If there was ever an episode that proves how deeply a movie can tattoo itself onto someone’s soul, it’s this one. Mandy is joined by beloved TruStory FM collaborator and film analyst Steve Sarmento, a man whose heart has apparently been shaped like Devil’s Tower since 1977. Together, they dive into Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Steven Spielberg’s symphonic ode to curiosity, obsession, government lies, blinking lights, and questionable parenting. It’s a conversation equal parts nerdy reverence and incredulous side-eye.Steve opens by explaining why this film imprinted on him. He recalls watching space capsules dock overhead in the actual sky (because he is deeply old by his own admission) and feeling the first spark of fascination with what might be “out there.” From there, 7-year-old Steve was primed for Spielberg’s grounded sci-fi portrait of ordinary people caught in extraordinary encounters. For him, Barry had the same toys he did. Roy looked like every dad in the Midwest. The entire film felt possible in a way that forever marked his imagination. Mandy, meanwhile, approaches the movie as an adult for the first time and has… questions.A lot of questions.They unpack a lot... and of course, they talk aliens—spindly little dancers in silhouette, equal parts eerie and endearing—and what it meant to young Steve to finally see them emerge from that overwhelming light. For him, it was pure awe. For Mandy, it was: “Wait, did they just kidnap a kid and everyone’s cool with this?”In the end, what emerges is a conversation about joy. How a film can be full of fear, family collapse, government conspiracies, and chaos, and still somehow leave you feeling hopeful. Steve calls Close Encounters one of his top five films of all time, and by the time the mothership lifts off, you can hear why. It’s a story not just about aliens, but about longing, wonder, and the hunger for connection in a chaotic world. Mandy may have arrived late to the party, but by the end, she understands exactly why this movie meant—and still means—so much.Make Me a Nerd:

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