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CONSPIRACY THEORIES.
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Contends that the assassination of President John F. Kennedy shifted the U.S. from a period of hope to a period of paranoia and conspiracy theories.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Contends that the assassination of President John F. Kennedy shifted the U.S. from a period of hope to a period of paranoia and conspiracy theories. Idea of conspiracies as a staple of popular fiction, film, TV. Analysis of Oliver Stone's 1991 film JFK. The 1997 film CONSPIRACY THEORY. Perpetuation on the Internet.
Paper Introduction:
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was President of the United States for less than three years, yet in that time he had a major impact on the country and on foreign and domestic policy lasting for a decade or more. Some of his actions produced effects that were beneficial, and others can be seen now as less effective, notably his enmeshing the country in the Vietnam War. Kennedy's presidency began in a spirit of glamour and change and ended in the assassination of an American president. The country shifted from a period of hope to a period of tension, paranoia, conspiracy theories, and a growing distrust of government. In some degree, none of these things was new, but the Cold War era increased world tensions and made Americans less trustful both of other nations and of other Americans. The era of conspiracy theories really begins with the Kennedy assassination, an event
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Even if communism no longer has much power, the attitude itengendered remains. . The film becomes an argument, and a measure of itspower is the reaction among many viewers who undertook to argue back, ineffect responding to the film with facts of their own: The new Oliver Stone movie, JFK, might lead moviegoers to suspect the conclusions of the Warren Commission, which investigated the assassination of President Kennedy (Klein B7).It might indeed, and it might because Stone has made such good use of filmtechniques to lay out a scenario that can be examined, considered, tested,and even challenged. The idea of conspiracies all around us has become a staple in popularfiction, film, and television as well as emerging in news reports of actualevents. It is also easy tobelieve that the technology exists to accomplish nearly anything and tohide the truth about it at the same time. Jerry creates conspiracy theories on almost any subject,from politics to UFOs, and eventually one of his conspiracies seems to bearfruit. Conspiracy theories emerged in the last fewweeks because of government errors: Through its own blunders sometimes, government gives new life to old tales of collusion and coverup. Inthe case of this film, the assassination itself has been captured on film--television cameras, newsreel cameras, and amateur films such as the famousZapruder footage of the assassination itself. The film also refers to the great paranoia-inducing conduit for conspiracytheorists today--the Internet, which allows any user to post his or herwildest theories on current events and have them disseminated to any andall who access the site. Works CitedDonner, Richard. "A Notch in the Paranoia Belt." U.S. The Cold war suggested thatthere were hidden and evil forces all around trying to subvert our way oflife. Conspiracy theories have actually been a staple throughout the modernperiod, as Julian Swann notes: For the general public, Guy Fawkes and his gunpowder plot, the `Man in the Iron Mask' and the Devils of Loudun offer some of the most compelling images of the early modern period. Conspiracy theories derive from the tension between two humanattitudes. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was President of the United States for lessthan three years, yet in that time he had a major impact on the country andon foreign and domestic policy lasting for a decade or more. Americans oftenseem drawn to conspiracy theories, not just the JFK assassination but themurder of Martin Luther King, the shooting of Robert F. Kennedy, or the fantasy world of the X-Files. The era ofconspiracy theories really begins with the Kennedy assassination, an eventso terrible and damaging to the country that many had to believe there wassomething more to the assassination than the action of one disaffected man. Then came word of the FBI foul-up. The country shifted from aperiod of hope to a period of tension, paranoia, conspiracy theories, and agrowing distrust of government. The problemis that he has no idea which conspiracy is the reason he has been targeted. The pervasive nature of conspiracy theories in American life today isapparent in the behavior of Jerry in the film Conspiracy Theory (RichardDonner, 1997). The power of conspiracy with reference to the assassination of JohnKennedy is apparent on viewing the 1991 Oliver Stone film JFK. On the other, they often believe thatthere are forces actively trying to hide this truth. Someone is trying to kill him for one of his theories. JFK. Yet conspiracies, real or imagined, were an essential feature of early modern life, offering a seemingly rational and convincing explanation for patterns of political and social behavior (Swann 5). In terms of The "evidence" is offered much like thepresentation of a court case, shaped to convince the jury which in thiscase is the audience. Until last week, a country grown increasingly doubtful about the death penalty was near certain that if anyone deserved to die, it was McVeigh. Conspiracy Theory. "Explanations" of the assassination of J.F. The nation, meanwhile, has added another notch to its paranoia belt (Tharp, Ragavan, and Cannon, 2 ). Kennedy are probably the most notorious recent example. All of this footage is shownat the beginning of the film, and yet in truth, when it ends we know onlythat Kennedy was killed and not really by whom or why. The film also draws power from the fact that the audience is somewhatinclined to accept conspiracy theories from the first. In a complex socialorder such as we have today, it is easy to believe that someone has morecontrol over our destiny than we have ourselves. . Clive Foss points out that we should remember that there are realconspiracies in the world and always have been, and he cites theconspiracies that brought Napoleon, Lenin, Peron, and Saddam Hussein topower. Warner Bros., 1991.Tharp, Mike, Chitra Ragavan, and Angie Cannon. Footage that seemsself-evident will be dissected in the course of the film, showing thatmeaning is not self-evident at all. Evidence often depends on victims who are unlikely to be objective (Foss 61).Daniel Pipes refers to one type of conspiracy theory as "conspiracism," orthe notion that conspiracy lurks everywhere and can be used to explainevents ranging from the French Revolution to the charges against O.J.Simpson: These theories are based on imaginary rather than real conspiracies. Another image emerges from these opening sequences as we seedifferent characters learning about the assassination--most of theparticipants who would feature in the investigation by the New OrleansDistrict Attorney learned about the assassination by means of newsreelfootage themselves as they watched television in their homes, offices,local bars, restaurants, and elsewhere. "Perspectives on Conspiracy." Los Angeles Times (December 24, 1991), B7.Swann, Julian. One film critic described the film as follows: Disturbing, infuriating yet undeniably effective, less a motion picture than an impassioned, insistent 3-hour-and-7-minute information barrage, Stone's JFK is a relentless indictment of the Warren Commission's conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin of President John F. In thefilm, Jerry publishes his theories on the Internet, which makes himsomewhat famous in conspiracy theory circles, and in the film, also makeshim an easy target when he publishes something too close to the truth. Incredibly, six days before McVeigh was to die by lethal injection, the bureau admitted it had been sitting on thousands of pages of potential evidence-- interview reports, photographs, tapes. Conspiracism dominates the thinking of extremists like the American politicians Louis Farrakhan or Lyndon La Rouche (Foss 61). "Conspiracy: How the Paranoid Style Flourishes and Where It Comes From." History Today (1 Aug 1998), 61.Klein, Kenneth. In some degree, none of these things wasnew, but the Cold War era increased world tensions and made Americans lesstrustful both of other nations and of other Americans. Conspiracy theories have also depended on someform of perpetuation for their power, whether the theorist would publish anarticle or a book or simply tell a lot of people. Stone shows here how much we are connected to our past bymeans of television and newsreel footage, yet he is also showing how oftenthis footage gives only the external details of an event or movement. Warner Bros., 1997.Foss, Clive. News & World Report (21 May 2 1), 2 .Turan, Kenneth. The Internet allows fornear-instantaneous and widespread distribution of the most bizarretheories, and many people accept whatever they see on the Internet as fact,failing to raise the questions necessary for critical thinking. He also points out that historians generally avoiddiscussing conspiracies because such things take place behind the scenes: Normal sources or archives do not reveal its operators, who rarely leave a paper trail. "Conspiracy Theories." History Today (1 May 2 1), 5.Stone, Oliver. The cloak and dagger world of plots and conspiracies can, however, appear to be dangerous terrain for historians, fearful of being associated with those obsessively pondering the fate of John F. Kennedy (Turan F1).The barrage of information begins with the newsreel footage and the voice-over history lesson and continues with recreations, more newsreel footage,and a replay of the most important moments recorded on film of theassassination itself. Kennedy, and morerecently, Ruby Ridge, Waco, and Timothy McVeigh and his bombing of thefederal building in Oklahoma. The openingsequence in the film offers newsreel footage shaped to tell the story ofKennedy's administration, and the narration by Martin Sheen explains thehistory of the time to anyone who has forgotten or who has never learnedabout that time. The viewer who was alive thenlikely learned much about the matter in the same way and will be remindedof this by these early scenes; the viewer who was not alive then likelygets most of his or her news from television today and so would also see areflection of reality in this element. On the one hand, people want to know the truth and to discoveraspects of reality that are hidden. The omission forced Attorney General John Ashcroft to reschedule the execution of McVeigh. He also refers to numerous coups d'etat and revolutions and to theconspiracies which removed James II, Trujillo, Julius Caesar, and the Gangof Four from power. Some of hisactions produced effects that were beneficial, and others can be seen nowas less effective, notably his enmeshing the country in the Vietnam War.Kennedy's presidency began in a spirit of glamour and change and ended inthe assassination of an American president. . "JFK: Conspiracy in the Cross Hairs." Los Angeles Times (December 2 , 1991), F1.
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