"They can't occupy this country": A symbolic anthropological approach to extraterrestrial encounter narratives in American culture.

The mediums of film and television, both fiction and non-fiction, have significant influence on the construction of modern American culture. In the case of fictional media, public perception and experience is related to symbolic constructions that correspond to non-fiction subjects. In American culture, the extraterrestrial is given cultural significance as a symbol, in certain narrative incarnations, which poses a threat to the American values of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. These three values can be encompassed by the ideology of autonomy, and the ET can be seen as an encompassing symbol in opposition to autonomy. American media and culture are the primary focus of this study because, although themes of alien contact and encounter are also embedded in Canada and many other Western nations, the American media and entertainment industries are firmly established, have the broadest reach, and have the most impact worldwide. --P.ii.