Flying Saucers in Popular Culture

=The Day the Earth Stood Still

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electromagnetic interference, nuclear weapons concerns, saucer

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

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electromagnetic interference

The Abyss

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nuclear weapons concerns, USO

1940s

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A small flying saucer leaves its larger mothership in Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959).

After 1947, the flying saucer quickly became a stereotypical symbol of both extraterrestrials and science fiction, and features in many films of mid-20th century science fiction, including , , , as well as . As the flying saucer was surpassed by other designs and concepts, it fell out of favor with straight science-fiction moviemakers, but continued to be used ironically in comedy movies, especially in reference to the low-budget B movies which often featured saucer-shaped alien craft.


1950

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In some cases, saucers were portrayed as human-created craft in the future. Forbidden Planet (1956) a flying saucer called the United Planets Cruiser C-57D In the television series Lost in Space (1965-1968), the Robinson family had a disc-shaped spaceship.

Saucers appeared in the television series Babylon 5 (1994-1998) as the standard ship design used by a race called the Vree. Aliens in the film Independence Day (1996) attacked humanity in giant city-sized saucer-shaped spaceships.

The sleek, silver flying saucer in particular is seen as a symbol of 1950s culture; the motif is common in Googie architecture and in Atomic Age décor.[1] The image is often invoked retrofuturistically to produce a nostalgic feel in period works, especially in comic science fiction; both Mars Attacks! (1996)[2] and Destroy All Humans![3] draw on the flying saucer as part of the larger satire of 1950s B movie tropes.

  1. ^ "Astronomers and the Space Needle". Astroprof's. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  2. ^ "Alien Notions". Metroactive. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  3. ^ "Destroy All Humans! for PS2". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2013.