In the 1940s and 50s reports of "flying saucers" became an American cultural phenomena. Sightings of strange objects in the sky became the raw materials for Hollywood to present visions of potential threats. Posters for films, like Earth vs. the Flying Saucers from 1956 illustrate these fears. Connected to ongoing ideas about life on the Moon, the canals on Mars, and ideas about Martian Civilizations, flying saucers have come to represent the hopes and fears of the modern world. Are these alleged visitors from other worlds peaceful and benevolent or would they attack and destroy humanity? The destructive power of the Atomic bomb called into question the progressive potential of technology. Fear of the possibilities for destruction in the Cold War-era proved fertile ground for terrestrial anxieties to manifest visions of flying saucers and visitors from other worlds who might be hidden among us in plain sight.
Area 51 is located on government land, and its airspace is used for military planes. Flying a drone near Area 51 is highly illegal. Area 51 is officially a US Air Force training base, and there is no evidence that aliens exist or have been studied there. However, Area 51 has become associated with aliens due to conspiracy theories and claims made by Robert Lazar. Conspiracy theories claim the base is used to test alien technology allegedly recovered from crash sites, such as the well-known incident in Roswell, New Mexico. These theories are fueled by the base's long-standing secrecy and its continued inaccessibility to the public. Consequently, this assuming military facility has become an intrinsic part of the modern mythology and urban legends of the 20th century, with a large influence on media and pop culture.
