How conspiracy theories affect pop culture

Read part 1 - Anatomy of a conspiracy theory

Nike Ardilla, singer, actress and teenage heartthrob in the 90s passed away at the height of her career in a car accident. The tragic car accident in 1995 prompted several conspiracy theories, including an involvement of a powerful political family.

The death of Suzzanna, queen of Indonesian horror films, in 2008 sparked a wave of conspiracy theories, starting from her mysterious death after consuming a glass of milk and rushed burial ceremony to tombstone with no date of death. The theory reached its peak when her husband remarried the following year.

Conspiracy theories surrounding celebrities can sometimes be far-fetched - Paul McCartney’s Paul is dead or Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson’s look alike, for example. There is the term 27 Club which refers to celebrities who passed away at the age of 27. Several big names include Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Janis Joplin and Jim Morisson.

Drug addiction and accidents seem to be the common ground among those deaths, but some conspiracy theorists believe they were sacrificed to the Illuminati and that fame, power and money were granted by evil entities instead of talent, years of hard work and connection.

Illuminati refers to the Bavarian Illuminati society founded in 1776 and lasted until 1785. The secret society was banned by Duke in Bavaria Karl Theodor. He went as far as disclosing and publishing the members and secrets of the Illuminati. While most historians believe that the society disappeared, conspiracy theorists believe that some of the world’s events - French revolution, the assassination of JFK - were orchestrated by the Illuminati.

The modern Illuminati conspiracy theorists latch onto is the New World Order (NWO) where they believe secretive, powerful elitists are conspiring to rule the world with authoritarian government. To achieve its goal, they believe NWO implements its agenda through mind control, mass surveillance, population control and occultism (numerology, Eye of Providence).

For them, Hollywood is the perfect breeding ground for NWO due to its popularity and global reach. Films, music and media have been infiltrated with symbols of the Illuminati which are delivered through subliminal messages.

Image: Jay-Z performed in London by Landmarkmedia via Shutterstock

In the present day, many hail Beyoncè and Jay-Z as the queen and king of Illuminati since they are regarded as the most powerful couple in pop culture. Jay-Z is frequently photographed making the triangle sign along with other high profile figures and hip hop artists, such as Kanye West.

Beyoncè addressed the rumour in her song Formation, “Y’all haters corny with that illuminati mess.” Regardless, the rumour continues to spiral with every symbol in her new music video analysed - and scrutinised - by the public. The pyramid shape of the Louvre and 13 dancers featured in Beyoncè and Jay-Z’s Apesh*t music video shot at the iconic museum are believed to be the symbols of the Illuminati.

Lyrics are closely observed as well. Take, for instance, Lady Gaga. Many perceive her lyrics as satanic. In her song Judas, the controversial phrase “Jesus is my virtue and Judas is the demon I cling to, I cling to” is translated as Gaga’s confession to being an anti-Christ. Her concert in 2012 was cancelled by the Indonesian authorities due to protests from the now-defunct hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI).

In other instances, conspiracy theories are adapted to the screen. Eyes Wide Shut, a film by Stanley Kubrick starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, portrays a secret society of devil worshippers among the elite. Kubrick, unfortunately, passed away before the screening of the film, which led to even more wild rumours surrounding his death and the film. Previously, conspiracy theorists accused Kubrick of faking the moon landing, which he confessed to through The Shining.

MK-Ultra, a mind control programme initiated in 1953 by the CIA, is shown in Netflix series Stranger Things. Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown, was conceived while her mother became a test subject of an experiment. The test was believed to have given Eleven her power. One of MK-Ultra experiments involved six dogs having chips planted in their brain to control their behaviour. The programme was officially halted in the early 70s, but the conspiracy theory continues to spread.

In continuation to MK-Ultra, there is the beta kitten or sexual slaves programming. Hypersexualised image of female pop stars is often linked to this programming. They are usually associated with feline and animal prints clothing. Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Madonna and Britney Spears are some of the celebrities rumoured to be part of the beta kitten programming.

In 2018, Cardi B unexpectedly froze for a few seconds during an interview at Grammy Awards. While there could be multiple reasons behind the blank expression on her face, one conspiracy theory surfaced on the Internet: it was a glitch in the beta kitten programming.

There is also a possibility that conspiracy theories in pop culture derive from marketing ploy. Katy Perry’s Dark Horse explicitly features the all-eye seeing symbol, ancient Egyptian theme and lyrics about magic. Although the music video garners protests and outrage, it has crossed 3 billion views on YouTube.

Conspiracy theories could translate to revenue since they drive people’s curiosity to click, watch and find out more information about celebrities. Cited from Wired, “Despite claims of censorship, Google trend results showed that spamming celebrities' pages with mentions of adrenochrome was working, leading to a spike in search traffic and social media conversation.”

As long as the Internet and fascination with celebrities exist, conspiracy theories in pop culture will continue.