Mockumentary disorients and disturbs
Ruthie Harper
Issue date: 11/20/09 Section: Features
While many aspects of "The Fourth Kind" are obviously unbelievable, the movie does convince viewers to think and consider the controversial issues surrounding aliens and abduction theories.
While much of the movie is complete fiction, a string of disappearances did occur in Nome, and FBI officials investigated the cases in 2005, concluding the disappearances were a result of alcohol and frigid temperatures. However, nine of the bodies were never found, according to a Nov. 6 article on CNN.com.
In the article, Nome's mayor stressed the importance of understanding the difference between reality and fiction. This blending of reality might confuse the audience but, minus those extreme cynics, might even convince viewers to go home and do a few Google searches to learn about Nome and alien abductions in general.
In the end, "The Fourth Kind" entertains by offering a fictional story but does little more. It certainly doesn't shed much truth on the case for aliens and abduction theories, but, at the very least, it forces the audience to consider what else might be out there in our universe. In fact, as Jovovich and Osunsanmi say in the film's ending monologue, what's real and what's fiction is, in the end, up to the viewer to decide.
haperra@sbu.edu
While much of the movie is complete fiction, a string of disappearances did occur in Nome, and FBI officials investigated the cases in 2005, concluding the disappearances were a result of alcohol and frigid temperatures. However, nine of the bodies were never found, according to a Nov. 6 article on CNN.com.
In the article, Nome's mayor stressed the importance of understanding the difference between reality and fiction. This blending of reality might confuse the audience but, minus those extreme cynics, might even convince viewers to go home and do a few Google searches to learn about Nome and alien abductions in general.
In the end, "The Fourth Kind" entertains by offering a fictional story but does little more. It certainly doesn't shed much truth on the case for aliens and abduction theories, but, at the very least, it forces the audience to consider what else might be out there in our universe. In fact, as Jovovich and Osunsanmi say in the film's ending monologue, what's real and what's fiction is, in the end, up to the viewer to decide.
haperra@sbu.edu
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