Yesterday’s Rhymes With Orange, with a challenge to cartoon understanding:
(#1)
For basic appreciation of the cartoon, you need to recognize that the event in it is a stage performance by a singer with accompanying trio; to recognize that all the figures in the cartoon are conventional space aliens from popular culture; to know that an aria is a song in an opera; and to know that Area 51 is a highly classified area in Nevada associated in popular culture with the investigation of extraterrestrials.
Then you can groan at the aria vs. area pun.
Your appreciation might then be heightened by knowing about the scifi movie The Fifth Element and the alien opera singer Diva Plavalaguna in it.
(Hat tip to Kim Darnell for the Fifth Element link.)
Space aliens. The now conventional imagery:
(#2)
This imagery is a composite of two figures: the grey alien and the little green man.
From Wikipedia:
(#3)
(#4) Stylized grey alien face
Grey aliens, also referred to as “Alien Greys”, “Greys”, “Grays” and “Roswell Greys”, are extraterrestrial beings whose existence is discussed in ufological, paranormal, and New Age communities, and who are named for their unique skin color. Forty-three percent of all reported alien encounters in the United States describe Grey aliens. Such claims vary in every respect including their nature, origins (ETs, extradimensionals, time travelers, or machines), moral dispositions, intentions, and physical appearances (even varying in their skin color). A composite description derived from overlap in claims would have Greys as small-bodied beings with smooth grey-colored skin, enlarged hairless head and large black eyes. The origin of the idea of the Grey is commonly associated with the Barney and Betty Hill abduction claim which took place in 1961, although skeptics see precursors in science fiction and earlier paranormal claims. The Grey aliens are also famous from earlier depictions of the Roswell [NM] UFO incident from 1947. Some sources in UFO community describe role of grey alien race as an artifitially created being used by other races as an servants or even slaves used to execute tasks as an abductions and others.
Also from Wikipedia:
Little green men is the stereotypical portrayal of extraterrestrials as little humanoid-like creatures with green skin and sometimes with antennae on their heads. The term is also sometimes used to describe gremlins, mythical creatures known for causing problems in airplanes and mechanical devices. Today, these creatures are more commonly associated with an alleged alien species called greys, whose skin color is described as not green, but grey.
Area 51. From Wikipedia:
(#5)
The United States Air Force facility commonly known as Area 51 is a highly classified remote detachment of Edwards Air Force Base, within the Nevada Test and Training Range. According to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the correct names for the facility are Homey Airport and Groom Lake, though the name Area 51 was used in a CIA document from the Vietnam War. The facility has also been referred to as Dreamland and Paradise Ranch, among other nicknames. The special use airspace around the field is referred to as Restricted Area 4808 North (R-4808N).
The base’s current primary purpose is publicly unknown; however, based on historical evidence, it most likely supports the development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons systems (black projects). The intense secrecy surrounding the base has made it the frequent subject of conspiracy theories and a central component to unidentified flying object (UFO) folklore.
… Novels, films, television programs, and other fictional portrayals of Area 51 describe it — or a fictional counterpart — as a haven for extraterrestrials, time travel, and sinister conspiracies, often linking it with the Roswell UFO incident.
The Fifth Element. About the movie, from Wikipedia:
The Fifth Element (French: Le Cinquième Élément) is a 1997 English-language French science-fiction action film directed and co-written by Luc Besson. It stars Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman and Milla Jovovich. Primarily set in the 23rd century, the film’s central plot involves the survival of planet Earth, which becomes the responsibility of Korben Dallas (Willis), a taxicab driver and former special forces major, after a young woman (Jovovich) falls into his cab. Dallas joins forces with her to recover four mystical stones essential for the defence of Earth against an impending attack.
Within the movie:
(#6) You can watch The Fifth Element music video here; the Diva’s performance is the central element in the video
The Diva opera performance featured music from Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor “Il dolce suono”, the mad scene of Act III, Scene I… the role of Plavalaguna (the Diva) was played by the French actress Maïwenn Le Besco.
On the singer, from Wikipedia:
Inva Mula (born June 27, 1963) is an Albanian opera lyric soprano. She began her soprano career at a very early age. Her father (Avni Mula) and mother (Nina Mula) were also opera singers. She is also widely known in popular culture for providing the voice of the Diva Plavalaguna in the film The Fifth Element [where she is credited using her (then) married name as Inva Mula Tchako]
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