I admit it. I'm 58 years young and have been reading and studying UFOs and the paranormal for half a century. And the more I learn, the more I fear for the future of mankind. I must also confess to being "a movie junkie."

I love my plasma TV and have had surround sound since its release.

I am constantly purchasing DVDs and truly appreciate high definition television.

But "What does this have to do with UFOs?"

Well, I believe we can tell a lot about our world, society and even our conscious and unconscious beliefs by watching movies and television.

My earliest television memories are those of watching Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone" and "One Step Beyond" directed and hosted by John Newland. Those 50s & 60s black and white images mesmerized my brothers, sister and me as we were literally whisked away to magical realms floating above carpeted floor transfixed by the tube. Then came the original "Outer Limits" and still, the fantasy remained. Over the course of my life many UFO and paranormal television shows have come and gone, perhaps, reaching their zenith with Chris Carter's "The X-Files" in the late 1990s.

As a direct result of publishing my own website (ufodigest.com) I have been contacted by many individuals worldwide. They have sent me personal stories, videos and photos, making me witness to delight, awe, wonderment and dread.

Yes, dread! And some come with absolute fear explicitly expressed.

By reading this monthly column, you will learn the real facts about the alien threat, the extraterrestrial infiltration of our society, governments' (plural) complicity in cover-up/disinformation and some of the actual reasons behind the alien abduction phenomenon.

Remember, the sci-fi movies of the 1950s and 1960s?

We were introduced to extraterrestrial aliens as conquering hordes, intent on the total destruction of mankind.

Gene Barry, an actor of the period and second cousin to my mother starred in many "B' movies and television series. Mr. Barry was the star of the 1952 movie version of the "War of the Worlds" and, as you know, these aliens were far from friendly. Still earlier, there was the 1951 movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still," which portrayed the aliens as paternal, determined to save us even if we were destroyed in the process.

Another cult favorite is the 1956 thriller "Earth vs. the Flying Saucers."

Regardless, according to the story being disseminated throughout the Internet, a number of the astronauts died, others mysteriously decided to stay and either 6 or 8 returned - never to be seen or heard from again.

Spielberg followed this up in 1982 with "ET: the Extraterrestrial". ET is portrayed as a loveable, friendly, almost "teddy bear like" entity concerned only with contacting his comrades and returning home. His species is almost humanized as is demonstrated by his acquired love for Reese's Pieces.

Other movies, such as the 1984 "Starman" (starring Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen), concerns a pilot that has survived the crash of his UFO and manifests himself in the likeness of Allen's late husband. The storyline continues as Bridges struggles to meet his compatriots for rescue before he succumbs to the poisons in the Earth's atmosphere.

In 1997 author, scientist and astronomer Carl Sagan's fictional work "Contact" was released as a movie. In it Jodi Foster believes that she had made first contact with an alien race when she receives an intelligent signal broadcast from deep space. The plot involves deciphering the message, building the mysterious machine that was part of the alien message, and convincing others that she had actually experienced space travel.

"K-Pax" was released in 2001 and stars Kevin Spacey as Prot and Jeff Bridges as his psychiatrist. Prot is a patient at a mental hospital who claims to be from a far away planet. Bridges tries to help him, only to begin to doubt his own explanations. The twist at the end of the movies concerns the question "Does Prot achieve return to his home planet or was he simply delusional?"

Occasionally, a movie like 1996s "Mars Attacks" (starring Jack Nicholson), a spoof on science fiction movies, bucks the trend and shows ET as a race bent on the destruction of mankind. Also, in 1996 "Independence Day" was a patriotic movie masterpiece as mankind battled invading extraterrestrials on The Fourth of July.

Remember the scene when believers gathered on the top of a building and were dancing and singing as the mother ship hovered overhead and then suddenly they were utterly vaporized by the beam weapon?

"The Forgotten", directed by Joseph Ruben and released in 2004 tells the tale of the alien abduction of children. It paints a very troubling scenario that shows the impotence of our government in trying to stop the aliens: "The Forgotten" hints that the government is cooperating with the ETs, simply trying to maintain, at least, the public illusion of being in control.

The person who started the pro-extraterrestrial agenda in Hollywood, director Spielberg, has completed a 180 degree turn, and now at least on celluloid endorses the dark side of the alien presence in his 2005 blockbuster, the remake of "War of the Worlds".'

Or, maybe I'm just paranoid or too seriously remembering a Twilight Zone episode from the early 1960s when aliens landed and stated that their sole purpose for coming to earth was for the betterment of mankind.

One more thing: their text of principles was entitled "To Serve Man."

It was not revealed until the final scene of the program that the book to "To Serve Man" was a cookbook!