The brand new Netflix docuseries The Manhattan Alien Abduction landed on the streamer’s High 10 record in its first week. The three-part collection focuses on the obvious abduction of New York lady Linda Napolitano. Together with Linda, each believers and skeptics of Linda’s story are interviewed for the collection, some scrutinizing the proof that was offered on the time. For followers searching for one other UFO watch, there is a Netflix docuseries from 2023 that takes a distinct method to the UFO phenomenon and the impression it has on those that expertise it.

Encounters is a 4-part collection that hit Netflix again in September, additionally touchdown on the High 10 record. Whereas The Manhattan Alien Abduction takes a extra conventional documentary method by simply specializing in Napolitano’s case, Encounters explores a distinct phenomenon in every episode. From rural Texas to the coastlines of Japan, Encounters spans the globe, delving into the tales being instructed, interviewing eyewitnesses of the occasion, in addition to scientists and authorities officers. In contrast to different UFO documentaries up to now, Encounters presents simple proof that each believers and skeptics can admire.

‘Encounters’ Set the Customary for ‘The Manhattan Alien Abduction’

Over time, UFO documentaries have been typically seen as foolish, however these days, there’s been an attention-grabbing shift. Main filmmakers and studios are producing credible and profitable UFO documentaries. Encounters was produced by Steven Spielberg-led Amblin Leisure; sci-fi being a style the Oscar-winning director likes to dabble in. JJ Abrams additionally produced a UFO docuseries for Showtime beneath his Dangerous Robotic banner. It may be argued {that a} well-vetted and produced docuseries like Encounters helped set the usual for The Manhattan Alien Abduction. By together with credible eyewitness accounts and knowledgeable interviews, Encounters provides legitimacy to any alien encounter it discusses. The reenactments are additionally well-produced, together with actual eyewitnesses within the precise areas the place the encounters came about.

The anthology-like format of Encounters helps put together viewers for a deeper dive into the subject, like The Manhattan Alien Abduction, which solely focuses on one particular encounter. The 4 completely different instances in Encounters, whereas very completely different, have one main factor in widespread: Every encounter was skilled by a big group of individuals. The 4 episodes comprise charming interviews with eyewitnesses of the occasions, seamlessly weaving collectively their tales to point out a broader image of the encounter. It takes the viewers again in time when the occasion came about, and speaks to witnesses who nonetheless grapple with their actuality as we speak.

The Collective Perception of the Unknown Makes ‘Encounters’ Stand Out

Though mindsets could also be beginning to shift, for a very long time, the stigma of talking out about an alien encounter or abduction was met with skepticism. Fortunately, Encounters strikes away from that norm and does not forged doubt or choose the eyewitnesses being interviewed. By means of their tales, it is clear that not being believed was one thing that the majority the eyewitnesses needed to endure after the occasion. Though they confronted skepticism, although, the collective perception in what they noticed additionally introduced them collectively. That is exemplified within the present’s first episode, which focuses on a 2008 UFO sighting in a small Texas city. The tales of vivid lights and what one man known as a “flying Dorito” within the sky started to succeed in reporters on the native newspaper. Reluctant at first to publish the story, they finally did, which led to extra individuals coming ahead, realizing that they weren’t the one ones who noticed the UFO. The residents of Stephenville who noticed the occasion did not need to say something at first as a result of they did not need to be labeled as loopy, however as soon as they realized they weren’t the one ones, that every one modified.

Episode 3 additionally explores a mass sighting, this time throughout the pond. In 1977, the village of Broad Haven turned the epicenter of the most important mass sighting occasion within the historical past of the UK, when over 400 experiences of UFO and alien accounts have been made. Once more, the stigma saved individuals from talking up, apprehensive they’d be ridiculed, and a few have been gaslit and instructed they did not see what they thought they noticed. However, as audiences hear every story from people who didn’t know one another, it is onerous to disregard the hanging similarities of their tales.

One thing that is not all the time explored within the extra technical UFO documentaries is the psychological and emotional impression that UFO and alien encounters can have on the individuals that have them. In The Manhattan Alien Abduction, Linda talks usually concerning the toll her abduction expertise had on her and her household. Encounters additionally delves into the toll the UFO encounters had on the eyewitnesses, who all share the identical concern of being seen as loopy in the event that they shared their story. Though these eyewitnesses knew they weren’t alone in what they skilled, in nearly all instances, the encounters got here with lasting penalties. Some individuals turned so obsessive about discovering solutions, and, within the case of 1 man in Stephenville, induced him to lose his companies and his marriage. Others felt gaslit for years about what they noticed, making them query in the event that they’d be believed for the rest.

Episode 2 focuses on a case in 1995 Zimbabwe, the place 60 college students witnessed an alien life kind within the schoolyard. This episode stands out as a result of it contains interviews from that point interval that have been performed by Harvard Psychiatrist, Dr. John Mack. Seeing the interviews of the witnesses as youngsters and as adults within the current day added a brand new layer to what they noticed, and the way it has impacted them over time. One of many college students even says that the aftermath of the expertise was extra traumatic than the occasion itself, as a result of despite the fact that their tales lined up, individuals did not imagine them.

Whether or not you are a believer or a skeptic, Encounters presents a compelling case that we’re not alone within the universe. In talking to scientists and specialists, the collection provides credibility to the very compelling eyewitness accounts. Now, with extra present proof popping out about UFOs, and maybe, the stigma going away, tales of encounters appear extra believable. If witnesses usually tend to be believed, extra individuals shall be keen to talk out if they’ve an encounter of their very own.

All episodes of Encounters can be found to stream on Netflix.