This week the sci-fi comedy Paul is being released onto Blu-ray and DVD. It was a six-year project from conception to the silver screen, with writer/actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost even embodying their geeky sci-fi characters with a real RV roadtrip through America in preparation.

And whilethese boys had us rolling in the aisles with their fears of being anally probed by their newfound alien friend, the hype surrounding a comedy with a CG alien as the main star got us thinking seriously about the existence of aliens.  Stories of abductions, government cover-ups, alien autopsies and eyewitness accounts have fueled people’s imaginations about the possibility that we are not alone in the Universe and alien conspiracy theories have forged our fascination with UFOs and extraterrestrial beings.

One event that tends to stand out as the catalyst for all subsequent alien conspiracy theories is the 1947 Roswell landing, which has spurred the ongoing secrecy surrounding Area 51.  In 1947, the Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) issued a press release stating debris from a crashed “flying disc” had been recovered from a ranch near Roswell, sparking intense interest.  However, the following day the statement was retracted, and the debris was said to be only remnants of a weather balloon.  The incident was quickly forgotten until almost 30 years later in 1978 when physicist Stanton T. Friedman interviewed Major Jesse Marcel, who was involved with the original recovery of the debris in 1947.

Marcel expressed his belief that the military had covered up the recovery of an alien spacecraft and his story spread around the world, garnering international media attention for the Roswell incident.  Area 51 has now become synonymous with alien conspiracy theories and government cover-ups, where many believe the closely guarded base is home to elaborate underground labs where the U.S. government performs top-secret operations to do with extraterrestrials.  Area 51 is a ‘no-fly zone’ surrounded by fences with “trespassers will be shot” signs, and the government’s official line – that the details of Area 51 are classified for purposes of national security – is only seen by some as further proof that the military is hiding aliens or alien spacecraft.

Stories of aliens and conspiracy theories would not be complete without hoaxes, with crop circles and footage of flying saucers and mysterious lights in the sky claimingto be ‘proof’ of alien existence. In April this year video footage emerged of what appeared to be an alien corpse found in Siberia. The two men responsible for the footage later admitted it was stunt, with the alien body being cleverly made out stale bread and chicken skin. 

One of the most elaborate stunts is perhaps the video footage that was released in 1995 of a supposed alien autopsy that took place after the Roswell incident.  The body was suggested to belong to one the aliens recovered from the UFO crash site in Roswell and the video became world-known immediately. In 2006 it was admitted the footage was not actual footage, but instead a depiction of ‘actual events that took place’ which immediately discredited it.

We may never know the truth, but the mystery of the unknown continues to intrigue us.  So the question remains – do aliens exist? Does the U.S. government know more than what they let on? Or is just human paranoia and intrigue that drives our willingness to believe?  Let us know what you think and you’ll go in the draw to win Paul on Blu-ray.