Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard in The Ghost Breakers (1940)

Part IV of Movies I've seen in the last 70 some years.

Bill Skarsgård in It: Chapter Two (2019)

Nicolas Cage and Amber Heard in Drive Angry (2011)

(Some of the) Movies I have seen and rated. 

The ancient astronaut theory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_astronauts) as depicted on the big and small screen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_astronauts_in_popular_culture#Movies_and_television_series). These theory was popularised by Erich von Däniken and have been a strong influence on popular culture since.

Although a popular theme in early science fiction but it was first laid out[1] clearly by Charles Fort in 1919's Book of the Damned, where he said[2]:

"I think we're property. 

I should say we belong to something: 

That once upon a time, this earth was No-man's Land, that other worlds explored and colonized here, and fought among themselves for possession, but that now it's owned by something: 

...

I suspect that, after all, we're useful -- that among contesting claimants, adjustment has occurred, or that something now has a legal right to us, by force, or by having paid out analogues of beads for us to former, more primitive, owners of us -- all others warned off -- that all this has been known, perhaps for ages, to certain ones upon this earth, a cult or order, members of which function like bellwethers to the rest of us, or as superior slaves or overseers, directing us in accordance with instructions received -- from Somewhere else -- in our mysterious usefulness. 

But I accept that, in the past, before proprietorship was established, inhabitants of a host of other worlds have -- dropped here, hopped here, wafted, sailed, flown, motored -- walked here, for all I know -- been pulled here, been pushed; have come singly, have come in enormous numbers; have visited occasionally, have visited periodically for hunting, trading, replenishing harems, mining: have been unable to stay here, have established colonies here, have been lost here; far-advanced peoples, or things, and primitive peoples or whatever they were"

The films listed here draw on such themes - aliens visiting Earth in the past, people in the "present day" (which might include the future) find evidence for that aliens have been here before, etc.

Further reading: As you are reading this I'll assume you'll be familiar with Von Danicken's theories, so for some background and balance you might want to try: Space Gods Revealed (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0064650928/theempincwout-20) and Guardians of the Universe? (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312352166/theempincwout-20) by Ronald D. Story and Some Trust in Chariots! (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GSYVP6/theempincwout-20) by E.W. Castle and B.B. Thiering. There is also the more recent The Cult of Alien Gods (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591023521/theempincwout-20) by Jason Colavito which, along the lines of a 1982 piece "Chariots of the Old Ones?" by Charles Garofalo and Robert M. Price,[3] argues that Von Daniken's ideas are lifted from HP Lovecraft via Morning of the Magicians, so is a little more focused on how the theory developed (whereas the others focus on debunking specific claims) and I'd quibble that it downplays the influence of Fort, but it is definitely worth a read (as is Jason's blog, which does address the claims in a lot more detail). You can get a taste for the direction he goes in by reading his earlier piece "Charioteers of the Gods"[4] If you are only going to read one then go with Story's GotU? (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312352166/theempincwout-20) which was published at the tail end of the first big wave of interest and he was able to bring together all the arguments for and against.

Sources: [1] http://archiv.ub.uni-marburg.de/mjr/art_gruenschloss_2006.html [2] http://www.resologist.net/damn12.htm [3] https://web.archive.org/web/20150715043128/http://crypt-of-cthulhu.com/chariotsofoldones.htm [4] http://jcolavito.tripod.com/lostcivilizations/id26.html

Links: *Ancient Aliens, Part One and Two, a look at the topic in science fiction films: http://www.explore-science-fiction-movies.com/ancient-astronauts.html http://www.explore-science-fiction-movies.com/ancient-aliens.html * Ancient Astronauts at the Movies: http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2016/02/ancient-astronauts-at-the-movies/ * Ancient Astronauts at Jason Colavito.com: http://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/category/ancient%20astronauts *Ancient Astronauts at the Secret Sun, where Christopher Knowles teases out AAT themes in pop culture: http://secretsun.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Ancient%20Astronauts

See also: *Lovecraftian films (http://www.imdb.com/list/ls003196601/), obviously. *They Live Amongst Us (http://www.imdb.com/list/p4BRqw7m178/) about aliens in disguise on Earth now.

Comments: As I don't have a Facebook account I cannot interact with the new comments system, so have switched it off. I will start a thread on the message board and link it in here shortly.

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