Close Encounters of the First Kind: On Cultural Representations of Extraterrestrials, First Contact, & the Mythology of the Alien Other

Western culture has oversimplified and mythologized the possibility of first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence. Whether through anthropocentrism, lack of contextual literature and/or available knowledge, or simple misunderstanding, humanity has failed to fully consider the impacts of seeking out alien life. Instead, humanity’s cultural and political representations of extraterrestrials tell us a great deal about the people behind the stories—all of us stuck together on our pale blue dot. This thesis explores the mythological character that is ever-present in the extraterrestrial conversation, and how past and current cultural creators in the global West have perpetuated and changed that paradigm. This thesis is also an exploration of the ways we envision our ability to contact and interact with an unknown extraterrestrial other—in many ways mythological, and in some ways as powerful symbols for struggles against oppression. I argue for a more nuanced, creative, and scientifically driven representation and consideration of first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence.