The Nevada Test and Training Range, also known as Area 51, is a U.S. Air Force military installation at Groom Lake in southern Nevada. The base’s circumstances allowed the public to create the conclusion that a secret military base with UFOs sighted around it must be harboring and experimenting on extraterrestrial life or aliens.
Area 51 is a military base created for the testing and development of the U-2 aircraft in 1955. The name Area 51 is from its map designation, but it also has nicknames: “Watertown,” “Dreamland,” “the Ranch,” and “Paradise Ranch.” These nicknames were used to make the facility sound more attractive to its workers.
“It’s just a United States Air Force facility, not any of those conspiracy theories that some people believe,” freshman Kassidy Cochran said.
Bob Lazar, an American physicist, worked at the Area 51 facility and was a central figure in the creation of the conspiracy. He claimed that he worked with alien technology during his time at the facility. His interview, which concluded on May 15, 1989, was the first mention of reverse engineering “alien technology” in Area 51. Thus began the conspiracy of Area 51.
“Anything else that may surround Area 51 was most likely just made up by somebody with too much time on their hands or something,” sophomore Payton Black said. “I would say that he’s probably looking for attention.”
This theory also began because Area 51 is restricted to the public, and the airspace above is off-limits to air traffic except for those with permission. Another factor is the 1947 UFO conspiracy. It was believed that remains from a UFO were found in Roswell, New Mexico, and were brought to Area 51. The experiments believed to have been conducted were reverse engineering experiments to replicate the extraterrestrial spacecraft, based upon Lazar’s interviews.
“The funny thing is that there are aliens,” sophomore Dalton Pokluda said. “That’s literally just a cover-up.”
Throughout time, the U.S. population has become fascinated with the conspiracy of military secrecy about aliens, especially Area 51. The question of whether aliens are real or not plagued the U.S., and the circumstances of Area 51 only furthered the belief that the military knew something the public didn’t. Soon after, Area 51 became an American product of pop culture.
“Everyone has these theories that Area 51 is where the government keeps aliens, which doesn’t make quite a lot of sense cause if there were aliens on this planet, then we would have found out by now,” Cochran said.
T-shirts, mugs, blankets, and other goods were sold as tourists flocked to Nevada to try to see a glimpse of what was hidden inside the Area 51 threshold. The economies surrounding the area increased. Local communities created stores, motels, and attractions centered around the alien conspiracy.
“I feel like it’s kind of in the middle of nowhere,” Pokluda said. “I don’t know if there really is any local community, but I know there are hobo towns all around, but I think there’s a lot of tourists and alien stuff. I think it benefits them.”
Area 51 has been a center point for movies, books, and TV shows. Hollywood has had its run with bringing to life existential lifeforms in their science fiction movies. One of the highest-grossing films, Planet 51, had a $70 million budget but ended up with $150 million worldwide after its debut. Planet 51 is an animated comedy about an astronaut landing on a foreign planet, discovering aliens that live in a 1950’s suburban era.
“Alien movies are all right, but I wouldn’t choose to watch one,” sophomore Megan Roberts said.
The theory of aliens has been a topic worldwide. There are many debates about whether or not aliens are real. This leads to discussions on whether they are already in the human population or would humankind have to find them. Theories of aliens building the pyramids or abducting humans have hovered around American pop culture ever since the Area 51 conspiracy.
“There could be a chance aliens are alive,” Cochran said. “If there are aliens, they would be in outer space where we can’t find them.”
