Common Sense Media Review
By Brian Costello
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Bizarre docu won't convert UFO skeptics; some cursing.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Extraordinary: The Stan Romanek Story
What's the Story?
EXTRAORDINARY: THE STAN ROMANEK STORY chronicles Romanek, a Coloradan who is viewed by those who believe in UFO sightings and abductions to have had the most direct contact with aliens. Alien spacecraft seem to be hovering in the sky in his videos, aliens are shown lurking behind patio furniture in photographs, an alien with an upper-class female British accent leaves messages on his answering machine, calling Romanek "Starseed" and saying how he has been chosen to tell the truth about life on other planets, and there are calls from one "Kioma," who claims to be one of Romanek's nine alien daughters. While this has made him a hero to those who believe in alien "experiencers," Romanek claims harassment from the government: mysterious, clandestine phone messages telling him to stop, physical assault from members of the military, and, most disturbingly, claims that his computer was infected with a virus, which was why he had child pornography on his computer and was charged and arrested in 2014.
Is It Any Good?
At times this feels less like a documentary and more like a parody reminiscent of the classic comedy show SCTV. Whereas the work of Carl Sagan was rooted in hard science, data, and rigid adherence to the scientific method to reveal to humanity that "we are made of star stuff," Extraordinary: The Stan Romanek Story serves to advance the idea that there are aliens with upper-class British accents who leave messages on Romanek's answering machine in which they call him "Starseed": a prophet of sorts picked to interact with aliens more than anyone else and inform humanity of their existence. His claims are bolstered with videos of what he says are UFOs but look like they might be perhaps WD-40 cans, photos of aliens peering through windows and peeking around patio furniture that look like amateur Photoshop work, phone recordings, and the testimony of UFO "experts," "investigative journalists," a psychiatrist, and a physicist.
If you are already a believer in Romanek's claims and see this as further evidence of extraterrestrials arriving on Earth and interacting with and abducting selected specimens of humanity, this will be further proof to bolster the claims. For those who are skeptics to these claims, the lack of real-deal scientific backing to give any of this credibility will not change minds. And while this could be entertainment for those who enjoy what goes on in reality shows centered on aliens, ghosts, and the paranormal, any entertainment value in seeing Romanek as a harmless eccentric goes out the window at the movie's epilogue, which discusses Romanek being arrested and charged with possession of child pornography. Romanek claims that the government infected his computer to silence and discredit him, and the documentary displays snippets of online articles about how such viruses exist. While Romanek is innocent until proven guilty, it nonetheless puts a terrible spin on the documentary's final query to the audience: What if this is true?
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about documentaries. What are the ways in which documentaries attempting to convert an audience to the filmmaker's point of view present their arguments? How does Extraordinary: The Stan Romanek Story advance its arguments?
Does this documentary do enough to convince skeptics that Romanek's numerous encounters with aliens are real? If so, why? If not, what more would the filmmakers (and Romanek) need to do to convince both the scientific community and the world at large?
In a time when media seems to be everywhere in all forms and many points of view, why are critical thinking skills more important than ever?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : July 14, 2013
- Cast : Stan Romanek , Lisa Romanek
- Director : Jon Semple
- Studio : j3FILMS
- Genre : Documentary
- Run time : 105 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : July 24, 2022
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