Spielberg's Optimism: An Astronomer Reacts to Close Encounter and E.T. 

It's the second installment of our Alienfest! And today we take in two of Steven Spielberg's most popular films: 1977's Close Encounters of the Third Kind and 1982's mega-blockbuster E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial. Is this the way first contact might unfold? Do the scientists in both movies respond the way real scientists might? When the movies venture real science, do they get it right? Can E.T. still make curmudgeonly Doctor Mike cry after all this time? Let's find out.
Bookmarks:
00:00 - Introduction
2:27 - Flight 19
6:03 - Close Encounters
11:42 - An Alien Signal
16:05 - Photography
20:23 - Devil's Tower
23:13 - Musical Language
25:48 - Einstein Was Right
31:37 - Memories of E.T.
33:20 - About an Alien
39:03 - Phone Home
43:29 - Keys
45:54 - Death and Life
50:35 - Movie Review
54:05 - Some Science