The documentary follows members and scholars as they dive into the popular group’s mythology and connection to space.
“Welcome Space Brothers” follows Ruth Norman and The Unarius Academy of Science, her extraterrestrial channeling spiritual school in Southern California.
Founded in 1954 by couple Ernest and Ruth Norman, Unarius became known as a channel for extraterrestrial beings. During Ernest’s control over the organization, its focus remained on the connection between its members and intelligent life in space. When Ruth took over after his death, Unarius grew to become a household name as the “mission” grew to bring Unarius to the general public.
The Jodie Willie documentary highlights the organization’s climb to notoriety as well as its internal troubles. Not only does the audience get a glimpse into how great it was in its heyday, the audience also sees the organization in the present day.
Nostalgia hits the audience almost immediately as we are presented with Unarius in both the past and in the present. We see footage of the various trinkets, scepters, costumes, and other brightening jewels throughout Unarius’ building. The camera then focuses on one piece, and then transitions to that piece being held by Ruth Norman, known by members as Archangel Uriel.
According to its leaders, Unarius served as a channeling sector for intelligent life in space, meaning intelligent life in space would use members to channel their message from space to those on Earth. Ruth’s extensive writing credits came from books that were based on these messages. Not only did Ruth use these messages to write her books, they would be the basis of the films produced by the group.
The group’s mythology was based on the idea of past lives and reincarnation. For Ruth, she was once Mary Magdalene while Ernest was once Jesus Christ. Ruth believed she had been Socrates, Buddha and King Arthur as well as almost 50 other important figures of history. The idea of past lives and reincarnation would often make its way into the films produced by the group, having members act out the roles of their past lives.
“Welcome Space Brothers” then introduces various members of Unarius, notably Kevin Kennedy and Dave Osborne. Kennedy joined in the 1970s after he left home at only 17, while Osborne joined as the group’s honorary filmmaker. Osborne later got his parents and sister to join as well.
Unarius grew in popularity when Ruth took over as she used public access television to her advantage. Public access television is framed as this free-for-all space for people to buy their slot of television time, which is what Unarius ultimately did.
Using their connections to a man named Dennis McNabb, who worked within public access television, and Osborne’s filmmaking talents, Unarius was able to grow from a mail order club to an international organization. The group would regularly produce and release films with the local public access channels doing weekly showings.
The documentary was able to capture the hysteria surrounding the group’s popularity amongst fellow new religions of the time. Archival footage of news segments and late night talk show interviews from the time as well as snippets from the group’s films were the backbone of the documentary.
One of the running sentiments of the group was its space connections, specifically its prediction of a spaceship landing. In one of her books, published in March 1974, Ruth predicted that intelligent life from space would land on Earth by December of the same year.
Ruth, along with some of her students, bought 67 acres of land near Jamul, California to serve as the landing spot for spacefleet, dubbed the “Intergalactic Confederation.” When December 1974 came around and the spacefleet failed to show up, the group’s slow descent from popularity began — many members left and outsiders questioned the group’s authenticity more than before.
As the audience learns about the group’s popularity, we get this contrast of the present time. Moments of Unarius in the present day hits the nostalgia bone heavily, to the point one may need a cast. The Unarius headquarter building doubles as a meeting place for its members and museum of the group’s past popularity.
“Welcome Space Brothers” does not focus on the sensationalist aspects of the film collective known as Unarius, rather it humanizes its members by showcasing the interpersonal relationships and their personal struggles. Unarius served as a safe space for those who needed it, also serving as a place for creatives to thrive.
Jodie Willie captured what one could describe as lightning in a bottle, an electric moment of time. We as an audience were able to travel alongside Unarius members and scholars as they experienced the highs, lows and present-day lull of what was once a pop culture staple.
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