Media can influence people. If it did not have any influence then advertising would not be a billion dollar industry, trends would not come and go, and social media would not be as popular as it is. However, there are still aspects of media influence that are heavily debated: mimicking violent behavior, lacking empathy, and obsession. It is possible that media does not influence these behavioral patterns directly, but it does not mean the media cannot influence people in subtle ways.

 

Ghosts, UFO's, and monsters have been featured in the media for decades, but these topics only make up a very small segment of programming. The movie Paranormal Activity is not making headlines because of its realistic depictions of ghost encounters, and Independence Day didn’t recreate an actual UFO encounter. These films are not reflecting real life accounts per se, but they do rely on the audience’s ability to suspend belief.

 

Can the process of continually suspending belief cause behavioral changes? Can media depictions of unexplained phenomenon predispose us to witness this phenomenon in real life? I will attempt to answer these questions by taking a look at a very influential piece of media.

 

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (CEOTTK) has often been cited as the foundation of the modern alien description. The Grey aliens (Greys) that are depicted in this film have come to dominate media and abduction reports since the late 1970’s.

 

A good way to explore how the Grey alien became synonymous with extraterrestrials is to look at science fiction stories of the past. Some notable examples appear to show how media influences carved out the Grey alien over time, leading up to the depictions of today. For example:

 

• In H.G. Wells’ article entitled “Man of the Year Million”, humanity was described as having been transformed into grey-skinned beings, with big heads.

 

• In Gustav Sandgren’s novel titled Den okända faran (The Unknown Danger), extraterrestrials are described as being short, with big bald heads, very small noses and mouths, and large dark eyes.

 

• Betty and Barney Hill claimed to have been abducted by aliens in 1961. While they did not use the term “Greys”, they did describe the aliens as having wrap-around eyes, however, the aliens were taller and more human-like than the modern grey.

 

• Then came Close Encounters of the Third Kind. This is the first depiction of an alien that resembled a Grey.

 

Ever since CEOTTK, Grey aliens have been the dominant form of alien represented in the media. The book Communion was published in 1987 and had a depiction of a Grey on the cover. The Grey was now synonomus with extraterrestrial. What is striking about this evolution is how the image of the Grey was formed, and then solidified by greater and more influential media.

 

Wells was not speaking of aliens when he was describing future humans as big-headed grey skinned beings. Sangren’s depictions took Wells’ depictions and transported the creatures into outer space. CEOTTK solidified the coming together of all of the above-mentioned traits. The only thing missing from the typical grey alien was the solid black eyes. In the film, the eyes are white with a black pupil, however, the scenes in which they are shown are very dark, most likely to hide the makeup and costume flaws. This led to the eyes appearing very dark, almost like large black almonds.

 

There was no specific date when reports of big-headed, black-eyed, grey aliens began. In fact, the term “Greys” was not used until much later than CEOTTK. However, the popularity of these descriptions became more widespread as they appeared in media like Sightings, Communion, Unsolved Mysteries, Fire in the Sky, and the Alien Autopsy video. These depictions slowly evolved, adopting and subtracting aspects until the image was simplified into what we know today as the Grey alien.

 

While many may point to the Roswell incident, which took place well before Close Encounters and Communion, as an example of the Grey's predating these media representations, it is worth nothing that the original Roswell story did not rise to prominence until the late 70’s and 80’s, right around the time of these hugely successful media depictions. Coincidence?