Is this an authentic disclosure of what the U.S. government knows about aliens, or is this a psyop to distract the public from something more nefarious? As celebrated ufologist Giorgio A. Tsoukalos would say, “I’m not saying it’s aliens. But it’s aliens.”

So, as American citizens discover what the U.S. government knows (or doesn’t know) about unidentified flying objects, maybe it is time to disconnect from social media, unplug from cable news, and spend a couple of hours watching some vintage space-alien pictures.

Science-fiction pictures did not take off in Hollywood until around the 1950s, when many were produced under a paranoid Cold War mentality. However, despite the hilarious special effects and the many B-list actors that took these roles, there were many goodies, even if they were the second showing of a double feature at the local cineplex on a Wednesday afternoon.

Where to begin? Here is a handful to get you started, space cowboy:

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

The 1978 remake was probably the superior version, but 1956’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers was still a superb picture on every level. A movie about emotionless alien duplicates perhaps summarized America’s Red Scare mentality. But the film became iconic for its ending, with the star, Kevin McCarthy, on the street yelling at motorists, “They’re here already! You’re next!”

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Robert Wise was one of the greatest directors in Hollywood history, helming such tremendous projects as The Haunting, I Want to Live, Somebody Up There Likes Me, and The Set-Up. However, for anybody acquainted with classic sci-fi, most will remember The Day the Earth Stood Still, a film about a humanoid alien visitor and a powerful robot who offer a critical message for all of humanity, as his most famous production. Even though it was a typical anti-nuclear weapons film, it was still a good-old sci-fi picture that personified the genre in the 1950s.

The Thing From Another World

What would you get if you added the Howard Hawks touch to an alien movie? Why, The Thing from Another World. The 1951 movie possesses all the characteristics of a typical Hawks movie, although Christian Nyby directed it. The premise is simple enough: an Arctic team fights a violent monster from space. But it is the delightful characters that add to this adventure.

Forbidden Planet

Legendary thespian Walter Pidgeon in a sci-fi film? An early Leslie Nielsen movie? A William Shakespeare adaptation of The Tempest? One of the highest-ranked 1950s alien movies? An entrant into the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry? This is 1956’s Forbidden Planet. Instead of being a by-the-books movie about aliens, it actually explores a variety of compelling themes, from man’s self-destructive behavior to the subconscious threat of the unknown.

Plan 9 From Outer Space

No sci-fi list is complete without a reference to director Ed Wood’s Plan 9 From Outer Space. It is one of those “it’s so bad it’s good” movies. The film was awful in every category, and yet it still makes it on this list. Why? Because if you ever wanted to entertain creatures from outer space, you sit down with a bag of popcorn and view “the worst movie ever made.”

Get Spaced Out With the Aliens

The best way to welcome Earth’s soon-to-be alien overlords is to share humanity’s many over-the-top depictions or frightening and malevolent portrayals of these beings from other planets. How else could anyone influence or befriend an omnipotent creature who has mastered time and space?

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Read more from Andrew Moran.