2002 11 00 The Journal of Popular Culture - Vol 36 No 2 - Michael Sturma

Magazine Overview

This document is an excerpt from the "Journal of Popular Culture," specifically pages 318-327, featuring an article titled "Aliens and Indians: A Comparison of Abduction and Captivity Narratives" by Michael Sturma. The article explores the parallels between historical Native American Indian captivity narratives and contemporary alien abduction accounts.

Introduction

Michael Sturma begins by stating that stories of captivity among North American Indians dating from the 17th century share many parallels with recent narratives of alien abduction. He posits that both types of stories involve elements of selection and share analogous structures, conventions, themes, and images. The article aims to outline the origins and features of Indian captivity and alien abduction, draw explicit comparisons, and suggest interpretations for these similarities.

Background: Indian Captivity Narratives

Richard Slotkin is cited as claiming that captivity narratives provided America with its first coherent mythical literature. The earliest popular Indian captivity story was published in 1682, detailing the capture of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson among Indians in 1675. Rowlandson's story saw numerous editions, and by 1800, around 700 different captivity narratives had been published in the United States, remaining popular into the 19th century. These narratives were not exclusive to America, appearing in other frontier communities, such as the stories surrounding Eliza Fraser in Australia. Herman Melville's novel "Typee" is mentioned as an example where plot devices from Indian captivity were adapted for Polynesian settings.

Capture was a common tactic in Amerindian warfare, used for various purposes including compensation for lost relatives, population replenishment, psychological warfare, or ransom. While early Indian captivity stories were first-person accounts, they were later manipulated for different motives, such as Puritan ministers using them to warn of sin or as anti-Indian propaganda to justify land acquisition. From around 1750, these narratives increasingly incorporated fictional and fantastic elements. Examples include "A Surprising Account of the Captivity and Escape of Phillip McDonald and Alexander McLeod" (1786), which featured a 'monstrous creature' and a utopian civilization. The focus shifted from the captive's piety to the cruelty and tortures endured. The "Manheim anthology" (1793) was the first compilation of captivity horror stories for commercial gain, and Ann Eliza Bleecher is credited with the first captivity novel, "The History of Maria Kittle" (1797). The literary peak for fictional captivity stories was the 19th century, exemplified by James Fenimore Cooper's "Leatherstocking Tales."

Background: Alien Abduction Phenomenon

Although relatively recent, the alien abduction phenomenon is argued to have earlier antecedents, with centuries-old claims of contact with celestial or extradimensional beings, and stories of people being kidnapped by fairies. Since the 1950s, individuals have publicly claimed contact with extraterrestrial visitors, such as George Adamski. Unlike "contactees" who acted voluntarily, abduction victims are taken against their will. The first widely publicized case was that of Betty and Barney Hill in 1961, who reported "missing time" and recalled medical examinations aboard a spacecraft. Some researchers attribute abduction details to mass media influence, linking them to the 1975 film "The UFO Incident." Descriptions of aliens often feature small grey creatures with large black eyes, as in the Hills' story. Bud Hopkins' book "Missing Time" (1981) is seen as a template for other abduction experiences, and Whitley Strieber's "Communion" (1987) brought worldwide publicity to the phenomenon. Abductees' memories are sometimes triggered by books, film, or television. The phenomenon is concentrated in Western countries, with the United States as a focal point.

Similarities in Narrative Patterns

Stories of Indian captivity and alien abduction evoke similar images and narrative patterns, both being sensational and melodramatic and attracting mass readership. Early newspapers and pulp fiction featured Indian captivity stories, often focusing on savagery, while modern tabloids and media cover alien abduction. Both genres have become popular topics in modern media.

Crossing Frontiers

The central metaphor for both types of narratives is "crossing frontiers" and the forced experience of another culture, involving "transculturalization." Individuals are detached from their home society and placed in new social relationships. While Indian captives were literally beyond the reach of family, alien abductees often experience psychological isolation. The trauma is often magnified by sudden and unexpected beginnings, with individuals often snatched from familial settings or from remote, isolated spots. Abduction experiences can begin in isolated cabins or on desolate roads, while Indian captivity often begins with sudden kidnappings at night. Examples include Hannah Duston, Susannah Willard Johnson, Frances and Almira Hall, and Fanny Kelly, whose narratives describe sudden, unexpected attacks.

Helplessness and Passivity

The captivity/abduction usually begins with feelings of helplessness, and the captive tends to remain passive. Victims of alien abduction often experience immobilization and paralysis. This feeling of helplessness is a common motif, with Whitley Strieber describing himself as "helpless as a baby." Captives of Indians described similar feelings, sometimes using comparable language. Mary Schwandt stated she became "as one paralyzed."

Physical Imagery

Part of the ordeal involves a journey into the unknown. Mary Rowlandson described traveling into a "vast and desolate wilderness." There can be a sense of wonder at discovering a dimension beyond normal comprehension. Descriptions of Indian camps often emphasize the sheer number of people and lodges, creating a sense of overwhelming scale. Similarly, abductees describe huge ships with cavernous rooms, large UFOs, and underground caverns. The landscape of Indian captivity is often described abstractly as the "wilderness," "a dungeon," or "a hell," mirroring the sense of being in an alien environment.

Mortification

As an initiation into their new world, captives and abductees are often stripped of their clothing, metaphorically divested of their own culture. Narratives describe being beaten, deprived of clothing, and left naked. Both captives and abductees are rendered vulnerable, often feeling paralyzed and examined. Captives of Indians might be subjected to physical punishment, including running a gauntlet, and invasive torments. Alien abductees report similar invasive procedures and examinations. Both types of accounts convey a loss of control and dignity, as exemplified by the title "Humiliations Follow'd with Deliverances" for Mrs. Hannah Swarton's captivity narrative.

Ambivalence

Despite the abuse, Indian captivities and alien abduction stories often show ambivalence towards the experience and the captors. Early Indian narratives depicted "good" and "bad" Indians, with some portraying Indians negatively as "wild, cruel, barbarous, brutish," while others offered more sympathetic portrayals. Captivity could become a form of initiation into the Indian world, with some captives preferring Indian life and establishing cross-cultural families. Similarly, alien abductees express a range of emotions, from fear and awe to warmth and closeness, with some professing love toward their captors and forming long-term relationships.

Sex and Difference

Narratives of captivity and abduction are often sexually charged. Stories of female captives held by Indians frequently carried sexual implications, reflecting anxieties about European male power and the fear of white women being seduced by Indians. The emphasis on the sexual customs of Indians, contrasting with Christian mores, is common. Some accounts explicitly served as vehicles for sexual titillation. Marriage to an Indian, like that of Cynthia Ann Parker, represented an extreme of acculturation, and these narratives capitalized on fascination with cross-cultural romantic relationships. Alien abduction accounts also include explicit sexual references, such as oral sex, forced sex, and reproductive "experiments" involving sperm samples, egg harvesting, and hybrid embryo implantation. Some abductees report sexual intercourse with aliens. The language used in both types of narratives can be similar, with terms like "hybrid offspring" appearing in both contexts.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The article consistently draws parallels between Indian captivity and alien abduction narratives, suggesting that the latter may be a modern manifestation or echo of older archetypal experiences of capture and cultural encounter. The author's stance appears to be analytical and comparative, focusing on the structural and thematic similarities in storytelling across different historical and cultural contexts. The recurring themes include trauma, isolation, cultural displacement, power dynamics, and the complex emotional responses of those who undergo such experiences.

This document is a section from the "Journal of Popular Culture," specifically pages 328-334, with the primary focus being an article titled "Aliens and Indians." The content delves into the thematic and structural parallels between modern alien abduction narratives and historical Indian captivity stories.

Spiritual Transformation

The article posits that the ordeal of captivity, whether by Native Americans or aliens, is often framed not just in visceral terms but as a profound spiritual journey. For Puritan captives, Indian capture was interpreted as a punishment for sin, with survival seen as a sign of God's grace. Mary Rowlandson attributed her escape to divine providence, and Jesuit priest Francis Joseph Bressani found solace in suffering for his sins in this world rather than facing greater torments in the next. Similarly, alien abductees frequently report intense personal growth and a spiritual awakening. John Mack, a Harvard psychiatrist, notes this "intense personal growth and philosophical and spiritual opening." One abductee, "Sheila," experienced a realization about the negative consequences of human dominance and control over the planet.

Another abductee, "Susan," expressed joy in her identity and acceptance after her experience. Other abductees report lifestyle changes such as vegetarianism, quitting smoking, or discovering healing powers.

The Return and Warning

Both Indian captivity and alien abduction narratives often involve an attempt to make sense of the experience and come to terms with it, leading to profound personal change and a shift in identity. Some captives identified so strongly with the other culture that they were described as "half-Indianized" and committed to an Indian spouse. Alien abductees also articulate a sense of separateness from mainstream society, feeling like "translators" between worlds or even developing a dual human and alien identity. The experience of captivity is often likened to a metaphor of rebirth, with individuals emerging with new qualities or practical lessons. Mary Rowlandson found her captivity put ordinary life into perspective, and alien abductees often claim to gain new knowledge or insight, such as a heightened concern for the Earth's ecology.

An important element of the return to one's original culture is issuing a warning. Historically, Puritan ministers used captivity experiences to warn their flocks about the state of their souls, lest God use the Indians to punish the wicked. Later, these warnings became more secular, with captives promoting the Indian lifestyle. Alien abductees also feel compelled to issue warnings, some believing aliens aim for Earth's conquest and that alien breeding programs will lead to infiltration by hybrids. More commonly, abductees warn about humanity's destructive capacity and the Earth's future, citing concerns about violence, nuclear weapons, and ecological destruction. They often report experiencing visions of mass destruction or environmental catastrophe, leading them to advocate for environmental consciousness and warn against nuclear war or environmental disaster.

Interpretations

Both captivity and abduction narratives are seen as reflecting deeper societal anxieties and desires. Indian captivity narratives are interpreted as symbolic dramas expressing Puritan anxieties about their place in a new land, with the white female captive often symbolizing the conflict between wilderness and civilization. Vulnerable women and children in captivity narratives are suggested to represent anxieties about frontier migration and confrontation with Native Americans. The article notes that the first reports of modern UFOs emerged during the Cold War, a period of heightened global tension and fear of atomic energy, suggesting abduction narratives may reflect anxieties about the Earth's future and humanity's ability to overcome ethnic and cultural boundaries.

June Namias suggests Indian captivity stories were used to reflect on cultural and gender identity during periods of uncertainty. Similarly, alien abduction is interpreted in terms of identity, with John Mack observing that the phenomenon forces a re-examination of human identity from a cosmic perspective. Abductees often link Earth's salvation to empathy and the ability to identify with "that which is not themselves." Mack suggests abductees experience an expansion of their sense of self and identity.

While popular culture often explains alien abduction as extraterrestrial visitation, alternative explanations exist. Some researchers propose altered states of consciousness influenced by science fiction, while others suggest abduction narratives may mask sexual abuse or multiple personality disorders. Elaine Showalter proposes that women might use alien abduction as an explanation for their own sexual feelings in a culture that makes it difficult for them to accept their sexuality.

One of the strongest arguments for the reality of alien abduction is the similarity of accounts. Budd Hopkins and David Jacobs emphasize the consistent patterns and internal logic found in abduction narratives. John Mack also notes the readily identifiable patterns that emerge from careful examination of case narratives.

Similarities to Folklore and Frontier Myths

Alien abduction stories bear resemblances to ascension myths and folklore, particularly fairy lore in Celtic tradition, as noted by Jacques Vallee and Carole Silver. Whitley Strieber acknowledges similarities between his experiences and fairy lore, where beings were attributed with powers of transport and intervention in human affairs. James Hogg's poem "Kilmeny" is cited as an example of a fairy abduction narrative. The article suggests that the key element in the alien abduction phenomenon might be the pattern of captivity and transculturalization, rather than just extraterrestrial visitors. This interpretation aligns with the logic and consistency found in captivity narratives.

The article draws a parallel between the "final frontier" of outer space and the historical Western frontier. David Jacobs describes abductees as "scouts," and Mack and Hopkins refer to them as "pioneers," occupying a special status at society's cultural margins. The story of Barney and Betty Hill, an interracial couple whose abduction experience occurred in the early 1960s, is presented as significant, elevating their transculturalization from a personal to a cosmic level. Viewed in this context, alien abduction accounts are seen as symptomatic of the tensions of identity and consciousness experienced by some individuals in the late twentieth century "space age."

Works Cited

The document includes an extensive "Works Cited" section, listing numerous books and articles relevant to Indian captivity narratives, UFOs, and alien abduction, by authors such as James Axtell, Robert F. Berkhofer Jr., Hilary Evans, Budd Hopkins, David M. Jacobs, John E. Mack, June Namias, Jenny Randles, Michael Shermer, Elaine Showalter, Carole G. Silver, Richard Slotkin, Whitley Strieber, and Jacques Vallee.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes throughout the article are the deep-seated parallels between alien abduction and historical Indian captivity narratives, the exploration of spiritual transformation and identity shifts resulting from these experiences, and the reflection of societal anxieties within these narratives. The editorial stance appears to be one of academic inquiry, drawing on sociological, historical, and psychological perspectives to analyze the phenomenon of alien abduction by comparing it to established historical and cultural narratives. The article does not definitively assert the reality of alien abductions but rather focuses on the narrative structures, psychological impacts, and cultural resonances of the accounts.