Alien appearance and facial features

[OtakuNutchi]

Now, I'm not a frequent watcher of Sci-Fi movies, but at least the stereotype representation of extra-terrestrials is pretty ubiquitous. (Although, this claim might need confirmation from more experienced fans). As far as the typical artist representation goes (excluding evolutionarily informed speculations such as Carl Sagan's jovial "floaters", "hunters" and "sinkers"), the faces of aliens look suspiciously similar to human infants with large black eyes, a big head and comparatively small body. (Alternatively, similarities with other terrestrial species can be found).

Assuming this or similar stereotype is correct,

I will now get to the point of this thread, which is the question of how to interpret these similarities. Is it a meme gone viral, simply unimaginative, or a result of neurological face-recognition mechanisms?

Here is an interesting try from the skeptic society to explain this: http://www.skeptic.com/reading_room/close-encounters-of-the-facial-kind/
What do you guys think about the hypothesis in the article, and the assumption of morphological uniformity (of aliens) in fiction?

 

[Stellafane]

Very interesting! I certainly wouldn't dismiss the hypothesis out-of-hand, although personally I think this fellow probably had more to do with establishing the basic alien template. Other factors may have played a part in fine-tuning the standard over the years, however.

 

[Pope130]

In written science fiction aliens vary a great deal more than they do in visual media. This may be largely due to (until recently) the need to use human actors to portray aliens.

 

[Bikewer]

Some time back (years...) Skeptical Inquirer showed a full-page chart of alien "types" supposedly seen by encounter-reporters over many years.
As I recall, the oldest reports were wildly different; ranging from large hairy creatures to amorphous blobs....But over the years they gradually became more anthromorphic until the now-ubiquitous "gray" type dominates.
The influence of pop culture can't be denied.

 

[Foster Zygote]

Some time back (years...) Skeptical Inquirer showed a full-page chart of alien "types" supposedly seen by encounter-reporters over many years.
As I recall, the oldest reports were wildly different; ranging from large hairy creatures to amorphous blobs....But over the years they gradually became more anthromorphic until the now-ubiquitous "gray" type dominates.
The influence of pop culture can't be denied.

I can remember seeing a clip of someone on a television debate program years ago holding up a simple line drawing of the all too familiar grey alien archetype, and defiantly asking a skeptic something like, "Oh yeah? If it's all imaginary then how come everyone says they see this?". He seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he was answering his own question by holding that image up on television and perpetuating the idea that it was a representation of what the aliens look like.

 

[Foster Zygote]

Some time back (years...) Skeptical Inquirer showed a full-page chart of alien "types" supposedly seen by encounter-reporters over many years.
As I recall, the oldest reports were wildly different; ranging from large hairy creatures to amorphous blobs....But over the years they gradually became more anthromorphic until the now-ubiquitous "gray" type dominates.
The influence of pop culture can't be denied.

Oh, and I also remember reading that people in different regions tended to report different descriptions of the aliens. Europeans, for example, tended to report human forms with animal heads, or human looking beings wearing long white robes.

 

[AdMan]

Some time back (years...) Skeptical Inquirer showed a full-page chart of alien "types" supposedly seen by encounter-reporters over many years.
As I recall, the oldest reports were wildly different; ranging from large hairy creatures to amorphous blobs....But over the years they gradually became more anthromorphic until the now-ubiquitous "gray" type dominates.
The influence of pop culture can't be denied.

If I'm not mistaken, that is a graphic created by Joe Nickell (I remember it because I've got a signed poster ).

This one:

http://calabozo.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/alien_timeline.jpg

 

[FreshHat]

The female(?) alien pictured in the OP appears to be wearing an Earthly shade of lipstick (how else to explain a green being with red lips), and she has Playmate Of The Month calibre breasts.

 

[332nd]

In written science fiction aliens vary a great deal more than they do in visual media. This may be largely due to (until recently) the need to use human actors to portray aliens.

I've always wondered how people would react to a movie that showed something truly alien. Not a blob, humanoid, insectoid, etc... but something that even after you've looked at it a while you couldn't really compare it to anything earthly, or done before.

My first thought is that most would hate it.

 

[Astreja]

I think the Big-Eyed Alien meme, particularly the "Greys" variant, is at least partially inspired by cats. If you cup the face of a resident kitteh in your hands so as to conceal the ears, and look at it face-on, you'll see what I mean.

 

[Madalch]

I've always wondered how people would react to a movie that showed something truly alien. Not a blob, humanoid, insectoid, etc... but something that even after you've looked at it a while you couldn't really compare it to anything earthly, or done before.

My first thought is that most would hate it.

Only Capt. Kirk.

Oh, wait- you said, "hate", not "hit".

 

[Roger Ramjets]

I've always wondered how people would react to a movie that showed something truly alien. Not a blob, humanoid, insectoid, etc...

What about a rock?

the stereotype representation of extra-terrestrials is pretty ubiquitous...

I will now get to the point of this thread, which is the question of how to interpret these similarities. Is it a meme gone viral, simply unimaginative, or a result of neurological face-recognition mechanisms?

Most 'science' fiction is not about actual science, and the 'aliens' are just people from a different culture. Like other fiction, the stories are about humans, with the 'science' and 'alien' stuff simply allowing the freedom to create more interesting scenarios. In this respect science fiction is a type of fantasy, with 'science' replacing magic and 'aliens' replacing elves etc.

Since virtually all science fiction deals with people and how they interact with each other, the 'aliens' usually need to have human characteristics - including big black eyes, pointy ears, lipstick and Playmate Of The Month calibre breasts - if that was the desired fantasy.

http://www.skeptic.com/reading_room/close-encounters-of-the-facial-kind/

The archetypical alien face most commonly reported by abductees is usually recalled while the victim is in a hypnagogic half-dream state, or else under hypnotic regression.

This is something else again. People have been having these experiences for thousand of years, but the cause was assumed to be angels, spirits, ghouls, etc. They are only now being interpreted as 'aliens' due to the desire for a 'scientific' explanation, and their subsequent association with preexisting representations of aliens in popular science fiction. IOW, people are now seeing 'aliens', because in our modern 'scientific' world that is an acceptable explanation for what they saw.

'Greys' are not the only alien morphology found in science fiction, so why is this type singled out by 'abductees'? Could it be because that is closest to what they did see in their dreams. When people see 'Greys', it is because they are predisposed to see that image, and science fiction artists were inspired by the same 'visions'?

Or are people are not actually 'seeing' these particular things, but come to believe that is what they saw? If the popular depiction of an alien is a 'Grey' and you think that what you saw was an alien, would you modify your recollection to fit? There is famous case where several people saw an 'alien' which probably was actually an owl. A picture drawn by one of the witnesses shares many of the bird's features, but with a head and body that looks more like a 'Grey'. Could this be the result of the witness having previously seen a 'Grey' in a science fiction movie, and modifying his recollection to fit the accepted morphology of an 'alien'?

I am also very suspicious of descriptions recalled while in 'hypnotic regression'. Did the 'abductees' really see the things described, or were they victims of suggestion? Perhaps a lot of the apparent similarity is actually caused by a few 'investigators' forcing their own preconceptions onto their victims.

 

[TheGoldcountry]

Only Capt. Kirk.

Oh, wait- you said, "hate", not "hit".

Good call. I don't want to think about the alien he wouldn't take on. Maybe a female Gorn.

 

[Garrison]

There is of course the theory that the classic 'grey' as described by Betty Hill is in fact inspired by an episode of the Outer Limits that was broadcast around the time of the abduction. Barney Hill's original description of the aliens was quite different from this but over time he conformed to Betty's version.

And of course not surprising that the aliens all tend to conform to a type after the release of 'Close Enncounters'.

 

[OtakuNutchi]

Thanks for the informative input. As far as I understand, the alleged aliens reported by "abductees", and the creatures of science fiction, were mutually inspired by each other. But as they tend to make different epistemological claims, maybe I should have made a distinction the the OP.

Most 'science' fiction is not about actual science, and the 'aliens' are just people from a different culture. Like other fiction, the stories are about humans, with the 'science' and 'alien' stuff simply allowing the freedom to create more interesting scenarios. In this respect science fiction is a type of fantasy, with 'science' replacing magic and 'aliens' replacing elves etc...

...http://www.skeptic.com/reading_room/close-encounters-of-the-facial-kind/This is something else again. People have been having these experiences for thousand of years, but the cause was assumed to be angels, spirits, ghouls, etc. They are only now being interpreted as 'aliens' due to the desire for a 'scientific' explanation, and their subsequent association with preexisting representations of aliens in popular science fiction. IOW, people are now seeing 'aliens', because in our modern 'scientific' world that is an acceptable explanation for what they saw.

Considering that hypnagogia must have preceded the 'invention' of science-fiction, the visions people have during this semi-conscious state are probably often influenced by science-fictional creatures (or whatever the current pop-culture happens to provide). The conclusion I draw at this point, regarding the anthropomorphization of fictional beings, is that humans aren't very imaginative. But then again, when looking at the timeline http://calabozo.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/alien_timeline.jpg, I'm tempted to reconsider...

 

[Wolrab]

Some time back (years...) Skeptical Inquirer showed a full-page chart of alien "types" supposedly seen by encounter-reporters over many years.
As I recall, the oldest reports were wildly different; ranging from large hairy creatures to amorphous blobs....But over the years they gradually became more anthromorphic until the now-ubiquitous "gray" type dominates.
The influence of pop culture can't be denied.

It's just that the greys won the contest on which alien gets to anal probe Earthlings. They campaigned very hard to win, even though none of the other aliens used anal probing, preferring remote sensing technology. The greys are the reason aliens raise whatever appendage they have for a greeting. No one wants to touch a greys hand as they know where it's been.

Captain Kirk has nothing on Riker, Riker spent a whole episode trying to hit on an androgynous alien.

 

[crhkrebs]

I seem to remember being abducted by the alien from 1956 (see chart) from her spacecraft. She wanted me to donate sperm. Or that may have been the waitress from the trailer park. I can't remember.

 

[Resume]

These alien abduction stories would be much more entertaining if they featured Benny, not Betty (or Barney) Hill.

 

[Mojo]

But over the years they gradually became more anthromorphic until the now-ubiquitous "gray" type dominates.
The influence of pop culture can't be denied.

Are they grey because 1950s B movies were in black and white?

 

[Stellafane]

The female(?) alien pictured in the OP appears to be wearing an Earthly shade of lipstick (how else to explain a green being with red lips), and she has Playmate Of The Month calibre breasts.

A true candidate for Miss Universe!