Men in black
- This article is about alleged secretive government departments. Men in Black also refers to:
- the 1997 movie Men in Black or its 2002 sequel Men in Black II
- Johnny Cash, who had the nickname of The Man in Black.
In UFO conspiracy theories, the term Men in Black (MIBs) are alleged to be men dressed in black suits claiming to be government agents, who attempt to harass or threaten UFO witnesses into silence.
Though some researchers--John Keel and others--have suggested similarities between MIB reports and earlier demonic accounts, the phenomenon was initially and most frequently reported in the 1950's and 1960s; it is contemporaneous with many other conspiracy theories.
Overview
There are variations, but typically after a presumably credible witness reports or witnesses a UFO sighting. The witness is visited by a man or men, who are often dressed in black suits, lending the reports their name. The men suggest--or the witnesses assume--that they are government agents, and often flash convincing-looking badges and demand that the witness recant their story, or hand over photographs, or physical evidence of a UFO. If the witness refuses or questions their credentials, they often subtly or not-so-subtly threaten the witness or their family with bodily harm.
While it is not known if these threats have ever been realized, resistors have reported subsequent encounters where they have been chased or roughed up by the "agents". Houses have allegedly been ransacked or burned down, in an attempt to destroy evidence or scare the witness into silence.
The men are often reported driving large, late-model cars; typically Cadillacs.
Some accounts report Men in Black behaving strangely, wearing out-of-date clothing, or speaking oddly.
First report?
Arguably the first MIB report was made shortly after June 21, 1947. On that date, seaman Harold Dahl claimed to have seen six UFO's near Maury Island (which is actually a peninsula of Vashon Island, in Puget Sound, near Tacoma, Washington). Dahl, his son, two other men, and Dahl's dog were on the boat. Dahl took a number of photographs of the UFO's, and reported that one UFO shed some type of hot slag on to his boat. The slag, he said, struck and killed his dog and injured his son.
The next morning, Dahl reported, a man arrived at his home and invited him to breakfast at a nearby diner. Dahl accepted the invitation. He described the man as imposing--over six feet tall and muscular, and wearing a black suit. The man drove a new 1947 Buick, and Dahl assumed he was a military or government representative.
While the two men ate, Dahl claimed the man told him details of the UFO sighting, though Dahl had not related his account publicly. Furthermore, the man gave Dahl a nonspecific warning--which Dahl took as a threat--that his family might be harmed if he related details of the sighting.
Some confusion and debate over Dahl's statements has occurred: Dahl would later claim the UFO sighting was a hoax, but has also claimed the sighting was accurate, but he had claimed it was a hoax to avoid bringing harm to his family.
Alfred K. Bender seized on Dahl's story, and printed it in his newsletter. In 1953, Bender claimed three men in black visited him, and warned him to stop his UFO research.
Accounts of Men In Black have been reported since then and continue on today.
Other proposed origins
A proposed origin of MIBs are police forces that protect the NSA headquarters in Maryland, who wear black paramilitary uniforms. (However, the police at Fort Meade in 2002 wear completely normal uniforms.)
Actuality
The actuality of the phenomenon is highly questionable. The depth of the conspiracy theory leads some to believe that their odd mannerisms and dress are due to the fact that they are aliens or alien-human hybrids, and that their job is to eliminate physical evidence of alien involvement on earth. Others believe that they are actual government agents who intentionally dress and act ridiculously, in an attempt to get UFO witnesses to discredit themselves if they ever report such an encounter.
The belief does seem to have some slight basis in fact however, as on more than one occasion police have reportedly chased what some believe to have been MIB vehicles.
Adaptations
- The popularity of the Men in Black conspiracy theory in the 1990s inspired a 1997 film Men in Black based on a cult comic book series and starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.
- Men and Women In Black are also featured prominently in the PC Game Deus Ex, working for Majestic-12 and the Illuminati.
- The Agents of the Matrix trilogy can also be seen as a fictional adaptation of the Men In Black.
- The short story Angel Down, Sussex by Kim Newman is about an archetypal alien abduction in Edwardian England, described in terms appropriate to the period. A significant role is played by "the undertakers in smoked spectacles".