We asked our contributers to respond to a series of questions we felt touched on key issues within the investigation. Here are the responses we've received todate.
Is 'conspiracism' a form of positive 'open source' enquiry or story-telling, or paranoid speculation that ultimately obscures serious debate about the power structures of our world? Is conspiracism a magnifying glass or a distorting lens?
Alasdair SparK:
A good question that nicely presents the two sides of the issue.
The problem with contemporary conspiracy minded-ness is that while it
is positive to encourage boundary free speculation and mistrust of authority,
the sheer open-ness of conspiracy can lead to de-politicised ranting.
A little bit of paranoia might be good for us, but, as Carl Sagan said,
if your mind is too open, your brains fall out.
From your perspective, does the fact that there seems to be increasing conspiracy theorising in the USA and elsewhere tell us anything about the post 9-11 world? Has conspiracy thinking now become another intellectual style choice, another commodity?
Alasdair SparK:
Oddly, I'd say there is less since 9/11. One way of looking at conspiracy
mindedness is as an indulgence of a fat and happy society, with time on
its hand to imagine Area 51, Grey Aliens, black helicopters, etc. Certainly
one of the explanations offered was that this supplied enemies in a post-Cold
War world. Since 9/11, the re-emergence of conformity and the awareness
that Government has purpose seems (to me) to have led to a dimunition
in conspiracy - approval and trust ratings went up, and the great majority
of Americans don't believe in conspiracies about the twin towers, etc.
Are conspiracy theories a populist map of the postmodern era?
Alasdair SparK:
Pretty
much. I prefer a term like Popular Knowledge or Common Sense as I think
that maps the phenomenon better - populist has too many negative overtones.
How does the Internet lend itself to conspiracies being spread? Has the Net 'liberated' or 'swamped' conspiracy thinking?
Alasdair SparK:
I
tend to agree with most critics who note that the web is a perfect zone
for the sort of connectedness that conspiracy thrives on - any point can
be connected to any other point by a click, which is a nice metaphor for
how conspiracy thinking works. When the metaphor becomes technologically
real, then you get a surge of speculation. The point I'd make is that
this isn't necessarily to be considered evidence of pathology - many of
the sites are casual, transitory, or even tongue in cheek, and I think
the same could be said of much conspiracy thinking
today. People don't give up their jobs and go on the run as the result
of learning the "truth" from a website. Conspiracy has become
a commodity, and the web merely seems to serve up an authentic product.
Is there a 'conspiracy meme'? Does it propagate 'virally' and is our increasing tendency to promote and consume conspiracies evidence of it's spread within a culture that has become so interlaced with communication media?
Alasdair SparK:
Yes, though again, I'd argue this all speaks to its significance as what
might best be called entertainment
What is your current favorite online conspiracy? Why is conspiratorial thinking pleasurable? Is there an 'aesthetics of conspiracy'. Are you a conspiracy consumer?
Alasdair SparK:
I think the pleasures lie in connection and revelation - the sort of epiphany
of "seeing sense." Since this is often coupled to the satisfactions
of personal inquiry, often acting as the sort of faux detective which
the web allows, it can have a powerful effect on the individual. Aesthetically,
I think conspiracies often do their work like thrillers or crime novels
- it is the inversion of the everyday, the fragment which has enormous
meaning (the clue), which makes them satisfying. That being said,
one of the interesting formats evident at present is the "open"
conspiracy - for instance, the focus on groups like the World Trade Organisation,
which could hardly be called covert or secretive. If I consume conspiracies,
I guess it is for academic merit - I actually believe very few, if any.
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Explore some of the world's most compelling conspiracies theory sites and let Cybersalon guide you to some of the Web's darkest conspiratorial secrets...
<www.ctrl.org>
First stop brings us face to face with surely the web's strangest site
mascot: a yankie pyramid-juggling-octopus! Dedicated to 'bringing peace
to this beautiful mudball we call home', the Conspiracy Theory Research
List delves into 'questions of evil motives and agendas ...'
<www.jfklancer.com/dealeymov.html>
All things grassy knoll here at JFK Lancer, investigating ground zero
of the conspiracy world. Visit assassination chatrooms, book your ticket
for the popular annual conference, check out the blood-spattered limo,
and pan around Dealy Plaza in 360 degree real time!
<www.wkac.ac.uk/ccc/index2.htm>
Unsure of your power-structure research models? Getting your meta-narratives
in a twist? Help is a hand here for burgeoning conspiracy academics at
the respected and much bespectacled Centre for Conspiracy Culture.
<www.watchingyou.com/deadgrey.html>
Lets not shy away from the unpleasant face of conspiracy culture with
this worryingly homophobic counter-conspiracy site set against the insidious
attacks of grey aliens, or 'Greys'. Accused of molesting cattle, kidnapping
and rape, greys have apparently met their redneck match on the Texan plains...
<www.internationaljewishconspiracy.com>
Turning the tables on anti-semitism sites webwide, INJEWCON counter-conspires
with a spoof jewish conspiracy site par excellence. Don't forget to visit
the gift shop for your teashirt, bratop and tea mug!
<zapatopi.net/blackhelicopters.html>
And finally....those mysterious Black Helicopters that follow us everywhere
are actually an ORGANIC LIFE FORM!! Stir in a dose of nanotechnology,
new world order, and spontaneous combustion, and you have our favorite
spoof conspiracy site. Recent EXCLUSIVE photos reveal an 'infant' Black
Helicoptor captured in the wild..
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