The aliens in Men in Black represent, um… aliens?

In the film's opening scene, we see an alien, Mikey, disguised as an alien trying to enter the United States illegally. Here, Men in Black is having fun with two very different definitions of the word "alien." The first is a person born in or coming from another country, and the other's a being from outer space.

This is a playful way to let the audience know upfront that the aliens symbolize immigrants, and they'll serve as an exploration of immigration and America's immigrant heritage. With that said, this is a comedy adventure film, so it's not going to dive too deep into its own analysis. If you're looking for thoughtful reflection on immigration reform, look elsewhere.

For clarity's sake, we'll refer to aliens from other planets as "extraterrestrials" but we'll refer to aliens from other countries as "immigrants." You know, English, sometimes you can make things real difficult.

Defining Your Terms

The extraterrestrials represent the Other. When written with a capital O, the Other is "an individual who is perceived by the group as not belonging, as being different in some fundamental way" with the group seeing itself as the so-called "norm."

A quick glance at any history book with provide you with lots of examples of societies and their perceived Others. The Jews were prosecuted as Others in Nazi Germany and the Hutus considered the Tutsis a clan of unwanted Others. In both situations the result was the same: genocide.

While Otherness doesn't always lead physical violence, it does usually involve social stigma. In America in the 1850s, Chinese immigrants were viewed through the lens of the Other, and in San Francisco, increasing racism forced the Chinese to live in a specially designated neighborhood, Chinatown. Today, Muslims can be seen as Others in predominantly Christian Europe and the U.S.

The extraterrestrials in Men in Black simplify the concept by taking the idea of the Other and placing it outside of history. They speak different languages, hail from entirely different cultures, and look nothing like a human when outside of their disguise. One's a giant bug, another's a squid, and still another's a tiny gray alien inside a robot head. They're mostly refugees from planets where something's gone terribly wrong, and they've agreed to obey some pretty strict rules in order to stay here on Earth.

These exaggerated distinctions aren't designed to suggest that the Other shouldn't be viewed as human (more on this later). Instead, they let us to explore the concept of the Other while freeing the discussion from some of the complexities and histories attached to it in the real world. That makes it easier and safer, like the way that fairy tales about wolves eating grandmas let kids work out their fears and violent impulses without having to discuss really killing your grandma.

Fear the Walking Other

Fear plays a big part in Men in Black's consideration of the Other. The reason the extraterrestrials have to stay hidden in the first place is because humans would have the daylights scared outta them.

KAY: Humans, for the most part, don't have a clue. They don't want one or need one either. They're happy. They think they have a good bead on things.

JAY: But why the big secret? People are smart. They can handle it.

KAY: A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it.

We've all heard the cliché that people fear what they don't understand, but that might go double for bugs the size of construction equipment. This fear can lead us to dumb and dangerous actions and decisions that can cause a lot of harm.

That's why the extraterrestrials disguise themselves as humans, act like humans, speak like humans, and complain about taxicab drivers like humans.

Film critic Adam Roberts notes that MiB suggests the immigrant is one "possessing a dangerous potential" and "there is also an explicitly aligned racial component to the film's premise."

Enter the Bug, an extraterrestrial Kay terrifyingly sums up as, 

KAY: [...]a giant cockroach with unlimited strength, a massive inferiority complex, and a real short temper [that] is terrorizing around Manhattan Island in a brand-new Edgar suit.

The Bug isn't like us. He isn't human and has no regard for life or social rules. He also looks human (granted, a decomposing human), so how are we supposed to tell the difference between the Bug and someone who means us no harm?

Roberts is right to point out this aspect of Men in Black's treatment of the Other. There have been and still are social groups that view the Other in this way: as dangerous and not human, something that needs to be stamped out before it destroys "us." And it isn't difficult to make the leap from the film's portrayal of fearing the Other to real life examples.

We've already mentioned the Jewish and Rwandan genocides, but a modern day example in the daily headlines is the Syrian refugee crisis, a massive humanitarian crisis that's been ongoing since 2011 but that's suffered severe roadblocks from fear of the Other.

The major difference is, of course, that the Bug is a giant cartoony villain who is anything but human, whereas the Others we create in reality are very human.

Put It on Screen

While it's true that the aliens are required to dress and act as humans, they aren't all feared. As Kay says, 

KAY: And most of them are decent enough. They're just trying to make a living.

Reggie provides a perfect example of this, an extraterrestrial that's just trying to do what's best for his family.

Also, think the observation screen in MiB headquarters. When we first see it, Kay shows Jay a sample of known aliens they're keeping track of. These include politicians like Newt Gingrich and actors like Sylvester Stallone and Danny DeVito.

They aren't all white middle-class males, either, and some hail from traditionally marginalized peoples. Steven Spielberg and Isaac Mizrahi are Jewish, and African Americans Al Roker and Dionne Warwick put in an appearance on the big board.

At the very end of the film, we find out that Dennis Rodman's an alien, and you don't get much more non-traditional middle-class values than Dennis Rodman. (Does anybody else remember the wedding dress?)

All these folks are hugely successful in their chosen field. They've also shaped our culture and society, even if their ancestors came from traditionally marginalized peoples. MiB shows what can happen when we can get over our fear and accept the Other. Society and culture are all the richer for it.