Bill Hussung kindly sent me a copy of Mishara Caning-Hussung's documentary
Adventures of an Earthling. Hussung makes a journey to discover what it was his mother saw in Pine Bush, New York in the 1990s. A UFO that terrified her, and the experience stayed with her for the rest of her life.
I admit I was skeptical at first, given that Hussung acknowledged he didn't believe his mother's story of a UFO encounter. As he says at one point in the documentary "I didn't believe her." My skepticism increased as I watched: the cheesy spy-jazz music, (which I find enjoyable but in this context it was kind of smarmy) the goofy sound effects, the lame graphics, and Hussung's overall tone concerning UFOs (paraphrasing: "UFOs are a cultural phenomena..." comments.) And the inclusion of David Jacobs sent me over the edge. Oy, I thought. Forget this!
But, as I watched, I realized Hussung was genuinely trying to find out what his mother went through, and how and why it affected her for the rest of her life. He sought out UFO researchers, such as Jacobs (eye roll) and Phil Imbrogno (excellent.) Hussung has a semi-mocking tone at times but it's aimed at himself as much as anything, and it occurred to me that he was struggling with his own feelings about UFOs and the "high strangeness" which he encounters along the way via witness accounts. I won't give away the end but will say that Bill Husseng remained honest, open to the phenomena and willing to acknowledge his responses to his mother's story, as well as his own experiences.
I recommend
Adventures of an Earthling (despite the glib sound effects and graphics) because it's an honest journey from someone not immersed in UFO research. An audience not that familiar with UFOs yet interested will find that this film gives an introduction to the Hudson Valley history of UFO sightings and other odd events in that area, as well as a personal account of one man's quest within the world of UFOs and unexplained events.
Clip from documentary
here.
