Men in Black, Cybernauts, and The Avengers

That's the subject/title of my other new Mysterious Universe article, which starts like this:

Nope, that’s not the title of another terrible movie on the you-know-which channel. It’s something entirely different. Last year I wrote an article here at Mysterious Universe on the possibility that at least some portions of Albert Bender’s story of his early 1950s encounters with the Men in Black may have been inspired by an obscure, old British movie. Its title: The Man in Black. You can find the article here. Similarly, in 2013 Rich Reynolds penned an article on another movie which he felt may have had a bearing on Bender’s experiences. Here’s the link to Rich’s article. There are actually more than a few such examples on record, most of them being fairly obscure.

The world of television may have inspired such things, too, albeit specifically post-Bender. Such as the 1960s-era UFO-themed TV show The Invaders. Or, could we be looking at something even more controversial? Namely, the idea that fiction and imagination can have a direct – but not understood – effect and influence on what passes for reality. Some might be inclined to suggest that the so-called “Slenderman” phenomenon is an example of the latter. But, right now, it’s back to that aforementioned world of television.