This weekend Hector and I went to see Disclosure Day, and I walked out with the same feeling I have after a lot of alien movies:
“Okay, aliens are real. Now what?”
Before the internet comes for me, let me say this: I actually enjoyed the movie. It was entertaining. The acting was good. The pacing kept me interested. There was enough mystery to keep me guessing, and somehow they managed to cram what felt like three separate movies into a story that takes place over roughly two days.
For those who haven’t seen it, spoilers ahead.
The world in Disclosure Day is already falling apart. Humanity is standing on the edge of World War III. Governments are hiding secrets. A mysterious government agency is desperately trying to stop a leak that could change everything. Our main characters are a man on the run with classified information and a woman with a supernatural ability to connect people through their thoughts, memories, and grief.
It’s a lot.
But my biggest issue wasn’t with the story itself.
It’s that I don’t think I’m the target audience for alien movies anymore.
As much as I enjoy science fiction and fantasy, I don’t actually believe in aliens. Maybe that’s my religious upbringing. Maybe it’s because both of my parents are giant sci-fi nerds and I’ve had aliens, spaceships, and conspiracy theories shoved down my throat since I was a kid. Whatever the reason, Hector has pointed out multiple times that I am completely unfazed by alien movies.
He’s right.
The big reveal in these stories is always, “What if humanity discovered aliens were real?”
And every single time my response is:
“Okay.”
Not because I think it would be boring, but because I don’t think the consequences would be what movies think they would be.
In Disclosure Day, the existence of aliens is treated as a civilization-altering revelation. A character brings up the morality of sharing this information as if knowing this society as a whole begins unraveling. That people will panic. We already see the government scramble. But every character acts like nothing will ever be the same again.
But would it?
One of the major revelations is that the American government has supposedly covered up evidence for decades.
And my immediate thought was:
Why would I only blame America?
If aliens have been visiting Earth for seventy years, you’re telling me they only landed in the United States?
Absolutely not.
If anything, I’d come away distrusting every government on the planet equally.
The movie seems to imply that alien disclosure would instantly unite humanity. Hector actually agrees with that idea. His argument is that proof of intelligent life beyond Earth would make our wars seem pointless.
I get the logic.
I just don’t buy it.
Human beings have never needed a good reason to fight each other.
We fight over land, religion, resources, politics, history, borders, money, pride, and sometimes things that happened centuries ago.
I don’t see humanity collectively holding hands because aliens exist.
I see humanity arguing about what to do next.
And that leads me to my biggest question:
Why are the aliens coming back?
Seriously.
If humans have spent decades capturing, experimenting on, torturing, and hiding evidence of alien contact, why would any advanced civilization voluntarily return?
Why isn’t Earth listed somewhere in the galaxy as:
“Do not visit. Extremely hostile locals.”
The second the movie suggested the aliens wanted direct contact, my brain immediately jumped to the old TV series V.
If you’ve never seen it, the aliens show up claiming friendship and peaceful intentions.
Spoiler alert: they absolutely want something.
Resources. Labor. Access.
The whole thing turns into a giant metaphor for colonialism and exploitation.
That’s where my mind goes.
Not peace.
Not enlightenment.
Suspicion.
Because if an advanced civilization capable of interstellar travel suddenly takes an interest in Earth, I assume they want something.
And if they want something, that’s probably bad news for us.
The movie wants us to believe that disclosure changes everything.
I think it creates entirely new problems.
Do we allow alien contact?
Do we attempt diplomacy?
Do we militarize?
Do we create a global government response?
Do nations cooperate or compete?
Do we invest heavily in space exploration?
And if we do, where does that money come from?
Because that’s where my brain always ends up.
We currently have millions of people struggling to afford food, housing, healthcare, and education.
Yet every alien movie eventually arrives at the conclusion that humanity should throw enormous resources toward space programs and interstellar projects.
Maybe that’s necessary.
Maybe it’s not.
But I can’t help looking around at Earth and thinking we haven’t exactly finished dealing with our current problems.
So no, I don’t think discovering aliens would bring world peace.
I think it would bring more chaos to a world that already feels stretched to its limits.
Which is funny, because despite all of these complaints, I still liked Disclosure Day.
I just spent the entire drive home arguing with it.
And maybe that’s the point.
The movie entertained me.
The conversation afterward frustrated me.
But at least it gave me something to think about.
Even if my final conclusion remains:
“Okay, aliens are real. Now what?”
