Transcript: Why do people so strongly believe in aliens despite no evidence for their existence? When Orson Wells’ radio War of the Worlds episode was broadcast, it caused widespread panic on the east coast because people were ready to believe that Martians could attack us. When Star Wars and Star Trek and the X-Files moved from the status of simple movies or TV shows to widespread cultural phenomena, it’s because the idea of aliens resonates with something deep in our psyche. The idea of aliens, intelligent aliens, embodies our deepest hopes, fears, and longings. In the pessimistic view, such as movies like Alien and Independence Day, they could destroy us. In the optimistic view, represented by the movie Contact, they could inform and rescue us. Many movies and TV shows illustrate a strict biblical or religious metaphor. The best example is Spielberg’s movie E.T. where E.T. follows a direct analog of the Christ story. This thing, this phenomenon of the aliens embodying our hopes and fears and longings raises a different question than, are we alone? Perhaps the real question is why are we so lonely?