Thanks to Beverly Public Library

Thanks to the folks at Beverly Public Library in Massachusetts for hosting a visit earlier today. I enjoyed speaking with the people who attended about Hollywood and conspiracy theory, and I especially was interested in the many insights and observations.

Conspiracy and the news

One of the main themes followed in Conspiracy Theory in Film, Television, and Politics is the gradual expansion of a conspiracy-minded culture in American society. Especially since World War II, numerous ambiguous or hazy events have encouraged the growth of this outlook. Hollywood's frequent use of the theme has reinforced the idea that we are surrounded by conspiracies.

The mixture of fact, conjecture, and fiction makes the truth hard to sort out. Whether focusing on recent controversies -- such as the debates about Barack Obama's birth certificate

and questions about mass H1N1 flu vaccinations -- or on questions from the past, there seems little question that conspiracy theories are thriving in modern America.

The news is a steady source of new material for conspiracy arguments. For example, Fidel Castro's sister -- a U.S. resident -- recently confirmed that long ago she cooperated with CIA efforts to overthrow her brother. (See a CNN report here.) Of course, the U.S. government’s long and convoluted struggle against the Castro regime in Cuba has fueled conspiracy theorizing on many occasions. The American desire for regime change there is well known, and details about some activities -- most notably the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion -- have been documented in much detail. But much has yet to be revealed, which adds to suspicion and speculation. The new revelations from Castro's sister will surely add an interesting dimension to those conversations.

And earlier this month, the controversy, murkiness, and questions raised by the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963 were also in the news once again. A New York Times article reported how the CIA continues to be vague and ambiguous, especially in terms of being completely forthcoming about the circumstances that surround the events of November 1963.

It seems likely that attention such as this will only fuel more conspiracy theorizing in America for some time to come.

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Image credit (above): Lee Harvey Oswald. Government photo, National Archives

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Lecture -- Monday, November 2 in Beverly MA

On November 2 at 9:30 I'll be speaking at the Beverly (MA) Public Library's Monday Morning Book Discussion series.

More details are available form the library.

Welcome to Beverly, MA - Beverly Public Library

Source: www.beverlyma.gov

Mon. - Thurs. 9:00 AM - 9:00 PMFri. - Sat. 9:00 AM - 5:00 PMSun 1:00pm - 5:00pm (September - May)CLOSED SUNDAYS Memorial Day - Labor DayCLOSED LEGAL HOLIDAYS

Visit the Facebook Pages

If you’ve found this page and are interested in the intersection of film, culture, and historical memory, you may be interested in visiting my Facebook Pages site.

Stop by and sign up for updates and new posts related to Conspiracy Theory in Film, Television and Politics (2008), The Afterlife of America’s War in Vietnam(2006), as well as the book-in-progress.

And if you have feedback and questions, feel free to email me, to post a comment here, or to post a comment on the Wall on the Facebook Page.

The Facebook Pages site can be accessed here.

Thanks!

Thanks to Berkshire Community College

Thanks to everyone at Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, MA for hosting a talk on conspiracy theory in American culture and for the feedback and interesting discussion earlier this month. I enjoyed hearing new perspectives and appreciate the opportunity to meet you. Please feel free to email me or to post a comment on this blog if you have any follow-up questions or suggestions. Thanks!

Fall 2009

A new book is in the works, which again will explore American film's reflections and influences on the broader culture. The project, being prepared for Praeger/ABC-CLIO, will cover a wide range of movies from the 1950s until the present. More information will be available going forward.

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to discussing topics covered in Conspiracy Theory in Film, Television, and Politics at Berkshire Community College on Thursday, October 15, 2009, at the Koussevitzky Arts Center. (The listing is here.) Contact the College for more details.

Booking Fall Speaking Engagements

I'm presently booking a few speaking engagements for the fall. It was great to met people around New England in the spring, and I'm looking forward to seeing more people beginning in September.

If you're interested in booking a talk at your library or institution on the subjects of either of my last two books -- The Afterlife of America's War in Vietnam (2006) or Conspiracy Theory in Film, Television, and Politics (2 008) -- please contact me.

Thanks!

-GA