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Don is correct that Hynek knew he was being handled. However he was also under an Air Force contract that obligated him under threat of serious consequences not to disclose anything the Air Force told him he couldn't disclose. Don was in the military right? Would he have basically disobeyed orders over a non-life threatening issue like this? What if Hynek had spilled the beans and caused some kind of panic? Despite these considerations, the swamp gas incident was the tipping point for Hynek, after which he refused to participate in any further smoke screens. Personally, if it were me, I'd have damned the torpedoes and gone along with the charade until I got behind the microphone. But that's just me, and although Don does have a legitimate point, since finding out about what went on behind the scenes with the Air Force, I don't hold Hynek's decision against him the way I once did. The main problem was ( and still is ) non-disclosure by the USAF and other BTB.
Young people will always be interested in alien visitation the same way they're endlessly interested in dinosaurs and ghost stories. The problem is that as they grow up, people either tell them that UFOs are nonsense or they run into some misleading facet of the field that leads them to draw the same conclusion for themselves. It also doesn't help to have anti-ufology skeptics doing school outreach programs who pass along even more misinformation. But not to lose sight of the point.
You seem to be framing "progress" in terms of sufficient scientifically valid evidence to prove alien craft (UFOs) are real, rather than seeing progress as the acquisition of sufficient evidence ( scientific or otherwise ) that proves alien craft (UFOs) are real. The point being that science isn't the only method that can help us determine what is or isn't reasonable to believe. You've heard me mention the process of critical thinking. This process is understood and adopted by science, but isn't limited to the scientific method alone. It's also not ( as some skeptics might claim ) a weakened or compromised set of standards. It's strength is in allowing all forms of evidence to be considered and weighed rather than only empirical evidence. Consequently, understanding why it's just as valuable ( or more so ) than the scientific method alone takes more work. But based on critical thinking, the sum of all evidence for the reality of alien craft is sufficient to conclude that they are real. Any unbiased person who takes the time to study the field long enough cannot help but come to the this conclusion.
OK then let me rephrase. You seem to be framing progress in terms of science only, and like I said before, science isn't the only way to determine what is reasonable to believe. This isn't to say that I'm anti-science. I'm all for science being applied within the field where and when it can properly be done. The problem is that the field doesn't lend itself well to the scientific method, and this has left the field open to accusations of pseudoscience. Because of this situation it's better to leave the science to the scientists and ufology to the ufologists, and to work in cooperation, but at arms length from scientists to assure unbiased results.
The masses can also do science to varying degrees. So what? Does that make it less valid? The point is that your focus is on what constitutes proof. However proof isn't limited to scientific evidence alone. Proof is only evidence that is sufficient to make it reasonable to believe something is true, and critical thinking can furnish that as well or better than the scientific method alone, mainly because critical thinking doesn't preclude the scientific method, and therefore it makes use of all evidence available, and not simply that which is limited to the scientific method.
That would be a real step forward ... for sure.
I think we've gotten all the way through the parts where UFOs are seen by everyday people, chased by police cars, seen by pilots, and investigated by the military. Has some secret government program actually made contact with them? That's another story.
Right, of course ... for some reason I thought you were referring to some small detail I had missed at the beginning of the movie, like when they discovered Flight 19.
