During the mission of launching a satellite, three astronauts make contact with a UFO. The satellite collides against him and it disappears after an explosion. Severely damaged lands southwest of the United States where he is captured and transferred by the government to a hidden air base, the hangar 18. ”
Hangar 18 is a film that continues to provoke discussions within the UFO community, partly due to the fact that it was launched in 1980, and this year, the details of the Roswell incident began to filter into popular consciousness with the publication of some books. Equally significant in 1980, and undoubtedly connected with the developments of that place, was the silent insertion in the UFO community of the term “Majestic 12”, now it is permanently assumed in popular culture, having appeared in films, television programs, comics and video game.
Hangar 18 begins, as we said before, in the orbit of the Earth while NASA prepares to launch a satellite under the watchful eye of the US military. In the same way that the satellite launches from the space shuttle, it collides with a UFO, killing a NASA astronaut in the launch bay. This is attested by the other shuttle crew, our heroes Bancroft and Price (played by Gary Collins and James Hampton). Upon their return to Earth, men seek answers, but they soon realize that their government has instigated a cover-up, and that they are also being ‘kept’ in the dark.
We learned that, after the collision in orbit, the UFO made a controlled landing in the Arizona desert, where it was captured by the US Army. The ship is soon transported to Hangar 18, of superior secrecy, where it is studied by NASA scientists (led by Darren McGavin). On board the ship, scientists make a series of surprising discoveries:
• The alien pilots, although dead, are not physically damaged and have an almost human appearance. The scientists conclude that the aliens visited Earth in ancient times, that they were seen as gods, that they mixed with the women of Earth and that they “initiated” human life as we know it today.
• A human woman is also on board the ship in stasis. When the doctors remove her, the woman wakes up in a state of terror. We assume that she is abducted.
• In the ship’s data files, scientists find glyphs similar to those used by ancient civilizations on Earth. Scientists also discover extensive aerial surveillance images of Earth’s power plants, military bases and major cities. Apparently, the aliens had been actively interested in our technological capabilities.
Meanwhile, Bancroft and Price are persecuted in their search for the truth and are targeted by the government for murder. Price dies, but Bancroft survives and finally finds his way to Hangar 18 and aboard the alien ship. Around this point, NASA scientists finally decipher the alien glyphs, which indicate that the beings were planning to return to Earth en masse in the near future.
Before all this information has the opportunity to sink, government agents carry a remote-controlled jet full of explosives to Hangar 18, with the aim of killing all those involved in the cover-up, permanently burying the secret. However, without the knowledge of the government’s assault squad, several of NASA’s scientists, as well as Bancroft, are inside the alien craft when the suspension bursts. The ship turns out to be invincible, and the survivors inside decide to let the truth be known. The film ends with the UFO Disclosure.
Deciphering ancient astronauts and a new religion
The description of Hangar 18 with the human-looking aliens is particularly interesting, such as the idea that these beings propelled the human race; These same details would appear three years later in a “secret” report from the Air Force shown to the UFO writer and journalist Linda Moulton Howe as part of her preparation for a documentary about UFOs. On April 9, 1983, during a meeting at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, Richard Doty, Special Investigations Officer of the Air Force, presented Howe with a document whose cover read:
“INFORMATIONAL DOCUMENT FOR THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ON THE ISSUE OF UNIDENTIFIED AIR VEHICLES (UAV)”
Doty told Howe that he would read the document at the request of his superiors, but he emphasized that he was forbidden to take the document with him and to take notes of any kind. The document of great weight detailed many aspects of the UFO phenomenon and included a list of accidents / recoveries of flying saucers. The list included two separate incidents near the Roswell region in 1947, and another in 1949, which resulted in the capture of a live extraterrestrial that was taken to Los Alamos National Laboratories. Apparently, the being was held captive before he died of unknown causes in 1952. Other accidents listed in the document include the locations of Aztec in New Mexico, Kingman in Arizona, and Loredo in Texas.
Most striking to Howe was a paragraph that said the aliens had manipulated DNA into a kind of evolving primates to create Homo sapiens. Elsewhere in the document it was noted that the aliens had created a being on Earth whose purpose was to teach humans about love and nonviolence. Howe was amazed: “We’re talking about Jesus Christ,” he told Doty, who said nothing in response, but who, he says, looked deeply uncomfortable.
On the other hand, the author and researcher Mike Clelland has pointed out that the parallels between the content of Hangar 18 and the report shown to Linda Moulton Howe are so striking that “the document that Howe saw could very well have been written by the character of Darren McGavin from what he learned in the movie . ” In addition Clelland says: “We have a journalist (Linda M.) who received a secret document from the Air Force in 1983, the conclusion is that they (the officials) wanted this information to float to the public. Three years earlier, we have the movie Hangar 18 “floating” the same information under the guise of an action movie. ” Conclusions?
The Mormon Connection with the Hangar 18
Sun Classic Pictures was established as a company run by Mormons, with Raylan Jensen as its first president. Many of the writers, producers and studio directors were also Mormons, including Robert Starling, and Charles E. Sellier. The biggest credits for Sun Pictures were ‘The Bermuda Triangle’ and ‘Hangar 18’. It makes sense that a film studio run by Mormons shows interest in UFOs. Mormon cosmology holds that the Earth is not unique, but only one of the many inhabited planets, each created by God for the purpose of producing immortality and eternal life. Mormon leaders have taught that the inhabitants of these planets are almost identical in appearance to humans, just as the alien beings in Hangar 18 are extremely human.
Also worthy of mention in this discussion is “Kolob,” a celestial body described in the Mormon scriptures as a star, but which is generally considered by Mormons to be a planet. It is said to be the closest place in the universe to the throne of God. In the context of science fiction, the popular television series Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979 and 2004-2009) incorporates many Mormon cosmological beliefs into its general narrative. This is because the creator of the program, Glen Larson, was himself a Mormon. In the television series, the planet Kobol (unlike Kolob) is the birthplace of the human race where the “Lords of Kobol” are considered sacred.
The key question related to Sunn Classic Pictures (and which, for now, remains unanswered) is this: the alien production of the study simply reflected the Mormon ideals and beliefs of the writers / producers / principal directors of the study (also as an attempt on their part to take advantage of the ever-popular theme of UFOs), or, it was a nobler strategy on the part of the Mormon Church itself to subtly educate the public about an aspect of the Mormon faith that, in the century of the UFO, was was becoming increasingly taboo and increasingly relevant (that is, life on other planets and their possible links to humanity)?
Whatever the truth behind their production, Hangar 18 is still a fascinating and entertaining film, a must for any UFO conspiracy fan who appreciates .. What do you think about it? Then the movie in question .. What do you think? Leave your comment below!
