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Keeping Up with the Open Mindians: Alejandro Rojas Takes the Kardashians to Area 51

Are you a fan of Reality TV shows involving the obscenely-rich & famous? Hardly the kind of question you’d expect to find at The Grail, I know –We all have our guilty pleasures, don’t we?– because if you are, then you might have seen the latest episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, in which the celebrity family took a little road trip adventure to the (now officially acknowledged) Area 51, with Open Mind’s Alejandro Rojas & Travis Walton –yes, THE Fire in the Sky Travis Walton!— as their chaperones.

In the video below, Rojas explains how this surreal juxtaposition of the mundane & the other-worldly came about, and his overall opinion of rubbing elbows with the Beverly Hills jet set. You’ll also hear why Walton decided to go along for the ride as well:

Personally, I don’t know if looking for more exposition to the UFO phenomenon by way of involvement with celebrities is such a good idea. After all, it’s not as if there aren’t plenty of famous actors & singers willing to publicly reveal their interest in the topic; but has that had any actual impact in the overall acceptance of UFOs in our culture? At the end of the day, most of these individuals haven’t attained their popularity & lofty status because of their opinions …or even their intelligence.

And there’s also the risk that having a celebrity on your team can seriously backfire –just ask Stuart Stevens, one of the top advisers in Mitt Romey’s presidential campaign in 2012. Empty chair anyone?

Then again, I’ve always been of the opinion that one of the main problems with UFOlogy as a movement, is that it tends to take itself too damn seriously. Sure, a show like Keeping Up… is hardly Emmy winning material, but it helps to give a lighter & more approachable aspect to the phenomenon, and who knows? maybe it would even prompt some N00bies to search about the subject as a bonus.

Hey, at least there weren’t any night-vision scenes involved, right?

  1. Kardashians and the Afterlife
    Here you go Greg, perfect opportunity for celebrity endorsement of your book! Unless it was Kim who wrote the one-star review…

    Gotta say I’m disappointed in the Open Minds team. They, like many of us interested in ufology, weren’t impressed with James Fox and Chasing UFOs (that’s the impression I got from Alejandro’s excellent podcast, anyway). I dunno, I guess Open Minds TV has bills to pay. Like you said RPJ, it’s good to not take yourself too seriously; but it doesn’t do ufology’s quest to be taken seriously any favours, that’s for sure.

    1. Science with a capital Y
      The problem with Chasing UFOs, and the reason Open Minds & many others –including yours truly– ranted so hard about it, was because it initially presented itself as a ‘Science with a capital S’ program; then it became all-too clear the producers were more interested in having James Fox & his co-hosts running around at night, with helmet cams on shouting “What was that??” than actually doing any serious investigation.

      But let’s talk about that: Seriousness. Should we be of the policy that people inside the UFO community can be allowed to be in front of a camera ONLY when involved in ‘serious’ TV programs or movies?

      Is our collective skin really that thin?

      1. Sirius Subjects
        [quote=red pill junkie]
        But let’s talk about that: Seriousness. Should we be of the policy that people inside the UFO community can be allowed to be in front of a camera ONLY when involved in ‘serious’ TV programs or movies?[/quote]

        That’s not what I’m saying at all, I’m all for having fun with the UFO topic (it’s certainly set itself up for it throughout the years!). But Open Minds could have done a lot better than the Kardashians, I know you agree with me on that!

        Meh, I’m just annoyed because I recently renewed my Open Minds subscription. Oh well, at least the Kardashian special doesn’t have anal probe jokes. 😉

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