Casting a critical eye on sensationalistic news reporting with "Ace in the Hole" on CineVerse

With a thousand things going on at the same time, some of which will be announced right here very soon, I've been remiss again in updating the blog. But check out this episode of the CineVerse podcast where we put an early critical examination of tabloid journalism under the spotlight. Directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, "Ace in the Hole" – also known as "The Big Carnival," was released to little fanfare in the summer of 1951. Starring Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, and Robert Arthur, the plot centers around Chuck Tatum (Douglas), a struggling reporter who stumbles upon a potentially major story: a man trapped in a collapsed mine. But instead of promptly rescuing the trapped individual, Tatum milks the situation to prolong the event, creating a media circus to advance his career.

Wilder’s work emphasizes the unethical nature of yellow journalism and the exploitation of human tragedy. By critiquing the media's manipulation of news for profit and public attention and exploring themes of corruption, avarice, and the corrosive power of personal ambition, the movie proved to be ahead of its time; its cynical tone and scathing subtextual commentary on the dark side of media help "Ace in the Hole" remain relevant today.

Fascinatingly, the film bombed at the box office upon initial release. But it has since garnered significant recognition as a thought-provoking morality play exploring media ethics and the pursuit of sensationalism. It also features one of Douglas’ most unforgettable performances.

Conspiracy Theories and Thought-Stopping Cliches

In March I was the keynote speaker at the Central New Jersey MENSA chapter’s annual convention, discussing misinformation and conspiracy theories, the reasons so many are obsessed with them more than ever today, the pernicious social impact of these belief systems and how to try and combat them. But we also discussed an aspect of conspiracism that is just as dangerous to society; the turning of the phrase “conspiracy theory” into a thought-stopping cliché deployed to shut down conversation, debate, and any and all questions aimed at institutions of power. In the months since the MENSA gathering, this problem only seems to be getting worse. Calling someone a “conspiracy theorist” is now the surest way to try and silence anyone who disagrees with you. 

 

As I had written before in my discussions of my work on the conspiracist phenomenon, its reflections in art and popular culture as well as my run-ins with members of this community—and as you can read in my dialogue with many of these people in this blog, especially the recent posts about the special edition magazines on vampires and Dungeons and Dragons—I think these belief systems have metastasized into something destabilizing and malignant in societies where they take root. And these theories have spread in numerous foreign countries as well, not just in the United States. Check out links here, here and here, for articles about conspiracy beliefs in Europe. Far from merely questioning authorities and being suspicious of bureaucracies and officialdom, the modern conspiracy movement has turned into a phantasmagorical alternate universe where no consensus reality exists, where people create their own reality at will. 

 

Conspiracism has created delusional subcultures of people who believe the Earth is flat, that reptilian aliens are running the world, the Moon landing is a hoax, and that the New World Order cabal used nuclear warheads and death rays from space to destroy the World Trade Center towers on 9/11. These are, of course, a very, very few examples of what goes on in conspiracy world. If you are an avid reader of conspiracy sites like "Before It’s News" and "State of the Nation" and any number of their ilk across cyberspace, you can be deluged by a daily tsunami of conspiracy theories about false flag attacks, predictive programming, crisis actors, the “true” origins of Covid, and rococo yarns spun about “Khazarian” plots to enslave the world that sound so illogical that even the most whimsical science fiction fan couldn’t suspend enough disbelief to accept them on the pages of low-rent pulp novels.

 

Conspiracism leads to a dangerous, unstable world of total relativism, a world where there is no consensus reality, a rejection of all proven expertise, and a place that rejects empirical, evidence-based logic. Although conspiracy world claims to be looking for the “truth” that is “out there,” truth actually does not exist in that world. Truth and reality are whatever you decide they are because they make you feel good. If someone attempts to interrogate your truth, to attempt to counter it with empirical facts, you dismiss that person by accusing them of being a part of the conspiracy. In conspiracy world, people will not only make up their own creative fantasies about human sacrifices and vampiric blood-drinking rites being carried out in tunnels under pizza parlors, but they might pick up a gun and storm pizza parlors on a rescue operation. In conspiracy world, people’s lives were put at risk after a fraudulent claim that the measles vaccine caused autism. Starting in 2020, thousands of people with compromised immune systems, in essence, committed suicide by refusing to take the Covid vaccines after choosing to believe their own personal truth about those vaccines carrying microchips made with alien technology in order to alter human DNA.

 

And conspiracy theories are dangerous because they make many more people automatically suspicious of charges of official misconduct, corruption, and coverup. If people read enough claims of Covid 19 having been caused by G5 cell towers as a part of a mind-control operation by the Illuminati, they tend to dismiss the very real forms of governmental overreach during the pandemic, dishonesty about the efficacy of the vaccines and the lockdown efforts to contain the virus, and the heavy-handed attempts to censor and limit questions and public discussion about the possible origins of the outbreak itself. This is how the term “conspiracy theorist” turns into a thought-stopping cliché, a cudgel to beat down any skeptic of official narratives and policy.

 

The most egregious example of the weaponization of the term “conspiracy theory,” its use as a tool of censorship was in the case of Covid origins. The early hypothesis about the origins of Covid favored by the scientific establishment was that it originated in Wuhan in a wet market where animals like pangolins and racoon dogs were sold for food. Almost from the very beginning, however, any alternative hypotheses like the possibility that the virus could have escaped from a local laboratory where gain of function research—research on how to modify viruses to make them more deadly—was underway was derided as dangerous, “baseless” conspiracy theories. How the idea that a disease outbreak starting in the city where a laboratory was working on increasing the lethality of viruses could be regarded as “baseless” defies all sense and logic. The Chinese government not only denied these claims vociferously, but it hampered the world scientific community’s efforts to find the outbreak’s origins. But such would be expected from a genocidal dictatorship. One would not expect it, however, from many in the scientific establishment who immediately declared that any and all discussion of the lab leak theory should be suppressed immediately. Science, after all, is a method for seeing knowledge, seeking empirical, quantifiable facts. This process involves constantly questioning research findings themselves, double-checking, and constantly replicating previous claims to the truth to make sure that no mistakes had been made. However, in the Covid era's anti-conspiracy hysteria, not only was the idea that a lethal virus could escape from a research facility that was tasked with creating lethal viruses a “baseless conspiracy theory,” but that it was a racist conspiracy theory for good measure. Moreover, it is outrageous how American technology giants like Facebook banned all information suggesting the lab leak theory for nearly two years. 

 

As this article details, during its early days in power, the Biden administration had exerted so much pressure on Facebook that the tech giant was removing joke memes about the possibility of the Covid vaccines being dangerous. The government’s attempt to exert pressure on a private media company to influence its content is censorship in its purest, most reprehensible form. Critics of this policy today are labeled as, of course, “conspiracy theorists.

 

But who is mostly to blame for this weaponization of the term “conspiracy?” I would still argue that it’s the conspiracy culture itself. It’s still the clown world of QAnon and people who had never gotten the note that the eighties are over and there are no global Satanic cults running daycare centers—or pizza parlors—and performing blood-drinking rituals in tunnels deep under the earth. There is, however, the despicable evil of global sex-trafficking organized crime rings, organizations that engage in the trafficking of children as well as adults. They do exist and they constitute a $150 billion a year industry. The problem, however, is that warnings of the existence of these crime syndicates have now been tainted by conspiracism. It becomes harder for some to talk about global crime rings when the discussion raises the echoes of State of the Nation, QAnon, and the madness of their conspiracy theories.

 

Likewise, many had been perfectly comfortable with the censorship of any discussion and debate about the origins of Covid, the effectiveness of draconian lockdown measures, and the effectiveness of vaccines and boosters. As we now know, however, Covid most likely came from a Wuhan lab, the most restrictive of lockdown measures during the pandemic proved to be no more effective in stopping the spread of the virus than the most lax of the Covid policies, and many people who had been vaccinated and boosted still got sick from Covid and still spread the virus. But the madness of conspiracy world helped kill off any tolerance for debate, discussion, and the questioning of official narratives about the pandemic.

 

And that is the true danger of conspiracism.

Long Live the Undead!

If you love vampires as much as I do, take a look at the above special edition magazine about the undead on magazine racks everywhere! I am quoted extensively in this issue discussing the history of beliefs in vampires, and how these creatures have been such a fascinating open text for storytellers for perhaps as long as people have been telling scary stories. 

 

The magazine traces the history of vampires from ancient religions and folklore to literature and modern popular culture like films, TV shows, fashions, role-playing games, and even people who live the vampire lifestyle 24/7. From monstrous vampires to sexy vampires, immerse yourself in the world of the undead in this magazine and see why vampires are the most attractive of all supernatural being.

 

In the article “Undead Evolution,” check out my quotes on how even the narrative structure of such out-there conspiracy theories like Pizzagate and QAnon have incorporated the themes and plot structure of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” Diabolical elites with enormous wealth at their disposal hunting humans—especially children—for Satanic blood-drinking rites in a far-reaching plot to poison and undermine society sound familiar? Sure, it’s Count Dracula’s evil plan to buy up London real estate and prey on unsuspecting humans. And it’s also at the core of the QAnon mythos with its fantasies of blood-drinking elites in the Deep State and the New World Order running the world and sacrificing abducted children in catacombs under pizza parlors. For over a hundred years, however, no one has ever believed that “Dracula” was anything other than fiction. It’s a strange world we live in, though, when the high foolishness of QAnon has sucked in so many believers. It’s almost like modern conspiracism has become a mind-plague that spreads through the population like a vampire disease.  

The 1974 Conspiracy Classic, "The Parallax View"

Check out this recent episode of Cineverse where we discuss the seminal 1970s conspiracy thriller, director Alan J. Pakula’s The Parallax View, starring Warren Beatty. 

This is a film I discuss extensively in my book, CONSPIRACY FILMS: A TOUR OF DARK PLACES IN THE AMERICAN CONSCIOUS and it’s one of the films regularly screened in my class on the history of conspiracy theories and conspiracy films. As I argue in my book, The Parallax View is one of a small handful it films from the late 1960s and early 70s that established the conspiracy theory film as a distinct genre with its uniques set of archetypes that set it apart from other thrillers, mysteries, and action films. 

 

The narrative follows Joseph Frady, an intrepid reporter (Beatty), as he embarks on an investigation into a series of enigmatic deaths associated with the clandestine Parallax Corporation. Frady's pursuit unveils a perilous network of political intrigue and secrecy.

The Parallax View delves into government corruption, assassination, and the manipulation of public perception. The film benefits from the stylish guidance of Pakula, who adeptly weaves a web of tension and paranoia throughout the story. The cinematography, editing, and skillful use of visual symbolism further contribute to its lasting impact. 

 

As all successful films hold a mirror to their times, reflect the most unsettling freefolating anxieties of the culture that created them, The Parallax View shows us how the JFK, RFK, Martin Luther King assassinations, followed by the Pentagon Papers and Watergate scandals, birthed an era of suspicion and conspiracy theories. Speculations about conspiracies that have been proven nonexistent beyond a shadow of a doubt (JFK, RFK, MLK) and very real instances of corruption and conspiracy (Pentagon Papers, Watergate) birthed an era of justified and healthy suspicion and skepticism in officialdom, institutions of power, and the elites. But, as we see today, the reach of conspiracism is ongoing and often toxic and destructive to a society. Check out The Parallax View and ponder how we can spot that line between healthy suspicion and the poisonous fantasy worlds of Pizzagate and QAnon.

Examine a “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” on CineVerse

If you want to expand your cinematic horizons to acclaimed foreign films, check out this episode of Cineverse and Portrait of a Lady on Fire, a 2019 French film starring Noémie Merlant as painter Marianne and Adèle Haenel as Héloïse, the daughter of a countess who is determined to marry off her reluctant daughter to a wealthy Italian aristocrat and present him with a portrait of his future bride, who refuses to pose for the painting. Set in 18th-century France, this narrative emphasizes a blossoming romance between a female painter and her subject. 

See something "Indiscreet" on the CineVerse podcast!

 

As a fairly representational romcom from the 1950s, you can do a lot worse than Indiscreet, released in 1958 and brought to life by director Stanley Donen and screenwriter Norman Krasna, who adapted it from his own stage play titled Kind Sir and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. The film stars the legendary Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman in the lead roles, accompanied by Cecil Parker and Phyllis Calvert. The picture tells the story of Anna Kalman (Bergman), an actress who finds herself entangled in a romantic affair with the charismatic diplomat Philip Adams (Grant). However, Anna soon discovers that Philip is married, leading to a series of humorous misunderstandings and complications.

Click here to listen to a recording of our CineVerse group discussion of Indiscreet, conducted last week.

Indiscreet thrives on star power. It reunited two iconic Hollywood actors, Grant and Bergman, in their second and final collaboration, after their first appearance together in Hitchcock’s Notorious. Both actors were renowned for their on-screen charm and charisma, and their chemistry in the film adds to its appeal.

Talking Religion and Science Fiction on Angel Studios' "Lightwise"

What are the connections between science fiction and religion? How are they different and how are they the same? What kinds of questions do they ask and what kinds of answers do they usually provide? 

I was excited to be the first guest on the new Angel Studios filmed podcast, “Lightwise,” a biweekly program that examines topics in the arts, movies, and TV in a way that amplifies the light, or are founded on inspirational and optimistic messages. Angel Studios, producing various films, documentaries, and live action and animated shows through crowd funding, has been making waves in the entertainment industry by garnering smash hit viewership numbers for its products that are rivaling major Hollywood productions. Their TV series “The Chosen,” about the life of Jesus Christ, is not only a major hit, but recently its theatrical release of a special edition of several of their season 3 episodes outperformed mainstream releases from much bigger studios.

 

In the pilot episode you can watch right here, host Joel Ackerman and I talked about how science fiction and religious faith intersect, where they are similar, and how they are different. Both religion and scientific inquiry—and science fiction by extension—I argue, are on the same basic quest. They are both asking the similar big questions of who we are, where is our place in the universe where did we come from, whether or not a sentient being created us, and where we might be going in the future. How those questions are answered, however, is where the two approaches can diverge…but not as much as some might think.

 

So check out the episode and hear us tackle these big questions and discuss how they are reflected in major sci fi entertainment like “Star Wars,” “Star Trek,” “The Matrix,” and literary classics by Mary Shelley, Isaac Asimov, Jules Verne, and H.G. Wells.