[DOC] Picturing Extraterrestrials: Alien Images in Modern Mass Culture by John F. Moffitt in Arts-Photography

Review

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Could have been better.By J. M. BlackLet me preface this review by saying that Im well educated. While I dont have a masters degree or Ph.D.. I do have two bachelors (one BA and one BS) and two minors (one in history) from a well-known four year liberal arts university. I have read and still read plenty of academic works. and this book was obviously written by an academic for a limited academic audience. In this book. Dr. Moffitt has a penchant for using pretentious wording and foreign phrases which unfortunately is too common in academic writing. Apparently he has not read "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White. or if he has read it then the good doctor has chosen to ignore their advice about not using "a twenty-dollar word when there is a ten-center handy. ready. and able." On the topic of using foreign languages. Strunk and White wrote that "some writers... from sheer exuberance or a desire to show off. sprinkle their work liberally with foreign expressions. with no regard for the readers comfort. It is a bad habit." This describes "Picturing Extraterrestrials" succinctly. No matter; I happen to be fluent in French and I also know some Latin. though I must confess ignorance of German. While not as bad as other academic works Ive read. the overly ornate word choices can be an unnecessary annoyance to readers as well as a hindrance to effective communication. As another reviewer said. this book is longer than it needs to be (in my opinion it is at least twice as long as it should be). and is a repetitious and tedious read.Stylistic complaints aside. the description of this book is misleading and does not fit well with the content. I was very enthusiastic about reading this book. However. it turned out to be less about the history of extraterrestrial depiction in art and culture and more about debunking the UFO and alien abduction "phenomena." When it comes to UFOs or alien abductions. or anything considered "supernatural" for that matter. Im thoroughly a skeptic (though I think such topics can make interesting works of fiction). However. Dr. Moffitts criticisms are not scientific and. as another reviewer said. they are quite mean-spirited. While I agree with the overall assessment that UFOs and alien abductions are almost certainly misinterpretations of natural phenomena such as hypnagogic hallucinations. misidentification of aircraft. or are hoaxes. or are false memories. or are products of overactive imaginations (often perpetuated by media and profitmaking). I believe that the way the criticisms are presented in this book has the potential to do more harm than good if the goal is to show "True Believers" through well-reasoned arguments why their way of thinking is fallacious or their beliefs untrue or unproven.However. since this book seems to be written for an audience already dismissive of claims about UFOs and alien abductions rather than for "True Believers" in an effort to persuade them away from nonsense. perhaps the harsh ridicule doesnt really matter. This is all for the best as this book lacks a strong persuasive thesis. strong supporting evidence. and focus. The evidence which is presented is as subjective. anecdotal. and boring as that from UFO witnesses. "abductees." or "contactees." What this book does have is plenty of overgeneralizations. as well as many examples of straw man and argumentum ad hominem logical fallacies. While some logical errors may be permitted in any work. in this book they were of such frequency that they became obnoxious about halfway through it.Anyone wanting a kinder and more logically consistent introduction to skepticism should consider Carl Sagans "The Demon Haunted World." a book from which Dr. Moffitt quotes. but has chosen to ignore Sagans advice about not being condescending when reasoning with "True Believers." As an aside. my copy of Sagans book is a paperback... Id be interested in hearing Dr. Moffitts criticism in that regard. Many of my other non-fiction reference books are also paperbacks (some of them from Harvard. Oxford. and Princeton). I say this because while I have always assumed that the format of bookbinding was chosen due to reasons of economics. convenience. or availability (which are some of the my main considerations when I buy a book regardless of binding). Dr. Moffitt frequently seems to express the idea that binding type has some correlation to the quality of the ideas being presented in those books. Given his derision of paperback books. Im surprised that this book is not gilded...While I dont hold a Ph.D. in art history. just as Dr. Moffitt does not hold a Ph.D. in psychology (sorry). I expected this book to focus on the presentation of extraterrestrial images in modern culture (as the title would suggest). and perhaps with a lot more images and analyses. The subject of this book has great potential to be compelling. and the content which is on topic in this book is interesting but it could have been much more than another poorly defended attack on popular belief and culture. Instead. this book is mostly an unfocused and pretentious rant of an academic who is clearly annoyed by the subject (leaving one to wonder why he bothered writing it at all) and it lacks both in effective skeptical argument and in interpretation of art.5 of 6 people found the following review helpful. A huge waste of timeBy John BorregoThis is a very poorly written book about a potentially interesting subject. The print edition runs 595 pages. and endless parade of condescension and self-congratulation. Did anyone ever copy-edit this book? It is an exercise in tedious verbosity. The reader doesnt need to be told fifty times that the alleged Betty and Barney Hill abduction is the origin of the common image of the alien "grey."The author reminds us on almost every page that he knows WORDS!! LONG WORDS!! WORDS IN SEVERAL LANGUAGES! We are treated to snippets of Latin. Greek. French. German. Spanish. Italian and Nahuatl (the last in an account of the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico). For no apparent reason. in discussing Elijahs vision of the fiery chariot from the Old Testament. he quotes. as he would say. "in extenso" from the Latin Vulgate. before providing the King James Version. Why not Hebrew? That would give him another language to preen about. Occasionally. he defines words in foreign languages with words in other foreign languages. "CV." we are told. means "curriculum vitae." or. in German. "Lebenslauf."The author. who reminds us frequently that he has a Ph.D. in art history. also pads out the length of the book with lengthy chapters of psychology and sociology. He also shows what a witty writer he is. with a tedious "satire" comparing golf to alien abduction. and provides a stand-up routine for Bob Newhart. if he had done a schtick about alien abduction in 1962. He twice tells us that British UFO writer Jenny Randle is "the Miss Marples [sic] of UFO researchers." Someone please tell the learned professor that Agatha Christies iconic character is named Miss Marple.His naked jealousy of writers and filmmakers who who made money from their alien encounter stories is patent throughout the book. He whines that he received no advance from his publisher for this book (not surprising). while others made millions on theirs.Buried in all of this heap of verbiage is some interesting material on the cultural dissemination of images of extraterrestrials. It would have made a good short piece. or. as the professor would probably call it. a feuilleton or an opusculum.4 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Too Snooty to ReadBy Mark AlfredI hoped that this book would fulfill its subtitle. Instead the author recounts his opinions. with snooty asides that drip with superior feelings and elitism. The sad thing is. I probably agree with his viewpoints concerning the (interior) origins of most of these encounters. I agree that most experiencers probably did NOT encounter something that was abjectively real. But that DOES NOT give him the right to make fun of the people! If this book were written with the compassion that (for instance) Jacques Vallee shows. it might be worth reading and finishing. But instead of discussing the various images of ETs and what-have-you. Moffitt recites various "reports" and picks out the most salacious or unflattering aspects to make snide remarks about. I hope that Mr Moffitt learns to write with humanity. humility. and compassion before cranking out another few hundred pages.Its also too bad that a book about "ETs in popular culture" would have only one black-and-white photo insert. Such a subject requires illustrations throughout. Of course. such a subject also requires objective reporting. not elitism.