In popular culture andUFO conspiracy theories,men in black (MIB) are government agents dressed in darksuits, who question, interrogate, harass, threaten, allegedlymemory-wipe and sometimes assassinateunidentified 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 secrets or performing other strange activities.
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.[2] Several alleged encounters with the men in black have been reported by UFO researchers and enthusiasts. The "MIB" supposedly appeared throughout different moments in history.
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".[3]
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."[4]
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."[5]
Historian Aaron Gulyas wrote, "During the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, UFO conspiracy theorists would incorporate the MIB into their increasingly complex and paranoid visions."[4]
Keel has argued that some MIB encounters could be explained as entirely mundane events perpetuated through folklore. In his 1975 bookThe Mothman Prophecies, he describes a late-night outing in 1967, where he was taken for an MIB while searching for a phone to call a tow truck.[6]
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."[7]
The 1976Blue Öyster Cult song "E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)" contains the line: "Three men in black said, 'Don't report this.'" Their 1983 song "Take Me Away", about the singer's desire to leave Earth with "good guy" aliens, has the line: "The men in black, their lips are sealed."[8]
In 1979, British punk rock and new wave rock bandThe Stranglers recorded a song entitled "Meninblack" for their albumThe Raven, released that year. In 1981, their concept albumThe Gospel According to the Meninblack featured alien visitations to Earth.[9]
James T. Flocker's 1979 filmThe Alien Encounters included Men in Black who harass a UFO investigator portrayed by Augie Tribach.[10]
The 1984 filmThe Brother from Another Planet features two Men in Black who try to capture the alien hero. One is played by the film's director, John Sayles.[11]
The 1995 albumMasquerade by German heavy metal bandRunning Wild has a song called "Men in Black". The song tells about aUFO sighting and the arrival of the Men In Black and the covering up of the sighting.
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.[12] Cunningham got the idea for the comic when he and a friend saw a black van on the street and his friend joked about government "men in black".[13]
The video game franchiseHalf-Life features a character known as the G-Man, widely regarded as being inspired by urban legends associated with the men in black.
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