|
A recent Newsweek article (1/6/97) states that "Conspiracy paranoia
is surrounding us. A paranoid person might even say it's closing in, because
these wacky theories aren't just spreading in the usual cheesy newsletters
dense with type and craziness. Fomented on the Internet, conspiracism has
become a kind of para-religion. Its vast flock ranges from casual believers
to zealots who think O.J. Simpson was set up by the Japanese Mafia and that
Prince Charles is a puppet of the New World Order ..."
John Whalen, co-author of 50 Greatest Conspiracies, says that "conspiracy
theories are often spurious. But whether they are true, fractionally true
or patently false, they are highly communicable. They spread like viruses;
they often become urban legends that move from community to community and
across generations.
"Talk radio and the Internet are abuzz with conspiracy scenarios:
Black helicopters, the UN invasion forces in our backyard, UFO cover-upsThe
technology used to disseminate those theories: the Internet, talk radio,
photocopying machines, videotapes- [helps] conspiracy theories travel through
the Zeitgeist faster and more widely than ever before.
"The other element fueling conspiracy theories is the public's cynicism
about government, which seems to have reached epidemic proportions ­p;
such as the CIA's efforts to assassinate foreign leaders, the CIA's illegal
experiments with LSD on unsuspecting American civilians, Iran-contra, the
FBI's illegal harassment of radicals during the Vietnam era, etc."
"There's a deep-seated willingness by people to believe that there
are enemies out there," says producer/director Richard Donner. "There's
a great comfort in believing that there's this malignant force out there
that we can justifiably rage against."
Adds producer Joel Silver, "What a weird idea to believe that there
might be bar codes on the back of Federal road signs that are secret instructions
for the UN army planning a takeover. It shows the persistence of paranoia."
In the past decade, there has been an increase in the readiness of many
people to believe in conspiracy theories. These theories tend to satisfy
a human craving for boldly drawn melodrama; their villains are usually larger
than life, ingenious in their depravity and all-powerful.
"How many conspiracy theories does any one person hear from another
in a week?" asks Mel Gibson. "Who phoned in that bomb threat?
Did they really try to slip Castro a poison cigar? All that kind of stuff
that you never quite get an answer to, but everybody's got a theory."
"People who feel powerless," says Donner, "have a real satisfaction
in knowing that there are enemies out there. After all, there is a kernel
of truth in every conspiracy theory that gives it life."
Another Newsweek article (3/24/97) states, "At the end of an exhausting
century, it's a comfortable way to make sense of a messy world. One-stop
shopping for every explanation. Things don't just fall apart; the center
doesn't just mysteriously fail to hold. Somebody makes them fall apart,
and pointing the finger is easier than living with complexity...Where it
gets tricky is that even paranoids have real enemies, and even conspiracy
theories can occasionally turn out to be true."
Suggestions? Comments? Fill out our Feedback Form.