Alien movies - Why we love them

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Why we love alien movies...

We love alien movies because:

- We are curious. We can't help it. Curiosity is encoded in our genes. :)

- They try to answer the questions we are most curious about:

What do aliens and their worlds look like?
What kind of technology do they use?
How different are they from us?
How do they communicate?

.....and to quote Michael Swanwick ("Ginungagap", 1980):

"Do they know of love?
Do they appreciate beauty?
Do they believe in God, hey?
Do they want to eat us?"

Alien Movies - Alien Hunter

Watching films about aliens, we join the Earth's finest explorers and travel light years in an hour and a half. We visit other planets and meet intelligent alien species.

We can do all that sitting in our comfy chair and never be late for dinner. :) What an adventure!

- There is always an element of fear, I guess. We are afraid of the unknown. What if they decide to step off the ship and pay a visit to us?

What if they are hostile? Or worse, what if they go after us? In that case, sit tight and enjoy a good alien-invasion movie. :)

- Movies about aliens can be used for the exploration of humanity. It may sound a contradiction, but science fiction films often show how extra-terrestrials would see us or how they would react in some human-like situations.

Cartoons by Andertoons

In this kind of science fiction movies extra-terrestrials live among us and learn about our world, culture and people. An alien's viewpoint is an easy way to make a poignant comment on our values and beliefs, or simply underscore how fundamentally weird human beings are.

- These movies teach us to accept creatures totally different than us. In this way, we test ourselves how tolerant we are of those who do not share our language, customs, worldview. Unfortunately, xenophobia is still one of the most prevalent of social trends.

Alien movies about bug-eyed little green men poised on making the first contact can be an antidote to that. On condition, they are friendly, of course.

But even if they are not, you learn how to deal with what is different and strange. You start to accept it as something absolutely normal. Something you can live with. Even the most horrid and dangerous creatures lose some of its luster if you watch them long enough.

- Alien movies make us fantasize about the far-flung mysterious places of the universe and make us develop our imagination. Kids ought to watch them as part of curriculum.

We could go on like this forever but...

...there is yet another reason most important of all.

We just LOVE alien movies!