Conspiracy Theories of the Modern American Society - Essay Example

Task Conspiracy theories form an integral part of the modern American society. There are however main divergences between the present-day conspiracy theories and those from half a centaury ago. The first major difference is the fact that most conspiracy theories from half a centaury ago were aroused from public paranoia, and focused more on the existence of an external threat to the nation’s security. This is unusual for contemporary conspiracy hypotheses whose focus lies in domestic or internal threats to safety and political life. The fear of ‘attacks’ from an external actus or a rogue nation, in the conspiracy theories of fifty years ago, may have been influenced by the political atmosphere prevalent at that time. This was the period after the Second World War, the battle of the pacific, and the cold war. America was thus wary of external attacks, the general mood of the country was fearful, and it is not surprising that most of the conspiracy theories of the time were based on external attacks. This was period saw the production of conspiracy films such as, The Manchurian Candidate, which was a reflection of the external threat posed by the Soviet Union to America. However, as time went by the American society started to become aware of domestic factors that it viewed with suspicion. Attention thus shifted to these actus and many contemporary conspiracies were thus created to reflect these threats. Of particular interest is the level of suspicion directed to the American political institutions and government. This is evidenced by conspiracy films such as Loose Change and Syriana. The second difference between present-day conspiracy theories and conspiracy theories from fifty years ago is on the medium of publication and transmission. Most of the conspiracy theories from fifty years ago were published on obscure internet websites, films of limited audience and underground newspapers and gossip columns of other papers (Arnold 166). This was because of the little credibility accorded to conspiracy theories at the time. Conspiracy theories at that moment in time were viewed with suspicion and were treated as mere propaganda aimed at discrediting at the various target institution, and in the least, mere paranoia resulted to when people could not explain the events taking shape in that period. However, contemporary conspiracy theories have enjoyed a mainstream advantage with such conspiracy theories being afforded decent airplay, publication and broadcast. In fact, such conspiracy movies have been able to compete with other mainstream movies. For example, Robert Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 was played in mainstream movie theaters and performed exceptionally well in the mainstream industry. Finally, contemporary conspiracy theories have now began receiving support from public figures and respected corporate. This is unlike the conspiracy theories from half a centaury ago which nobody wanted to be associated with, as they were perceived by many to be unprofessional and unworthy of public credit. Public figures such as celebrities, like George Clooney, are offering support to the production and screening of conspiracy theories. Clooney himself was the executive producer and actor to the movie Syriana that has a conspiracy theme. 2 Conspiracy theories are prevalent in America due America’s deep-rooted suspicion for state power. This may be attributed to the fact that the country itself was founded upon a revolution against centralized power; hence, a fear of the presence of shadowy figures pulling strings behind closed doors and controlling all the political spheres. This reasoning has its foundations on the American Revolution against the British colonialists where there was a general feeling that an exclusive class of people were behind making all the decisions that only sought to serve their interests. This belief that power to govern the masses was only reserved to an exclusive and elite group of person is what led to the revolt. Two aspects can be used best to explain the prevalence of conspiracy theories in America. This can be based on both historical, political and media influences. According to Gordon Arnold, the prevalence of conspiracy theories in the American culture can be traced back to historical events. He argues that the conspiracy theories arose from general paranoia regarding communism brought about by the outbreak of the cold war in the 1940s (Arnold 4). This brought about a general state of fear of the powers of the communist nations, and as a consequence of this general state of fear and panic, conspiracy theories began circulating about the powers of the communist countries and the threats they posed to the American security. Another reason for the prevalence of conspiracy theories is based on the American political culture, which is such that any idea that promotes the concept of self-interest becomes appealing to the public (Arnold 2). Such a culture provides a rich field to launch attacks on political foes; hence, they are employed as political tools capable of exploitation to provide a mileage to a party against their adversaries. Boosting this culture is the fact that conspiracy theories do not require vast amounts of evidence to prove their truthfulness. They operate on the public opinion court, which consumes anything that seems appealing or is decent enough to feed their fascination. The media has also played a big role in the prevalence of conspiracy theories in America. This has been through the popularization of film and television productions with conspiracy themes. After the second war, there was the explosion of movies and television production riddled with conspiracy themes that were reflective of the situation then. This only led to heightening of the society’s genuine fears as demonstrated in these movies. The immense numbers of the productions also acted to influence the American society’s view and ideas on these topics (Arnold 2). This therefore led to the popularity and growing influence of conspiracy theories in the American culture. 3 The role of the present-day woman in the societal context is much more dissimilar now from that played in the 1950s. The feminine mystique of 1950 idealized women as mere household helpers whose role in society was to take care, nature and provide care for the family. Nothing more was thus expected of women beyond these three functions, thus women were denied any form of participation in the arenas of political, social, religious, economic, artistic and the science fields. This was due to the existence of an overly patriarchal society that undervalued the potency of women in the societal context. In the present-day society, there has been a paradigm shift from the perceived role of women in society in the 1950s to the one played by women in the contemporary society. Women in the contemporary society as put across as powerful people in society, commanding a lot of influence, and with an almost equal footing with men in running the country’s affairs. In Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (1959), women are portrayed as highly influential figures in the society. Of particular importance is the dominant role played by mothers in the movie, where they are depicted as powerful and authoritative figures in their sons’ lives. In this movie, for example, Mrs. Thornhill is portrayed as an authoritative figure who commands great respect from her son. This is illustrated in the scene where when Thornhill is arrested for drunk driving, he first calls his mother to notify her of the tragedy that had befallen him. It is through such an example that we see the role of a contemporary mother being raised that of an authoritative figure as opposed to that of mere caregivers. This depicts mothers in the post-Korean war era as family heads who command great respect from their children, a privilege not afforded to them in the 1950s. Similarly, in John Frankenheimer’s The Manchurian Candidate (1962), women are portrayed as powerful, intelligent and controlling of their husband and son’s actions. In the movie, Mrs. Iselin is the force behind her husband’s political career, and the husband tends to confide a lot in her. Conversely, she also comes out as a domineering mother who controls every action of her son. She turns out to be the operator of her son Raymond, who is coerced and used as a murderer. The effect of this is to portray mothers as cunning, intelligent and powerful figures with real authority in their sons’ lives. The perceived anxieties about mothers in the aforementioned movies are that motherhood is the next form of control. The films create a conspiracy that motherly authority is superior compared to the authority of the father. Women are portrayed as the more intelligent sex and the invisible force behind the majority of decisions arrived at by the people in a position of power. 4 Oliver Stone’s 1991 film JFK forms an interesting view due to the media reaction it received. One of the greatest criticisms of the film was that Mr. Stone had altered the facts of the Kennedy assassination to suit his own needs aimed at creating drama and suspense. In the film, Stone begins with an opening that portrays Kennedy as a radical progressive who managed to upset some shadowy figures in his government through his policies and thereby warranting his assassination. This was a true account that indeed Kennedy was a radical progressive. The shadowy figures, while it may not be said to be fictional, is meant to increase the drama and suspense in the movie. It also useful in advancing the movie’s theme of conspiracy as this is essential in advancing the plot of the film. The film also takes a fictional note in its plot. There are a lot of fictional turns and twists that differ from the real events of the Kennedy assassination. In the film, for instance, the character of Joe Ferrie as a mercenary who works with Cuban exiles opposed to Castro, and who is later murdered by fellow conspirators after exposing and confessing to the scum is gravely exaggerated. This is because in the real sense Ferrie maintained his blamelessness throughout the proceedings and died of natural causes after suffering a coronary disease. Similarly, the character X of a government insider is a fictional one, and is non-existent in all the real life. This is a mere addition to the movie to create more suspense and drama, thereby advancing the elaborate nature of the conspiracy theory formulated by the movie. Apart from these two examples, there is the character of the key witness in the trial who is questioned under hypnosis to reveal all sorts of unbelievable facts to the case. Stone adequately utilizes all these fictions and mixes them with the truth to create great suspense and drama in the movie, a thing that he would not have achieved had he based the entire film on real events. The implication of this cinematic obfuscation is that the movie distorts the real story behind the Kennedy assassination and imposes its own theme. To an unsuspecting and under informed viewer, the movie retell the whole story behind the assassination of Kennedy. This is partly an intentional misrepresentation of facts meant to advance the director’s views. The resulting effect of this is the advancement of a conspiracy theory based on shadowy figures in government that plotted and executed a plan to assassinate the then president of America. This theory projected by the director in the movie is what shapes the peoples perception on the topic hence a majority of viewers relies on the information as presented in the film. Works Cited Arnold, Gordon. Conspiracy Theory in Film, Television, and Politics, London, West Port Connecticut (2008). North by Northwest, Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. 1952. Film The Manchurian Candidate, Dir. John Frankenheimer. 1962. Film. Read More