Conspiracy Films: A Tour of Dark Places in the American Conscious

by Barna William Donovan

Overview

For many years, conspiracy theories have been among the most popular story elements in Hollywood films. According to the "conspiracy culture," Government, Big Business, the Church, even aliens—all of which, bundled together, comprise the ubiquitous "Them"—are concealing some of the biggest secrets in American and world history. From The Manchurian Candidate (1962) to JFK (1991), The Matrix (1999) to The Da Vinci Code (2006), this decade-by-decade history explores our fascination with paranoia. The work paints a vivid picture of several of the more prevalent conspiracy theories and the entertainment they have inspired, not only in theatrical films but also in such television series as The X-Files, Lost and V.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786439010
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	08/03/2011
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	282
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Barna William Donovan is a professor of communications and media studies at Saint Peter’s, the Jesuit College of New Jersey. His articles, columns, and reviews on film and popular culture have been published in academic journals such as Communication Annual and Men and Masculinities as well as various newspapers.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface     
Introduction: It’s All a Conspiracy ... And We Love It!     

1. The Art of Conspiracy: Defining a New Genre     
2. Enemies Within: The Conspiracy Culture of the 1960s and ’70s     
3. From Nuclear Apocalypse to Conspiracy: Conspiracy Films of the 1960s and ’70s     
4. Everything Is Connected: The Conspiracy Theories of the 1980s     
5. Aliens, Rugged Individualists, and Incompetent Conspirators: Conspiracy Films of the 1980s     
6. Millennial Fears: Conspiracy Theories of the 1990s     
7. Extreme Possibilities: Conspiracy Films of the 1990s     
8. Retro and False-Flag Conspiracies: Conspiracy Theories of the 2000s     
9. Conspiracies Never Die: Conspiracy Films of the 2000s     
10. Conclusions: Conspiracy Theories—The Good and the Bad?     

Chapter Notes     
Bibliography     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

Offers a chronological investigation of conspiracy culture as presented on screen”—Communication Booknotes Quarterly; “rather than just entertainment, conspiracy media content reflects larger social issues...details how such themes resonate with audiences across the political spectrum...Donovan makes a prediction about the future: that conspiracy-based entertainment is here to stay. They are a natural byproduct of an ever more complex, bureaucratic, and often overwhelming modern world.”—Everyday Sociology.

From the Publisher