Tom Cruise sparks 'alien' panic

[MotherOfGizmo]

War Of The Worlds has been blamed for a mass panic in Siberia after locals mistook a tornado for an alien invasion.

People in the Khabarovsk region of Siberia jumped into their cars and fled their homes in panic when the freak wind arrived out of nowhere, flattening trees and destroying property.

But officials from local emergency services said the destruction had been caused by a freak tornado that ripped through the area.

They blamed the fear of an alien invasion on the recent showing of the Tom Cruise epic.

Natalia Lukash, spokesperson for Russia's Far-Eastern Emergency Situations Centre, said: "It was a strange phenomenon and many people jumped to the wrong conclusion and believed it had been caused by alien space ships landing in the area."

A team of experts has been sent to the area to survey the damage

http://www.davesdaily.com/out.php?id...4133.html?menu=

[Piasabird]

Re: Tom Cruise sparks 'alien' panic

OMG! NO! Say it ain't true!

I haven't seen the movie, but is it really that good?

[MotherOfGizmo]

Re: Tom Cruise sparks 'alien' panic

I haven't seen it either, nor do I plan to, but I also don't know much about Siberian folk--are they normally considered rational intelligent people?

[Piasabird]

Re: Tom Cruise sparks 'alien' panic

I haven't seen it either, nor do I plan to, but I also don't know much about Siberian folk--are they normally considered rational intelligent people?

Well, they live in Siberia!

[MotherOfGizmo]

Re: Tom Cruise sparks 'alien' panic

[matawguro]

Re: Tom Cruise sparks 'alien' panic

Talk about history repeating itself.

http://www.war-ofthe-worlds.co.uk/

[bearfoot]

Re: Tom Cruise sparks 'alien' panic

Just like matawguro mentions, this happend before. A radio play caused panic back in the 1938's. But this Siberia thing sounds like 'someone' created an urban legend or maybe this is news is 'launched' as PR for the film. I mean really, when you've seen a movie, and you now it's a movie. You know it's Science Fiction. No, I don't believe this really took place. These people might live in a very cold place, but hey... I don't think they're stupid.

[Kisseslikepearls]

Re: Tom Cruise sparks 'alien' panic

Just like matawguro mentions, this happend before. A radio play caused panic back in the 1938's. But this Siberia thing sounds like 'someone' created an urban legend or maybe this is news is 'launched' as PR for the film. I mean really, when you've seen a movie, and you now it's a movie. You know it's Science Fiction. No, I don't believe this really took place. These people might live in a very cold place, but hey... I don't think they're stupid.

I agree with you...to a point. I first saw the movie with my Dad because something sparked the whole 'well people thought it was real because it was first broadcasted over the radio as a 'real' news story' conversation. I must have been 10ish.

The movie STILL GIVES ME NIGHTMARES. I even refuse to see the remake. Granted, the reason it gives me nightmares isn't because I think we're going to be invaded, but the fear of the movie is still there. My point is that no, they may not be stupid, but fear's a real controller.

When an idea gets planted into your head, its still there. The rational part of you's going 'this isn't possible". Like when you get a sharp stabbing pain in your side that seems to last forever. You might think its appendicitis if you haven't had yours out, even if its on your left side. Or maybe its "this can't hurt me" or a number of other phrases your parents told you to say when you were scared of the boogyman or whatever that thing was under your bed. You KNOW those "monsters" don't exisit, but I bet you still stuck your head under the covers and repeated that mantra.

Hmm I'm not sure that's 2 cents worth. Maybe 4 cents?

[MotherOfGizmo]

Re: Tom Cruise sparks 'alien' panic

I can understand children having a hard time seperating fantasy from reality, but adults?

[bearfoot]

Re: Tom Cruise sparks 'alien' panic

You KNOW those "monsters" don't exisit, but I bet you still stuck your head under the covers and repeated that mantra.

Oh yeah! I sure did. I came running into my room and leaped upon the bed so that thing under the bed couldn't grab my legs.
But I was a kid then. You can even tell me there are monsters under my bed, but I won't be scared anymore.

[Kisseslikepearls]

Re: Tom Cruise sparks 'alien' panic

I can understand children having a hard time seperating fantasy from reality, but adults?

I don't think its so much as seperating fantasy from reality as the power of suggestion I guess you'd call it. Does anyone know how often that area gets tornados? To you and me and several million people it seems odd, but maybe the idea of an tornado is just as radical as the idea of aliens landing.