them away from nonsense, perhaps the harsh ridicule doesn't really matter. This is all for the best as this book lacks a strong persuasive thesis, strong supporting evidence, and focus. The evidence which is presented is as subjective, anecdotal, and boring as that from UFO witnesses, "abductees," or "contactees." What this book does have is plenty of overgeneralizations, as well as many examples of straw man and argumentum ad hominem logical fallacies. While some logical errors may be permitted in any work, in this book they were of such frequency that they became obnoxious about halfway through it.

Anyone wanting a kinder and more logically consistent introduction to skepticism should consider Carl Sagan's "The Demon Haunted World," a book from which Dr. Moffitt quotes, but has chosen to ignore Sagan's advice about not being condescending when reasoning with "True Believers." As an aside, my copy of Sagan's book is a paperback... I'd be interested in hearing Dr. Moffitt's criticism in that regard. Many of my other non-fiction reference books are also paperbacks (some of them from Harvard, Oxford, and Princeton). I say this because while I have always assumed that the format of bookbinding was chosen due to reasons of economics, convenience, or availability (which are some of the my main considerations when I buy a book regardless of binding), Dr. Moffitt frequently seems to express the idea that binding type has some correlation to the quality of the ideas being presented in those books. Given his derision of paperback books, I'm surprised that this book is not gilded...

While I don't hold a Ph.D. in art history, just as Dr. Moffitt does not hold a Ph.D. in psychology (sorry), I expected this book to focus on the presentation of extraterrestrial images in modern culture (as the title would suggest), and perhaps with a lot more images and analyses. The subject of this book has great potential to be compelling, and the content which is on topic in this book is interesting but it could have been much more than another poorly defended attack on popular belief and culture. Instead, this book is mostly an unfocused and pretentious rant of an academic who is clearly annoyed by the subject (leaving one to wonder why he bothered writing it at all) and it lacks both in effective skeptical argument and in interpretation of art.

A great look at its subject matter, but the author is arrogant to the point of it being a significant detriment to the book.

It's more or less common knowledge these days to be able to describe the physical appearances of an alleged extraterrestrial. They're everywhere nowadays, with their large heads, black eyes, thin bodies, short stature, et cetera. We all "know" what it looks like.

Which is very odd, indeed. Because there are no real proofs of all the talked-about close encounters. And no one has even seen an extraterrestrial. Except for abductees and contactees. All we have are tales, pseudoscientific literature, stories; no real and physical evidence. Yet, "everybody" more or less "knows" that an extraterrestrial looks the way he, she, or it does.

And why is that? Well, that's the question asked (and answered) by art historian John F. Moffitt in his little more than 550 page long book Picturing Extraterrestrials.

But it's not a simple read. Quite the opposite. The language is difficult, very academic, often flavoured with long and extensive quotes, sentences in Latin, and terms basically only known to devoted art historians. But at the same time it's very personal; Moffitt has a unique style of writing which makes the reading experience something out of the ordinary. Sometimes it even feels as if one is having an oral conversation with him instead of actually reading his words. One gets the feeling that it is spoken language, but the academic touch never completely disappears, and the mix between strict scholarly language and down-to-Earth everyday language becomes a challenge while it at the same time becomes pure entertainment.

Moffitt is a skeptic, and unfortunately he - along with many other skeptics - uses the term "ufologist" in a somewhat derogatory manner. People such as the late John Mack, Whitley Strieber, David Jacobs, and Budd Hopkins - all representing the fringe side of ufology - get to represent more or less the entire discipline, which is highly unfortunate. Moffitt is completely ruthless in his criticism. He doesn't hesitate to call Betty Andreasson and other contactees "pathetic", and he uses strong evidence to disregard the usage of hypnosis in order to encounter regressed memories.

After all, Moffitt says, the postmodern idea regarding the traditional extraterrestrial is neither new nor very unexpected. Quite the opposite, it's a natural result from mankind's constant longing for the spiritual, the inconceivable, mystical, and occult. Large portions of the book do not deal exclusively with extraterrestrials or UFOs, but instead focus on the origin and need of such matters as the occult, mysticism, mass hysteria, divine iconography, Swedenborgian philosophy, the input infotainment has on people in general, and much, much more. However, at the end of the day he always returns to the contemporary belief in extraterrestrial life and presence on Earth, and one of his conclusions is that it's all imagination and wishful thinking, simply due to the fact that mankind has always believed in similar stories. The True Believer can say that this fact, on the other hand, only works to prove the opposite (that we indeed are being visited by those pesky little Grays), and Moffitt doesn't bother to prove that there are nothing new under the sun (or in space). Instead he, in a very entertaining and fascinating way, explains how what many Believers believe isn't very paranormal at all. It's an ancient belief, dressed in a modern outfit.

It's not a new theory, and it's not the first book about it either, but few authors manage to defend and propose it as skilfully, entertaining, and convincing as John F. Moffitt. Picturing Extraterrestrials really is a must.

It's more or less common knowledge these days to be able to describe the physical appearances of an alleged extraterrestrial. They're everywhere nowadays, with their large heads, black eyes, thin bodies, short stature, et cetera. We all "know" what it looks like.

Which is very odd, indeed. Because there are no real proofs of all the talked-about close encounters. And no one has even seen an extraterrestrial. Except for abductees and contactees. All we have are tales, pseudoscientific literature, stories; no real and physical evidence. Yet, "everybody" more or less "knows" that an extraterrestrial looks the way he, she, or it does.

And why is that? Well, that's the question asked (and answered) by art historian John F. Moffitt in his little more than 550 page long book Picturing Extraterrestrials.

But it's not a simple read. Quite the opposite. The language is difficult, very academic, often flavoured with long and extensive quotes, sentences in Latin, and terms basically only known to devoted art historians. But at the same time it's very personal; Moffitt has a unique style of writing which makes the reading experience something out of the ordinary. Sometimes it even feels as if one is having an oral conversation with him instead of actually reading his words. One gets the feeling that it is spoken language, but the academic touch never completely disappears, and the mix between strict scholarly language and down-to-Earth everyday language becomes a challenge while it at the same time becomes pure entertainment.

Moffitt is a skeptic, and unfortunately he - along with many other skeptics - uses the term "ufologist" in a somewhat derogatory manner. People such as the late John Mack, Whitley Strieber, David Jacobs, and Budd Hopkins - all representing the fringe side of ufology - get to represent more or less the entire discipline, which is highly unfortunate. Moffitt is completely ruthless in his criticism. He doesn't hesitate to call Betty Andreasson and other contactees "pathetic", and he uses strong evidence to disregard the usage of hypnosis in order to encounter regressed memories.

After all, Moffitt says, the postmodern idea regarding the traditional extraterrestrial is neither new nor very unexpected. Quite the opposite, it's a natural result from mankind's constant longing for the spiritual, the inconceivable, mystical, and occult. Large portions of the book do not deal exclusively with extraterrestrials or UFOs, but instead focus on the origin and need of such matters as the occult, mysticism, mass hysteria, divine iconography, Swedenborgian philosophy, the input infotainment has on people in general, and much, much more. However, at the end of the day he always returns to the contemporary belief in extraterrestrial life and presence on Earth, and one of his conclusions is that it's all imagination and wishful thinking, simply due to the fact that mankind has always believed in similar stories. The True Believer can say that this fact, on the other hand, only works to prove the opposite (that we indeed are being visited by those pesky little Grays), and Moffitt doesn't bother to prove that there are nothing new under the sun (or in space). Instead he, in a very entertaining and fascinating way, explains how what many Believers believe isn't very paranormal at all. It's an ancient belief, dressed in a modern outfit.

It's not a new theory, and it's not the first book about it either, but few authors manage to defend and propose it as skilfully, entertaining, and convincing as John F. Moffitt. Picturing Extraterrestrials really is a must.

John F. Moffitt's Picturing Extraterrestrials: Alien Images in Modern Culture is unique in the literature debunking the myths of alien abductions, visitations and encounters of all kinds. For anyone not already familiar with many prosaic explanations behind the fantasies of UFO phenomenon, Area 51, flying saucers, missing time, etc. this book serves as an excellent primer for the work done by investigators and skeptics all over the world. You'd have to read an entire shelf of individual exposés to cover all the ground that Moffitt includes in his comprehensive survey. But that's not the chief reason for owning this valuable work. Aided by a very dry wit and a wonderful sense of humor -- something that most authors, skeptic and believer alike seem to abandon as soon as they tackle this `controversial' subject -- it is Moffitt's detective work as an art scholar and historian that makes this fascinating study truly unique. Taking the current classic image of the alien visitor that we are all so familiar with, Moffitt examines the visual roots and history of this now universally accepted `face.' What he finds will startle and surprise you. He offers other examples of how mass culture has created iconic images for religious, commercial and artistic purposes and skillfully traces their development. From Santa Claus to Jesus to the grey-skinned, black-eyed alien head on your key ring, poster, video game or made-for-TV film, you'll learn how such images are created, developed and distributed. His art-historical approach could be used to examine other iconic images in contemporary culture to equal effect. Congratulations are due Moffitt's trail blazing work in this area. I hope that others may follow in his path, to continue and extend this type of investigation. I've read most of the scientific and rational examinations of the alleged `extraterrestrial' phenomenon, from Klass to Sagan and while those books certainly have their merits, if you want a single book to help `explain it all' you could not do better than this one. I enjoy sci-fi as much, if not more, than the next fellow but after reading Picturing Extraterrestrials you'll have to conclude that this is a very Earth-bound, `terrestrial' activity. Visiting entities from the Pleiades are not required to explain this.

Doctor Moffitt has written an amazing and thorough study of the UFO phenomena. Before reading this wonderfully detailed study of contacts from space, I was unaware of so many references and publications deserving the insight provided by the author.
Rather than getting bound up in details that could easily be a ponderous effort to read, Dr. Moffitt adds a light touch of pervasive humor to his 600 pages. The book is divided nicely into reference chapters and may be read in random order. Each chapter is its own reward.