(Archive)
Somebody get Majestic 12 or Hillary on the line, the Reptilians need to kick their Grey bio-drones in the pants and boost the amount of the mind-control drugs in the planet’s drinking water again.
You might think that History Channel’s Ancient Aliens is nothing more than a kooky guilty pleasure. After all, what’s the harm in letting a couple of camera-ready quacks share their completely unproven theories about aliens visiting ancient civilizations and gifting mankind with their superior knowledge? The problem is that the basic concept of Ancient Aliens is, well, rather racist. The implicit suggestion that ancient cultures, often non-white ones, would be incapable of advanced art, science, or architecture is problematic, to say the least. It’s a blindspot perpetuating the insidious idea that non-white, non-modern, and even non-Christian peoples were intrinsically dumb, when we have ample evidence to the contrary.
Yes, Ancient Aliens is not a guilty pleasure as much as its a troubling reminder of the disrespect we show non-white cultures.
Ancient Aliens started off as a one-off special on the History Channel back in 2010. The series looked at ancient texts and archaeological wonders to suggest that the Earth was in fact visited by extraterrestrials in prehistoric times. These aliens, represented in faith and mythology as everything from angels to gods, supposedly gifted ancient peoples with their wisdom, which accounted for everything from the spectacular Pyramids of Giza to fabulous Incan stone structures. While future episodes wove in wild theories about the Bermuda Triangle, the fall of Atlantis, and medieval mariners observing unexplained lights in the sky (because comets are only a modern thing, I guess), the heart of Ancient Aliens is this sheer disbelief that ancient cultures could be smart.
Ancient Aliens is a show riddled with modern biases. The most obvious one is the bias that technology has always moved in an upward slope towards enlightenment. However, historians will tell you this is inherently false. From the vacuum of order after the fall of the Roman Empire to the burning of the Library of Alexandria to tales of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, even Euro-centric scholars have proof that societies rose and fell in cycles throughout world history. Look across the Mediterranean and you’ll find that the entire continent of Africa has given birth to hundreds of complex cultures, from the golden kingdom of Mali (which helped bankroll Renaissance-era projects for Europeans) to the Ivory palaces of Axum. And I haven’t even broached the topic of Chinese history, South American empires, or ancient Mesopotamian wonders. The truth is world history has been full of magnificent cultures, even if they didn’t look much like ours.
However if you watch Ancient Aliens, all of these complex civilizations are proof of the interference of some higher beings. Since many of these societies in question are non-white, there is an implicit suggestion that non-white cultures could not possibly have developed their own technological or artistic knowledge on their own. It is a bias that reeks of racism, if not a severe lack of imagination.
Historians and archaeologists actually have a long-rooted habit of refusing to believe that non-white civilizations could have been sophisticated in their own right. The PBS docu-series Africa’s Great Civilizations broaches this head on. In Episode 3, host Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. introduces the magnificent city of Ife. When white archaeologists uncovered some of the spectacular sculptures Ife was known for, they decided that the exquisite masks or busts had to be connected to the mythic city of Atlantis. Atlantis, like “ancient aliens,” is often the lazy codeword some scholars turn to when they don’t want to wrap their heads around a non-white, non-Christian culture accomplishing greatness. Future scholars have thankfully proven that this gorgeous art came from a medieval African culture and not a metaphoric mind exercise invented by Plato.
Of course, when we talk about Ancient Aliens, we also have to ask whom is this show for? Clearly not academics, but amateur fans of history. Looking at the History Channel’s current schedule, certain patterns emerge pointing at a specific target demographic. Between Pawn Stars, Forged in Fire, American Pickers, Alone, the omnipresent World War II specials, and a series pointedly titled The Men Who Built America, History is — dare I simply say it? — a channel for middle-aged white men. Even more specifically, a type of man who romanticizes a rough and tough image of white America. Given that, Ancient Aliens snaps into focus as a show with a perhaps more malign intent.
Ancient Aliens wants to erase non-white, non-American, non-modern, and non-Christian accomplishments from the record completely.
Somebody get Majestic 12 or Hillary on the line, the Reptilians need to kick their Grey bio-drones in the pants and boost the amount of the mind-control drugs in the planet’s drinking water again.
