In popular culture andUFO conspiracy theories,men in black (MIB) are government agents dressed in darksuits, who question, interrogate, harass, and threatenunidentified flying object (UFO) witnesses to keep them silent about what they have seen. The term is also frequently used to describe mysterious men working for unknown organizations, as well as various branches of government allegedly tasked with protecting government UFO secrets or performing other strange activities. They are typically described as tall men with expressionless faces, slightly pale skin, and usually wearing black suits with black sunglasses. “Men In Black” encounters are very common tales told in American UFO conspiracy theories.
The term is generic, as it is used for any unusual, threatening or strangely behaved individual whose appearance on the scene can be linked in some fashion with a UFO sighting.[1]
Stories about men in black inspired thescience fiction comedy franchiseMen in Black and analbum bythe Stranglers.
FolkloristJames R. Lewis compares accounts of men in black with tales of people encounteringLucifer, and speculates that they can be considered a kind of "psychological trauma".[2]
Men in black feature prominently inufology, UFO folklore, and fan fiction. In the 1950s and 1960s, ufologists adopted a conspiratorial mindset and began fearing they would be subject to organized intimidation in retaliation for discovering "the truth of the UFOs".[3]
In 1947, Harold Dahl claimed a man in a dark suit warned him not to discuss his allegedUFO sighting on Maury Island. In the mid-1950s, ufologistAlbert K. Bender claimed he was visited by men in dark suits who threatened and warned him not to continue investigating UFOs. He maintained that the men were secret government agents tasked with suppressing evidence of UFOs. UfologistJohn Keel claimed to have had encounters with MIB and referred to them as "demonic supernaturals" with "dark skin and/or 'exotic' facial features". According to ufologistJerome Clark, reports of men in black represent "experiences" that "don't seem to have occurred in the world ofconsensus reality".[4]
Historian Aaron Gulyas wrote: "During the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, UFO conspiracy theorists would incorporate the MIB into their increasingly complex and paranoid visions."[3]
Keel has argued that some MIB encounters could be explained as entirely mundane events perpetuated through folklore. In his bookThe Mothman Prophecies (1975), he describes a late-night outing in 1967, where he was mistaken for an MIB while searching for a phone to call a tow truck.[5]
In his article "Gray Barker: My Friend, the Myth-Maker", John C. Sherwood claims that, in the late 1960s, at age 18, he cooperated whenGray Barker urged him to develop a hoax—which Barker subsequently published—about what Barker called "blackmen", three mysterious UFO inhabitants who silenced Sherwood's pseudonymous identity, "Dr. Richard H. Pratt".[6]
Songs that reference the urban legend include "E.T.I (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)" by theBlue Öyster Cult (1976),[7] "Meninblack" byThe Stranglers (1979),[8] "Men in Black" byFrank Black, and"Men in Black" byRunning Wild (1995).[9] In 1981, The Stranglers also released a concept album,The Gospel According to the Meninblack.[10]
The Alien Encounters (1979) features Men in Black who harass a UFO investigator.[11] InThe Brother from Another Planet (1984), two Men in Black try to capture the alien protagonist.[12]
The 1997 science-fiction filmMen In Black, starringWill Smith andTommy Lee Jones, was loosely based onThe Men in Blackcomic book series created byLowell Cunningham andSandy Carruthers.[13] Also that year, television movieThe Shadow Men presented a more serious take on the concept.[14]
Men in Black also appear in television series,The X-Files.[15]
The video game franchiseHalf-Life features a character known as the G-Man, widely regarded as apastiche of the concept.[16][17] The Men in Black also feature inDeus Ex as agents ofMajestic 12.[18]
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