Latest news with #StormArea51
The Review Geek
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
Trainwreck: Storm Area 51 (2025) Review – The power of a meme
The power of a meme The internet is a weird place. It's impossible to predict what the next trend will be or when it will end. But there are many times that a silly meme can become much more. Trainwreck: Storm Area 51 delves into one such instance and the repercussions of a simple Facebook joke. One day, Matty Roberts, a normal young man, decided to kill boredom the best way he could: by making a meme. He created an event on his Facebook page inviting people to storm Area 51, which got a massive repercussion he could've never expected. After a few days, thousands of people had confirmed their participation, and influencers and news outlets were talking about it. This event is a perfect example of the internet's power. Today, a simple tweet, meme, video, or anything can become tomorrow's biggest headline. And to convey that, Trainwreck: Storm Area 51 brings people from all walks of life involved in the story. They show the viewpoint of cops, the military, influencers, the meme's creator, journalists, and more. The Netflix documentary alternates between the interviewees a lot, making the story more dynamic. Even if it's focusing on a specific person, we still get a quick impression from at least one other participant. Even though that's great for the pacing, it's hard not to think the documentary could've been shorter. It spends a lot of time presenting a local citizen and his struggle to stop the event, but it's the least interesting portion. Not to mention, it's even more disappointing when it goes nowhere. The influencers also have more screentime than they should. Seeing how the internet embraced the meme and created infinite content about it is important. However, most of their participation in the documentary feels superfluous. You can see that the production spent more on this Trainwreck, not only by the number of people participating, but also by the resources they used. Not every incident regarding the Storm Area 51 meme was recorded, so the documentary uses animation to recreate these scenes. But the best use of the animation is displaying the 'what if' scenarios of such an event. It could've gone in many directions, from no one showing up to hundreds or thousands of people getting shot by the military. And we can only see that imagined thanks to it having animated scenes as well. This one does justice to the trainwreck name, as no matter the scenario, it'd never have worked. However, the way it doesn't work is very surprising. This time, the organizers actually all gained something, while those who lost were the military and the government, which unnecessarily spent more money than they needed. Still, this surprise doesn't fix the lackluster ending. In real life, nothing happened, and the people just ended up partying in front of the place. Even so, the documentary keeps building up to a big ending that never arrives. There were many alternatives, such as focusing more on the comedy of the situation. It could've also been expressed before that the event wouldn't amount to anything huge instead. However, the ending brings a few questions that make it more interesting. The internet is bizarre, and crazy incidents happen because of it, so there's no denying that something bad could've occurred. Seeing that's true, how do you stop a joke? It's a weird, but real debate in the world we currently live in. Although the quality of these Traiwreck movies varies a lot and none are exceptional, it's a fun series to follow. There aren't many documentaries that focus on a diversity of incidents like it, mainly situations that have happened so recently.
Time of India
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Trainwreck Storm Area 51 true story: How a Facebook joke drew 10,000 people – were there corpses everywhere?
Trainwreck Storm Area 51 true story What is Area 51? What happened at the event? the trainwreck storm area 51 documentary is pretty funny. at least the first ep it has like clips of the tik tok trends at the time and all that. Feels like a mini time capsule — ⊹ ⋆ﾟ꒰ఎ ♡ ໒꒱ ⋆ﾟ⊹ Alysia ⊹ ⋆ﾟ꒰ఎ ♡ ໒꒱ ⋆ﾟ⊹ (@Alyssa55236307) July 30, 2025 Why you should watch Trainwreck: Storm Area 51 Trainwreck Storm Area 51 true story: What started as a tongue-in-cheek Facebook joke quickly snowballed into a viral sensation, drawing thousands to the Nevada desert in 2019. The so-called 'Storm Area 51' event saw nearly 10,000 attendees hoping to uncover extraterrestrial secrets. Netflix's documentary Trainwreck: Storm Area 51 revisits this bizarre moment in pop culture history, exploring the unexpected turnout and the chaos that to The Guardian, Trainwreck: Storm Area 51 tells the strange true story of how a late-night Facebook joke turned into a viral sensation. In 2019, 20-year-old Matty Roberts, a mall worker from California, created a playful event called 'Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us,' inspired by a Joe Rogan podcast. It was meant as a joke for 3 a.m. on September 20 but within days, millions RSVP'd, memes spread like wildfire, and the tiny Nevada town of Rachel, with just 56 residents, prepared for a surprise invasion of 51, a secret U.S. Air Force base hidden from the public since the Cold War, has fueled UFO and alien theories for years. It wasn't officially acknowledged by the government until 2013, when President Obama jokingly mentioned millions RSVP'd to the Facebook event, Matty Roberts was shocked by the attention. He gave interviews from his room while playing video games, amazed that his late-night joke had gone viral the chaos leading up to it, the actual event was much calmer than expected. While 3.5 million people had RSVP'd online, only a few hundred showed up in Rachel, Nevada. Still, the mood was fun and quirky, people wore alien costumes, danced under the stars, and shared the event on social media. Some even tried the 'Naruto run' toward the Area 51 gates but stopped to take photos spent about $11 million preparing for a possible security threat, making it the largest defense effort in the base's history. One man was caught with weapons, but no serious incidents Unicole Unicron called the event a spiritual success, saying it felt like the aliens were 'dancing with us.' As for Matty Roberts, he went back to everyday life, calling the whole thing 'the most exciting moment of my life.'Trainwreck: Storm Area 51 goes beyond being just an offbeat documentary about an internet meme, it delves into the unpredictable ways online culture can manifest in real life. It explores how a seemingly harmless Facebook joke, sparked by boredom and curiosity, unexpectedly escalated into a worldwide phenomenon that compelled local officials, the U.S. military, and a small desert community to brace for an event whose outcome was entirely uncertain.
Daily Mirror
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'Wild' Netflix documentary that has fans hooked is a 'mini time capsule'
Netflix's Trainwreck anthology has been a hit with fans as it revisits some of the most bizarre and horrifying events that made headlines in mainstream media Netflix enthusiasts are engrossed in a "wild" documentary that's been described as a "mini time capsule" and it has fans hooked. The Trainwreck anthology has become a sensation, revisiting some of the most peculiar and shocking events that have made headlines. The series delves into everything from holiday catastrophes to political scandals and festival disasters, each examined through a unique perspective with exclusive interviews and unseen footage. The latest and final episode on Netflix, Storm Area 51, is causing quite a stir. It revisits the "story of the greatest sh**post ever made", where a single social media post caused a massive uproar. Netflix teases: "A viral joke about storming a secretive US Air Force base sparks a meme-fuelled media frenzy and puts the military on alert in this bizarre true story." In 2019, 20-year-old Matty Roberts sparked a worldwide sensation by creating a Facebook event titled 'Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us'. The goal was to invade the Air Force base in Nevada and uncover its alleged hidden secrets, reports the Mirror US. The event promised to expose everything from covert government experiments to alien technologies, capturing imaginations globally and becoming an internet phenomenon. Eventually, millions of people expressed their interest, leading to urgent warnings from US law enforcement agencies. Now, the documentary explores the social media post that had the world talking. And viewers are absolutely loving it. One social media user posted: "Just watched Trainwreck: Storm Area 51. That was wild from start to finish." Another added: "So who remembers the STORM AREA 51 stuff. Watching TRAINWRECK: STORM AREA 51 and I'm shocked that it was 2019. Felt like something recent. Wow. time flies. So who went?" A third responded: "The trainwreck storm area 51 documentary is pretty funny. At least the first ep it has like clips of the TikTok trends at the time and all that. Feels like a mini time capsule." A fourth remarked: "Been waiting impatiently for the Trainwreck: Storm Area 51 episode! I remember being in the fb group back then thinking it was hilarious lol." Another fan agreed: "Watching Trainwreck on Netflix and realising that I was one of the 3.5 million on Facebook that said they were gonna storm Area 51."
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
How Joe Rogan's record-breaking podcast fueled infamous Area 51 'storming craze'
The most popular episode of Joe Rogan 's podcast has been credited with inspiring the viral movement to storm the gates of Area 51 in the summer of 2019. Netflix released a new episode of its 'Trainwreck' documentary that featured Matty Roberts, who organized the Facebook campaign 'Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All Of Us,' which saw two million people commit to rushing the Nevada base. Roberts said the idea came after he watched Area 51 whistleblower Bob Lazar, who claimed to have worked on projects involving the reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial spacecraft while staffed at the base in 1989. Lazar's viral sit-down with Rogan further detailed what he did at the facility, including his work on an extraterrestrial 'anti-matter reactor,' working on advanced flying saucers built by the military, and climbing inside a real UFO. The June 2019 has been viewed over 64 million times, the most of any of Rogan's episodes. 'I thought, 'Oh, my God, this finally explains the flying saucers stories,' Roberts said. Excited by what he heard during that two-hour interview, he sent out a rallying cry on social media on July 27, 2019, hoping he would find others eager to force the government to admit that aliens and UFOs were real. 'It just seemed like a hilarious idea to me,' Roberts said in the docuseries Trainwreck. After just three days on Facebook, Roberts' call to charge the gates of the US Air Force facility turned into an internet sensation. Area 51 has been tied to extraterrestrial lore for decades, with UFO researchers and conspiracy theorists claiming that secret government projects have been conducted there since the 1950s. However, it wasn't until Lazar's 1989 interview with investigative reporter George Knapp on Las Vegas TV station KLAS that the classified base became nationally famous. Lazar has maintained for 35 years that he was a government physicist who worked at S-4, roughly 15 miles from the main Area 51 complex, reverse-engineering alien spacecraft and extraterrestrial technology. 'When did things get weird? At what point in time did you say hey this is not normal work like this doesn't even seem like it's from this planet?' Rogan asked Lazar during their 2019 conversation. 'There's this facility that is at S4. It's in the side of a mountain,' Lazar described. 'I went into the hangar door and in the hangar door was the disc, the flying saucer that I worked on. I saw it sitting there and we walked by, it had a little American flag stuck on the side,' he continued. 'I thought oh my God this finally explains all the flying saucer stories this is just an advanced fighter,' the engineer told Rogan. Even after that interview, the Air Force kept a tight lid on what was happening in the desert until 2013, when the CIA finally admitted Area 51 really existed. Daily Mail has reached to Joe Rogan for comment regarding Roberts' comments about the Lazar interview. Roberts revealed that his entire campaign just started out as a gag for the few followers he had on social media. 'Jokes are funnier when they're edgy. So, I'm going to make it sound like a real call to arms,' he said in the Netflix special. 'I just thought it would be a funny post for my page of 40 followers,' he added. 'I didn't think it would go anywhere.' However, the viral invitation quickly drew the attention of the US government, who took the possibility of two million people rushing the gates of Area 51 very seriously. The federal government reportedly spent $11 million reinforcing the security around Area 51 before the September 20 event. Roberts revealed that the FBI questioned him after he posted the event on Facebook. The military even warned anyone attending the gathering that deadly force would be used to keep the base secure. 'I had no idea what I'd started,' Roberts added. The small crowd began forming at 3am outside Area 51, and only 2 people were detained by police While the federal government and US military was ready for a showdown at the top secret base, it turned out that the public wasn't. Of the two million people who RVSP'd for Roberts' attempt to storm Area 51, only 150 people showed up. 'We're about to storm one of the most heavily guarded military bases in the world. Why? Because the internet told us to,' another attendee commented in the docuseries. Only a few thousand people traveled to the towns closest to Area 51, like Rachel, Hiko and Alamo, but they never met at the base. According to the new documentary, this came as a great relief to the roughly 50 residents of Rachel, who feared they were about to be overrun by more than a million visitors. Only half of the 150 people who showed up at the 2019 event actually ran towards the gates of Area 51 According to Forbes, only two individuals were detained by local sheriff's deputies, but a reason was not given at the time. While Roberts and the 150 attendees never got past the main gate of Area 51 in 2019, the site has continued to draw unstop speculation that the US government working with extraterrestrial technology there. Several of Rogan's podcast guests since the Lazar interview have stated that they believe UFOs are studied at that facility and others throughout the US.
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
I wanted REAL truth about Area 51… my reckless idea cost military $11m & almost sparked ‘deadliest mass shooting' ever
IT started as a joke, posted by a bored keyboard warrior who couldn't sleep. But the invitation to Storm Area 51 - the top secret US military base where conspiracy theorists believe evidence of alien invasions is stored - caused a national security alert, involving the State Department, US Marshals and Air Force, the FBI and millions of dollars. 13 A joke about storming Area 51 ended up costing the government millions 13 Crowds turned up to the air force base with officials worried they would try to storm it Credit: Reuters 13 Matty Roberts made the group on Facebook as a joke Credit: CNN And the midnight post, by 20-year-old Matty Roberts, saw millions of alien-obsessed geeks hailing him as their spiritual leader and making plans to converge on the The extraordinary incident, in 2019, is told in the two-part Netflix documentary, Trainwreck: Storm Area 51. Living with his mum in California, Matty's long black hair and beard, pallid complexion, baseball cap and excitable talk, perfectly fits the mould of 'computer nerd'. Bored with his dead-end job selling vapes at a deserted shopping mall, he entertained himself watching humorous podcasts, memes and YouTube videos. Read More Features One day he stumbled upon amateur Ufologist Jeremy Corbell on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast talking about the top-secret US Air Force base, Area 51, where he claimed alien space craft were hidden. 'I thought, 'Oh, my God, this finally explains the flying saucers stories,'' says Matty. 'It was fascinating but I filed it in the back of my mind and my shift ends and I go home.' It might have ended there but a decision made in the middle of the night to post a jokey message encouraging people to 'Storm Area 51' was to have unimaginable consequences. 'I have this sh**posting account on Facebook, which is my happy place,' he says. It is where he posts satirical and provocative material from his bedroom. Most read in The Sun 'It's great because nobody knows who you are. You can post stupid stuff – memes, random thoughts that come to mind, funny, zingy one-liners. 'That night, I can't sleep. My mind's kind of going. And then it comes to me. The ultimate sh**post. If the government won't tell us anything about this top-secret military base, what if every fool on the internet converged on Area 51? What would they do? Shoot everyone? I'm an Area 51 investigator – FBI raided my home & tried to silence me but I know secret UFO base is hiding new weapons "It seemed like a hilarious idea to me. Jokes are funnier when they're edgy. So, I'm going to make it sound like a real call to arms.' Having named the event 'Storm Area 51: They Can't Stop All of Us', he went back to bed. 'I just thought it would be a funny post for my page of 40 followers,' he recalls. 'I didn't think it would go anywhere.' Reality hits But the following morning, Matty was astonished to find hundreds signing up for the event. Over the next few days it continued to attract thousands, from people thinking they are aliens, to adrenaline junkies, conspiracy theorists and wannabe social media stars. All were competing with each other in posting humorous alien-related memes. But worryingly, as well as enjoying the fun, most were seriously intent on making the raid happen. 'I was like, 'What the f***?! I figured I had to tell my mom,' says Matty. She warned him that people might not understand it was a joke and that he could get into a lot of trouble. 13 The base's secrecy has bred numerous conspiracy theories Credit: Getty 13 The popularity of the group quickly span out of control Credit: Supplied 13 The Little A'Le'Inn motel became inundated with calls Credit: AP:Associated Press Area 51 has been the testing site for some of America's top fighter planes, such as the U-2, the F-117 and the Stealth Bomber. Security forces who guard the base are authorised to shoot to kill anyone crossing the barrier. With Matty now receiving messages from people threatening to kill guards who got in their way, things were getting serious. 'I told Mom I would sort it,' he says. 'So, I added a line to the description saying that if we Naruto run, we can move faster than the guards bullets.' Naruto is a young Ninja character in a series of Japanese manga cartoon stories who has a distinctive run in which he leans forward and holds his arms out behind him. Matty's followers needed no such explanation. Instantly, he was bombarded with videos of people in alien and superhero costumes running Naruto-style down the street. 'I was just trying to help calm things down but the whole thing exploded even more,' he says. 'Now, I'm suddenly this renegade guy that's got this group of people where everything I say is funny. I had no idea what I'd started. I thought, 'For God's sake, this is just a joke. Nobody's actually planning on going there.'' I thought, 'Oh, this isn't funny anymore' Sheriff Kerry Lee But they were. On the long road in the desert-land of Nevada to Area 51, known popularly as the Extraterrestrial Highway, Connie West runs the only motel – the Little A'Le'Inn in the small town of Rachel, with a population of 56 people. The motel has a bar, just 10 rooms and a camping site. 'July 11 th , our phone started ringing,' she says. 'Somebody wanted to hire a camping spot. As soon as I hung up with that person, the phone was ringing again and again. It was insane. Everybody was wanting to come on the 20 th of September. I thought, 'What's going on?'' Lincoln County Sheriff Kerry Lee, whose patch takes in Area 51, was growing increasingly concerned. 'When my friend texted me, saying, 'Have you seen this post?' I thought it was another one of those wacko things people say and it never happens,' he says. 'It wasn't until the days progressed and things started getting bigger and bigger, that I thought, 'Oh, this isn't funny anymore.' We have less than 12 officers to police an 11,000 square-mile county.' Celeb endorsements After the story was covered on mainstream TV news channels, things just got bigger and bigger with celebrities getting in on the joke. Miley Cyrus posted a selfie of herself with an alien captioned: 'That one time @ Area 51.' With over a million people now planning to converge at Rachel, Nevada, Matty was desperately trying to think of a way to stop the momentum. 'It's gone from just being dipsh** on the internet to now I've got real people coming to a real place that can get really hurt. How the f*** did it come to this?' 13 The base is closely guarded by the military Credit: Corbis - Getty 13 Celebrities started to get in on the event Credit: X/MileyCyrus 13 Matty told is followers to run like Naruto to dodge bullets After a messenger suggested they throw an electronic dance party in the desert, right by Area 51, he saw his opportunity to divert the focus. He gave it the green light and was then advised that only one man could pull off an event this big – legendary events organiser Disco Donnie. 'I was at my place on the beach and I got this call from a promoter explaining that this Area 51 post had gone viral,' says Donnie. 'He asked me if I wanted to get involved and do a festival. I was like, 'Sure. When is it?' And he said, 'In September.' 'I said, 'Two months from now? No way. That's crazy.' Normally, I'd have at least eight months to plan something like that. 'When I looked to see where they were trying to do it, it was in the middle of the desert. I knew it was impossible, but I also didn't want to be left on the sideline. This could be it.' Meanwhile, the mainstream media had discovered Matty's identity and were following him with cameras. With little time to spare, Donnie and Matty drove to Area 51 and met up with Connie at her motel, who decided to go into partnership with them. But Donnie was despairing of the logistics of holding the event. Suddenly, some dickhead from California is bringing a million people over there Matty Roberts 'When you're doing a show in the middle of nowhere, you have to bring everything yourself – porta potties, fencing, staff, water, staging. We were building a city from nothing.' As the realisation of what was happening set in, locals did all they could to stop the invasion of alien thrill-seekers. 'People in this tiny little town live there for a reason,' says Matty. 'Now suddenly, some d***head from California is bringing a million people over there.' 'Mass shooting' fears Colonel Cavan Craddock commanded the 99 th Air Base Wing, which provided support for Area 51. 'Imagine someone has a gun,' he says. 'If people start shooting and suddenly, hundreds or maybe thousands of people get shot over this event, you're looking at one of the deadliest mass shootings in the history of our nation.' Sheriff Kerry Lee declared the Lincoln County to be in a state of emergency. 'I got a call from the Los Angeles Police Department,' he says. 'They were getting together every government agency they could to deal with this thing. So, I jumped in my patrol car and headed to Las Vegas.' 13 Alien followers protested outside Area 51 Credit: © 2025 Netflix, Inc. 13 Matty Roberts faced pressure from the authorities to tone down the event Credit: © 2025 Netflix, Inc. 13 Alien enthusiasts threw music parties instead Credit: AFP He sat at a big U-shaped table with the Las Vegas Police Department, the FBI, the State Department, US Marshals and US Air Force personnel. It was decided that the best way to stop the event from happening was to put pressure on Matty. That was when the FBI called at his home. 'I'm sitting there shaking, thinking I'm about to get a bag over my head and thrown into a van and shipped off to God-knows-where,' says Matty. 'And they are grilling me to find out whether or not I am actually a terrorist. 'I'm telling them the truth. I'm not actually planning on doing this. We're planning a music festival. They essentially let me know that it was my ass on the line if anybody decided to go in there and storm the base. 'After the meeting I needed to figure out a way to move away from Storm Area 51 and rebrand it so I can keep myself out of prison.' He starts looking at the famous 1960s music festival Woodstock, with its peace and hippy vibe and came up with the idea of a similar large-scale event called Alienstock. With Disco Donnie having pulled out, another promoter named Frank DiMaggio took over the running of the gig and finally persuaded Matty to hold it in Las Vegas, where there was a venue and infrastructure. The festival successfully took place but, worryingly to the authorities, that didn't stop the faithful from continuing on their mission to Storm Area 51. 'All of our forces were ready,' says Colonel Cavan. 'We'd been monitoring events and around 3am we were starting to see some increased activity.' People were congregating, chanting, 'They can't stop us all,' and then counting down from 10 to one before charging the base Naruto-style…. and stopping. To whoops of laughter, they spent the rest of the evening partying at their ad-hoc music festival in the desert. 'It was a joke,' says Sheriff Kerry Lee. 'They got their moment of fame and their picture and it was done. Three point five million people turned out to be just a few hundred in the end.' But the joke had ended up costing Lincoln County $250,000 and the US military an estimated $11 million for beefing up security. Matty made just $1700 from selling T-shirts at Alienstock and then slipped back into anonymity. 'I'd just gone through the most surreal and exciting moment of my life,' he says. 'And one week later, I'm back at the vape shop.' Trainwreck: Storm Area 51 drops on Netflix on July 29 13 Promoter Disco Donnie was called upon to help organise a festival Credit: Getty
