Martians! How Aliens Invaded Earth | Monstrum

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You might think that the stories of Martians began with little green men, but you’d be wrong. The history of humans speculating about extraterrestrial life on the red planet begins in the 19th century with one astronomer’s mistranslation of a single word.

In this episode, Dr. Zarka looks at how science and imagination began a cultural phenomenon that continues on today. From the invading, high-tech aliens of ‘War of the Worlds’ to post-world war escapism literature and even real-life scientific exploration today, the stories of Martians have changed throughout time. Find out how we’ve gone from viewing Mars as a pre-existing utopia populated by alien races to actually seeing the planet as a potential new home for earthlings. #Martians #aliens #MonstrumPBS

Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka
Director: David Schulte
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Illustrator: Samuel Allen
Editor: Sara Roma
Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Cheng, John. Astounding Wonder: Imagining Science and Science Fiction in Interwar American, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012.

Clerke, Agnes Mary. A Popular History of Astronomy during the Nineteenth Century, Adam and Charles. Black, 1902.

Crossley, Robert. Imagining Mars: A Literary History, Wesleyan University Press, 2011.

Crossley, Robert. “Mars and the Paranormal.” Science Fiction Studies, Vol. 35, Issue 3, 2008, pp. 466–484.

Du Maurier, George. The Martian, Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1897.

Flammarion, Camille.La Planète Mars Et Ses Conditions D'habitabilité: Synthèse Générale De Toutes Les Observations : Climatologie, Météorologie, Aréographie, Contiments, Mers Et Rivages, Eaux Et Neiges, Saisons, Variations Observées....,Gauthier-Villars, 1892.

Flournoy, Theodore. From India to the Planet Mars: A Study of a Case of Somnambulism, Trans. Daniel B. Vermilye, Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1901.

Fontenelle, Bernard Le Bovier de. A conversation on the plurality of worlds. Translated from the French of Monsieur de Fontenelle, Trans. William Gardiner, R. Urie, 1749.

“From the Editor’s Chair.” The Photographic News, Vol. XLI, Issue 103, Dec. 17, 1897, pp. 823-24.

Grisewood, R. Norman. Zarlah the Martian, R.F. Fenno & Company, c. 1909.

Herschel, William. “On the Remarkable Appearances at the Polar Regions of the Planet Mars, the Inclination of Its Axis, the Position of Its Poles, and Its Spheroidical Figure; With a Few Hints Relating to Its Real Diameter and Atmosphere. By William Herschel, Esq. F. R. S.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, vol. 74, 1784, pp. 233–273.

Hinks, Arthur Robert. Astronomy: by Arthur R. Hinks, H. Holt and Company, 1912.

Jones, G. Seneca. “Are There Possible Martians?” Popular Astronomy, Vol. IX, 1901, pp. 234–245.

Lowell, Percival and Burndy Library. Mars: by Percival Lowell, Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1895.

“Mars.” The Critic, Vol. 28, No. 728, 1896.

“Mars and Beyond.” Disneyland, ABC, Dec. 4, 1957.

Pintér, Károly. “The Analogical Alien: Constructing and Construing Extraterrestrial Invasion in Wells’s ‘The War of the Worlds.’” Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies (HJEAS), Vol. 18, No. ½, 2012, pp. 133-149.

“The Moons of Mars.” The Cornhill Magazine, Eds. George Smith and William Makepeace, Vol. 36, 1877, pp. 412-425.

Wallace, Alfred Russel. Is Mars Habitable? A Critical Examination of Professor Percival Lowell’s Book “Mars and its Canals,” with an Alternative Explanation, MacMillan and Co., 1907.

Weiss, Sara. Journeys to the Planet Mars or Our Mission to Ento (Mars): Being a record of visits made to Ento (Mars) by Sara Weiss, Psychic, under the guidance of a Spirit Band for the purpose of conveying to the Entoans, a knowledge of the continuity of life, 2nded., The Austin Publishing Company, 1905.

Wells, H. G. War of the Worlds, Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1898

[deathsyth]

"I'm not saying it was Martians but... It was Martians."
- Percival Lawrence Lowell circa 1895

[cosmobane]

Honestly, the fact that Wells imagined the Tripods is amazing.

[NewMessage]

I think the Martian ambassador spoke for all of us, when he spoke those immortal words:


"Akk akk, ak akkakk!"

[gardenhead]

"No natural theory can yet explain these channels on mars, so I'm just gonna make some shit up." - Percival Lowell, probably

[brandonnaylor]

"The chances of anything coming from Mars, are a million to one they said!"
"but still...they come"

[wcox]

I am a fanatic of War of the Worlds. It all started when my dad and I watched the 1953 version of the movie on a late Friday night. I bought the book to read right after that. I still have that original book and have read it at least 1000 times. I've also found some other books about it. I also have the 1938 radio broadcast.

[mypal]

It's kinda cool how Orson Welles took the appeal of martians and extraterrestrial life with the War of the Worlds radio play mainstream. Granted people started shooting at the sky at the time of that recording. But the appeal was there.

[waynezimmerman]

The couple points alluded to in this documentary was that with H.G.Well's classic; given his socialist leanings, the martians were a strong criticism of European colonization. Especially of Africa which at that time had reached a fevered pitch. The Martian Chronicles; at least in the early stories, often played as the settling of the west in the USA relocated to the Red Planet. One story which didn't really translate well for the twenty first century: Way in the Middle of The Air(1950), was axed from some recent reprints of the chronicles. In it, there is a mass exodus of African Americans who commission a fleet of spaceships to help them escape the prejudice here to the promised land of Mars. The final rebuke of a small town bigot was a brilliant response to the evil done to them for too long. Please keep this series going, I love it.

[llama_is_coolyeet]

can you make a video on different cultures versions of vampires

[ilianceroni]

Being italian my first tongue, I was confused by the mistranslation, because ”canale” can be both natural and artificial, or a “tv channel”. Being unaware of the main difference I was looking for the “tv channel” one😅
So i got I cool video on martian AND improuved my english XD

[ceasefire]

can you pleaaase pleaaase do the jinns of arabic and islamic mythology next? and lovely video

[JRG_REDD]

It would be selfish for me to ask for 2 videos a day. But your videos are so good and so well put together that I want more. Big fan of the channel 😁❤

[schizoidboy]

I remember the ending of the episode of Cosmos with Carl Segan that was about Mars. He concluded that with potential explorations of the planet and possible colonization that the "Martians will be us." The end of the Martian Chronicles also ends the same way with the two families meeting together on the planet and a version of this story was used in the TV mini-series where the kids want to see the Martians and the father points to their reflections in the water of the canal saying they're the Martians.

[afunnymonkey]

ET is my favorite documentary, it is very epic.

[merlapittman]

War of the Worlds was the first H. G. Wells story I read and it was so good that I was immediately hooked and looked up more of his work. Great video!

[notablegoat]

Love the art! Love this whole series, but Mars has always held a special place in my heart.

[blindleader]

The confusion about channels and canals somehow has leaked into the realm of possible typographical errors. Hood Canal, in Washington state, is a naturally formed fjord.

[shaweyes]

2:53 The War of the Worlds is what i think of life on Mars. And it's my favorite novel of all time.

[robbiekipping]

You are anything if not the opposite of monster. But the perfect hostess of an introduction to the strange. I especially liked the stories of strange w a ter drains. Thank you, Dr. K

[Chinchompers]

I absolutely love the diversity of the video topics! Every new upload is a surprise and I'm always eagerly waiting for the next one! Keep up with the amazing videos!! 😊