ET Might Not Look Like Us, But ET Will Act Like Us: An Evolutionary Ecology of Science Fiction Filmic Othering

Abstract The conceptualization of speculated extraterrestrial beings is here explored through four distinct lenses: dehumanization, suprahumanization, humanization, and biological framing. Dehumanization offers us a Western culture that portrays aliens as “othered” entities, reflecting societal biases. Suprahumanization, on the other hand, elevates aliens to godlike saviors while still maintaining their otherness. Humanization, in turn, attributes human-like traits to extraterrestrials, thereby challenging anthropomorphic biases. The analysis here suggests that, while humans tend to other both fellow humans and speculative aliens, there exists the capacity to encompass them into ingroups. Within these three patterns, a biological framing can be used to contextualize speculative aliens within an ecological framework, including the potential reactions of extraterrestrial beings upon first contact rooted in predictive convergent evolution, the dynamics of ingroup/outgroup behavior, and the possibility of cooperative alliances ranging from mutualism to reciprocal altruism to cross-species “fictive kin” selection. Thus, although the analysis acknowledges the colonial implications of erasure associated with downplaying perceived differences, it argues for a shift toward a “panthropology” approach that emphasizes similarities over differences not just in potential interplanetary interactions, but also in regard to nonhuman animals, an approach characterized by respect and empathy.