Conspiracy Theories are just entertainment?

Have you ever approached the subject of one of your favorite conspiracy related topics with someone, only to have this generic response...
" Oh yeah, I saw that on an episode of (insert tv show here)."
or...
" You mean you really believe that? That was just a movie plot"
*SIGH
Some of us have been into conspiracies before it was "cool". Long before Hollywood started trolling the boards of social media grasping for new ideas to produce entertainment out of. A quick scan of my satellite channels on any given day can produce a list of shows, movies, documentaries, easily 40% of the content, which is directly related to conspiracy theories. Not so long ago, these types of shows were few and far between. From Twilight Zone, to Unsolved Mysteries....now an explosion of shows, movies, etc, relating to cryptozoology, paranormal, ancient civilizations, aliens and ufo's, government secrecy and secret societies. I will not list individual titles, because I do not wish to give them publicity, but I'm sure even if many have unplugged from regular cable, you know of which I speak.
At first this seemed like an exciting thing. Perhaps it would wake people up, clue people in.. inform the masses of the truth, etc. Then I began to see the darker side. While the content was conspiracy related, I noted much of the commentary was made to make theories of such, or the theorists themselves, seem crazy. Some outright try to debunk with explanations more wacky than I have ever seen presented here.
The advent of conspiracy related entertainment on a wide scale, I believe, is now affecting the credibility of serious researchers and their findings in relation to any and all of the topics we discuss here on ATS. How would you feel if years of research became a movie of the week, with no credit to you? Not to mention the mockery of your findings after the fact because your truth just became Hollywood fiction?
Is this a conspiracy by mass media to discredit all we discuss here, by taking our theories and manipulating the masses with the “after school special “ version of such? How can you redirect that back to the facts?
One could easily argue that watching this form of entertainment has brought in more members, but has it brought in more serious research and discussion? IMHO, very few serious threads have remained on topic, if they received attention at all. Many who could post threads, do not, because of the negative troll like comments. It has become next to impossible, to have a serious discussion. Could it be, because some see this as more "amusement" versus chasing the truth and fact, that ATS simply becomes more fun and games? Therein, could be a huge problem for the future of researching conspiracy theories.
Just my thoughts...thanks for reading.

You should be familiar with the all seeing eye on the one dollar US bill. Google image Canberra ACT from the sky.

Secrets hidden in plain sight. Whenever everyone knows about it it's no longer a secret, the truth is to obscure to follow.

I think that it's the symptom of globalization. The same thing happened with electronic music. Back in the early 90s, there were only a handful of us that liked electronic music, here in the States. And now everyone, and their mom, is into dubstep. And that scenario is exactly similar to the one you described, because electronic music got stepped on, in terms of quality. What you're describing is happening with everything.

AccessDenied



One could easily argue that watching this form of entertainment has brought in more members, but has it brought in more serious research and discussion? IMHO, very few serious threads have remained on topic, if they received attention at all. Many who could post threads, do not, because of the negative troll like comments. It has become next to impossible, to have a serious discussion. Could it be, because some see this as more "amusement" versus chasing the truth and fact, that ATS simply becomes more fun and games? Therein, could be a huge problem for the future of researching conspiracy theories.
Just my thoughts...thanks for reading.

On of the big problems facing research into conspiracy theories are the debunkers affiliated with an agenda motivated entity; with their ridicule, sophisticated NLP tactics and censorship when the discussion gets a little to close.
Hollywood studios have plenty of researchers looking at social media trends and screenwriters at the ready to capitalize on fads, interests and current memes.

Truth be told I don't frequent ATS for information per se; but information gathering can be entertainment as well.

AccessDenied
Have you ever approached the subject of one of your favorite conspiracy related topics with someone, only to have this generic response...
" Oh yeah, I saw that on an episode of (insert tv show here)."
or...
" You mean you really believe that? That was just a movie plot"
*SIGH
Some of us have been into conspiracies before it was "cool". Long before Hollywood started trolling the boards of social media grasping for new ideas to produce entertainment out of. A quick scan of my satellite channels on any given day can produce a list of shows, movies, documentaries, easily 40% of the content, which is directly related to conspiracy theories. Not so long ago, these types of shows were few and far between. .....

You make a number of astute observations and raise some really good questions - and certainly our discussions provide fodder for creating cultural and media products (not just TV and movies). ...And as with everything else, when the "driver" is quest for profit above all, truth suffers.

lol. Not.




PS. F&S&

I think it's simple. Conspiracy theories usually involve secrecy, drama, surprises and fantastic claims. Making them great material for movie plots and tv shows. Just take a look at how popular "doom porn" seems to be these days. It's exciting to some people and its Hollywood's job to entertain and excite the viewer.

sheepslayer247
I think it's simple. Conspiracy theories usually involve secrecy, drama, surprises and fantastic claims. Making them great material for movie plots and tv shows. Just take a look at how popular "doom porn" seems to be these days. It's exciting to some people and its Hollywood's job to entertain and excite the viewer.

Yes,and how does anyone who believes some of these conspiracies are fact,fight against the fictional version? It was hard enough to get people to listen even a decade ago,but since it all went Hollywood, we have become the laughing stock of the internet even more so. Popularity has put a bully target on our backs,not just a raised eyebrow of scrutiny.

AccessDenied

sheepslayer247
I think it's simple. Conspiracy theories usually involve secrecy, drama, surprises and fantastic claims. Making them great material for movie plots and tv shows. Just take a look at how popular "doom porn" seems to be these days. It's exciting to some people and its Hollywood's job to entertain and excite the viewer.

Yes,and how does anyone who believes some of these conspiracies are fact,fight against the fictional version? It was hard enough to get people to listen even a decade ago,but since it all went Hollywood, we have become the laughing stock of the internet even more so. Popularity has put a bully target on our backs,not just a raised eyebrow of scrutiny.

These programs shed light on some of these and show that conspiracy theories in general are sensationalized stories with a little truth and a lot of bull. That is a good thing and if it shows someone who does believe the theory that they are being duped so much the better.
On the other hand there are show a that glorify the conspiracy theories and present any amount of misinformation and outright lies just to get viewers. The history channel is still running those Mayan calendar shows from 2011 even though we are over a year past that dooms day.

reply to post by soficrow


Yes well I thought it was a good enough observation to generate discussion. Suppose not. I guess we are all here just to provide an entertaining distraction to someone else's reality.

I believe that in general, people don't want to think anything is wrong. They are indoctrinated at school and through the viewing of television shows coupled with every other form of entertainment, that everything is "A-Okay!" because they can't see through the fog of their own fantasy worlds. The government loves this and most rulers throughout history have spoke about the same sentiments. Keep a people entertained and they won't even look behind the veil.

That is why people don't even consider what is happening around them as a question. They just assume all is well because they can still go to work or watch TV in the safety of their home. All a great illusion, I say.

But 95% of the people I talk to just baulk and laugh when some theories are presented, almost mockingly. I then proceed to change the subject and move the conversation elsewhere. There is no point discussing a subject with someone who has no interest or curiousity in the matter. It is wasted breathe.

I will say this...the days are getting better. More people are doing more research on the internet and finding out what we have been screaming about all along. They are beginning to see the veil. The powers that be are started to panic.


Which is a good thing and a bad thing all at once...

reply to post by AccessDenied


I like to call myself conspiracy investigator - I investigate the plausibility of many conspiracy theories. To me conspiracy theories are not just all-entertainment. They are theories. Just like science makes theories about a set of observations, some CTs are nothing more, nothing less then attempts to explain a set of World events.

Are CTs thought-provoking, almost as addictive as TV shows? Of course they are. Otherwise it'd take all the fun out of it. Did Sherlock Holmes hated a good case? No, and that's why he was so good at it.

Good OP, though. S&F from me!

Doubtless movies, music and television pay a huge roll in conspiracy manifestations. Back in the 70's when Pink Floyd started using synthesizers and somewhat questionable lyrics and sound scapes, and once it was discovered that none in the band did drugs or even drank, it was thought they were trying to influence teenagers to rebel. Being British didn't help.

The record store we all went to would not carry the 'meddle' album because of it's 'questionable sounds' Later, after a major media blitz, DSOTM took the world by storm-all this was forgotten. It was always funny to me that all the southern bands that were telling the kids to 'drink enough whiskey to float a battle ship around' were fine.

Although I was not a part of it the 90's grunge movement was considered the same way-for a different reason-that it was OK for kids to sit around in the basement all day and get bombed.

Today, kids are told by the media via the internet what music is good, what is bad, what they should watch, and what they should not watch-if you buck this trend then you risk being 'labeled' And one of those labels is 'conspiracy nut'

Some of the teenagers I met last summer that worked here were incredibly candid about how they simply believed nothing anyone had to say about anything. They did talk quite forcefully about labels and how to avoid them. What I got from them was 'yes, all these government conspiracies are going on and they did this, that and the other thing-however don't expect me to get involved and risked being a 'conspiracy nut'

It all boils down to the control the media has via the internet and their ease of labeling persons who don't conform. If teenagers and young adults are worried about being put into a group-that they don't want to be in-of course they are not going to go along with any conspiracy theories-even if they believe the conspiracies are true-and without teenagers and young adults any movement is doomed.

The bottom line is this-in the 70's and 90's there was no media controlled internet to threaten kids and young adults and label them they way it is done today. This is one of the reasons it is so easy for the government to fool people-the threat that if they give even the slightest indication of being non conformist-they will get stuck with a label that will instantly be broadcast to billions and billions of people.

Further proof-look at how Yahoo has gone absolutely 'gay crazy' half of their news articles are 'gay' something. The gay community-who I always thought to be quite politically savvy-are starting to question their motivation-I doubt they have the community interest at heart.

Yet how many young people are going to challenge them? None for fear of being labeled-and ruined professionally and personally for the rest of their lives.

reply to post by spooky24


Extraordinarily insightful. I didn't even consider looking back that far. Thank you for contributing your thoughts. I guess everyone has a label attached to them in some form or another,and " conspiracy theorist" is mine,and I don't mind it,no matter what people think.

If everyone thought it was cool to discuss conspiracy theories, then it would no longer be cool in my mind.

Embrace the cool.

reply to post by Zarniwoop


Yep. Bordering on that. Life on the fringe rules.

reply to post by AccessDenied


I have been a collector of the errata obscure since the mid to late 70's when I watched the TV show "In Search of...." narrated by Leonard Nimoy. I love reading my fortean bits over breakfast, whether its UFO's or Bigfoot, and I think my 30+ years of interest grants me a perspective here some might find useful.

I enjoy shaggy dog stories, but I have no expectation one way or another as to their truthiness. This goes double for the straight media, which I consider "pure entertainment" (who cares who gets elected? Both candidates were vetted by the same money long before you were ever offered a fake "choice.") It is my belief that everything we see, read, or hear is a product waiting for our money and attention, and not much else.

I am open to the idea that ET exists (it's a mathematical certainty) but am much more pessimistic about any individual report or sighting (there hasn't been a really good UFO photograph since before the age of Photoshop, IMO). That doesn't make a show like UFO Files, or a site like ATS any less diverting or even "fun," but I doubt that honest belief or truth has much to do with either.

The rise of fortea as entertainment was inevitable. Several years back I predicted entertainment delivery systems awash in "neighborhoods" or related channels where humans differentiate by the flavor of media and entertainment they prefer. I think the universe is basically a machine for inventing new universes and new realities, anyway, and the commodification of CT (like everything else) is probably inevitable here in 3D.

''The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."

F. Scott Fitzgerald

AccessDenied

sheepslayer247
I think it's simple. Conspiracy theories usually involve secrecy, drama, surprises and fantastic claims. Making them great material for movie plots and tv shows. Just take a look at how popular "doom porn" seems to be these days. It's exciting to some people and its Hollywood's job to entertain and excite the viewer.

Yes,and how does anyone who believes some of these conspiracies are fact,fight against the fictional version? It was hard enough to get people to listen even a decade ago,but since it all went Hollywood, we have become the laughing stock of the internet even more so. Popularity has put a bully target on our backs,not just a raised eyebrow of scrutiny.

The only way to fight against the "fictional version" is to present hard facts and data when trying to school someone else. Someone truly open-minded and intelligent will be willing to listen. Anyone that laughs at you/us without knowing any facts are not worth the time.

AccessDenied
reply to post by soficrow

 

Yes well I thought it was a good enough observation to generate discussion. Suppose not. I guess we are all here just to provide an entertaining distraction to someone else's reality.

I'm sorry if this offends anyone but that's exactly how I view this subject. Entertainment and that includes all the conspiracy theorists as well. I sit here in my home and seriously judge members on here. No kidding. I'm sure we all do. Not that my judgement means a darn thing. It doesn't or shouldn't to you.
Live and let live. To each his own. These are valuable phrases. I won't be offended if someone thinks I'm mean and I hope they won't be offended if I think they are nuts.

Conspiracy theories are closer to the truth, than the government's theories.

reply to post by AccessDenied


Interesting OP and you got some nice responses, too! My view is, mankind is always locked in a battle with technology. Since TV is a technology like any other devised by mankind it can be used & abused often enough to cause concerns with the methods of how that technology is applied, generally.

To me television is one example of a medium for the expression of an idea. There is no question about the power of television... (before that movies... before that radio... 100 years ago when print was popular e.g. newspapers & magazines... before that pamphlets & gazettes... almanacs, digests, catalogs, etc) to influence human minds.

Can you imagine a world without any media at all? No stone tablets, no cave paintings, no scrolls of papyrus? Everything would have to be done facie ad faciem.

Not so long ago, these types of shows were few and far between. From Twilight Zone, to Unsolved Mysteries....now an explosion of shows, movies, etc, relating to cryptozoology, paranormal, ancient civilizations, aliens and ufo's, government secrecy and secret societies. I will not list individual titles, because I do not wish to give them publicity, but I'm sure even if many have unplugged from regular cable, you know of which I speak.

Now, I'll go little off the deep end....
There is a reason in the TV industry that TV folks call their products "programming". That's exactly what it is, a diverse selection of programs. The consumers of TV programs are of a different sort of relationship. There seems to be a blurry area of ambiguity between the actual content presented and the ability of the consumer to determine the actual validity of it.

In TV, a consumer receives the broad"cast" from the "net"work and consumes it in a way that is decided by the consumer. If it is news tv show the consumer is heavily reliant on the credibility of the "net"work. If it is an entertainment tv show the consumer has dropped all sense of incredulity and accepted the responsibility of "suspending his own disbelief" in order to be entertained.

This very important distinction causes the consumer (tv viewers in general) to have an ongoing love affair with the technology, the television, that satisfies a need to be informed and entertained. That's how info-tainment was born. Mythbusters being a modern example of info-tainment.

But what then happens when the consumer has been burned by TV? LBJ went on TV to tell America that a few small gunboats attacked US Navy vessels in the Gulf of Tonkin. That was a very powerful, powerful use of TV propaganda. It was so powerful that Congress immediately hastened to provide LBJ with every means necessary to defeat the Communist threat. We all know how the Viet Nam war panned out for the U.s.A. Was it a conspiracy of the military industrial complex? History is still being evaluated.

Agreeing with the OP I'd say conspiracy themed TV shows are not new. Certain genres of TV programming have always been popular: see police detective shows and of course, the two tv shows that OP mentioned. "From Twilight Zone, to Unsolved Mysteries" up to X-Files and Jesse Ventura's Conspiracy show.

Ventura's show is a perfect example of reality tv, mixed with information, conspiracy-as-entertainment. It's popular because TV viewers have changed since the Gulf of Tonkin. TV has evolved so far that there are channels dedicated to history, nature, animals, news, sport, drama, comedy, old shows, old movies, etc. Because there are more channels it is easier for the conspiracy shows to fill "programming" slots and easier for advertisers to get in on the action.

Are conspiracy-themed TV shows bad? Are they trending upward? Or are they simply a reflection of what the consumers want to see aided by the "programmers" zeal to sell more advertising?