Gordon B. Arnold

Admit it. At some point, some conspiracy theory has enticed you. Maybe it's not the claim the government was behind 9/11 or that AIDS was created in a government lab or that organized crime was responsible for the assassination of JFK. But at some time one or more such ideas may have gained some credence in your mind.

Don't be surprised or embarrassed. As Gordon B. Arnold lays out in his cogent rel="nofollow" target="_top">Conspiracy Theory in Film, Television, and Politics, conspiracy theory is part and parcel of American culture.

Conspiracy theories are nothing new. Even the long discredited Protocols of the Elders of Zion still finds believers after more than a century. But Arnold sees conspiracy theory as a metaphor. Granted, there are the true believers. Yet for the ordinary person, Arnold says, "the term seldom refers to a literal or criminal conspiracy, but rather to a generalized worldview in which ordinary folks are constantly the targets of manipulation and deception."

Conspiracy Theory in Film, Television, and Politics posits three stages in the role and meaning of conspiracy theory.

Balance of review here.… (meer)