Movies

CBC: conspiracy theorists are mentally ill and not to be trusted

by Adrian Mack on October 20th, 2011 at 12:11 PM
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      There’s so much wrong with the CBC’s Conspiracy Rising that it’s difficult to know where to begin.

      For the most part, the show, screening as part of the CBC's Doc Zone, is much like various other confused efforts that bundle together a bunch of unrelated things – JFK, Princess Di, 9/11, Roswell, elite reptilians, you name it – in order to sweep them all away in a smug gust of intellectual dishonesty. Indeed, that’s why professional debunkers like Michael Shermer were invented.

      As is the convention with Shermer and his ilk, you’re either a conspiracy theorist—as represented in Conspiracy Rising by Alex Jones, seen frequently here at his apoplectic worst—or you’re a professor of psychology like the University of New England’s David Livingstone Smith, who gravely intones that a society enamoured with conspiracy theory is “sliding into barbarity.” Bloodshed is the logical conclusion, he states (cue footage of Hitler).

      Typically, there are no shades of grey in Conspiracy Rising. If you think there are reasonable grounds to suspect 9/11 was inadequately investigated, but you feel that Alex Jones is a fairly despicable invention of fringe marketing—well, you don’t exist.

      It’s a false dichotomy; a device as blunt and indiscriminate as the very phrase “conspiracy theory” itself (can we stop using it, please?).

      In this public letter, political researcher John Judge writes, “Not all ‘conspiracies’ are created equal. The government did kill JFK, and they lied about it. That does not mean there was never a Holocaust, or that the world is run by the Illuminati.” Similarly, Michael Parenti has written about the creeping effect of “conspiracy phobia” on the left.

      But people like Judge or Parenti are never asked to appear on popcorn like Conspiracy Rising, which isn’t interested in nuance or fair debate. The real purpose of the show is to demonize the “conspiratorial mindset” with dubious science, descending to brave new lows of self-deflating silliness when the viewer is actually asked to take an onscreen test in order to determine whether “you are a potential conspiracy believer.”

      I’ll be damned, turns out that I am. According to Conspiracy Rising, this makes me a most untrustworthy fellow. “Research is showing those who conspire against friends and co-workers are more likely to be believers,” says narrator Ann Marie MacDonald, sounding increasingly like a female version of HAL.

      Not only that, I’m also probably either unemployed or an ethnic minority—there’s evidently research for that, too, says Conspiracy Rising. Of course, it’s worth remembering that a key difference between insulated white academics and, say, the black population of south central L.A. is that one habitually scoffs at the idea of something like CIA drug trafficking, while the other holds a town-hall meeting about it.

      Conspiracy Rising ends with one of those insulated white academics advising us that we can prevent the influence of pernicious conspiracy theory on our feeble brains by avoiding exposure. It would have been better to conclude with the words of Shermer, who delivers one of the show’s great inadvertent ironies and a true masterpiece of doublethink when he says, “We’re pre-wired to believe what we’re being told.”

      Abandon all logic, ye who enter here.

      Conspiracy Rising screens Thursday (October 20) on CBC-TV, and Friday (October 21) on CBC News Network

      Comments

      18 Comments

      sleepswithangels

      Oct 20, 2011 at 12:47pm

      This so called documentary is yet more evidence of PM Harper doing the bidding of his US Imperial masters. In the years following 9/11, the CBC was a real thorn in the side of the US military industrial complex. This piece of bullshit, Conspiracy Rising, is conclusive proof of Harper having neutered the CBC.
      SMBs

      Xtina

      Oct 20, 2011 at 2:49pm

      Ooh Boy! I can't wait to discover how the producers of "Conspiracy Rising" explain building number #7, a 45 storey building housing all the Securities & Exchange Commissions records, collapsed and no plane, etc. imploded into it. Or how they explain that Marvin Bush--yes from THAT Bush family--was one of the people to collect on the insurance of this whole situation, etc. etc. C'mon CBC !

      DavidH

      Oct 20, 2011 at 2:52pm

      Conspiracy theorists ARE mentally ill and not to be trusted.

      Given this fundamental truth, it's hard for me to criticize a documentary of the same name.

      PS - Conspiracies don't work unless all of the participants (every single one of them) die, and all of their records are destroyed ... by people who also die. This seldom happens. In fact, it never happens. You funny, lol!)

      Pat

      Oct 20, 2011 at 5:05pm

      Denying that there is such a thing as a conspiracy is a strange idea.

      There have been many conspiracies throughout history that are NOT myths ... from assassinations (like that of the Roman emperor for whom the month of July is named) to more local examples like groups of people working subversively behind the scenes to get more power in their workplace.

      People who believe there has never been a conspiracy, and never will be one, have an admirable but naive faith in others.

      farfle

      Oct 20, 2011 at 10:26pm

      I'll have to say is chemtrails, chemtrails, chemtrails look up people look up!!!!

      Anton

      Oct 21, 2011 at 10:04am

      Penn and Teller did an episode of Bullshit on this topic that I found fairly interesting, you guys should check it out.

      Hugh

      Oct 21, 2011 at 6:17pm

      I think sleepswithangels's take on this is bang on.

      ex-Haney guy

      Oct 23, 2011 at 11:01am

      I truly fear my beloved CBC has been compromised
      just like sleepswithangels says. the "doc" smells like
      Sun media.
      Will it all have to get worse before it gets better?

      JayRow

      Oct 25, 2011 at 1:34pm

      9/11 Truth Do Something about it.
      Vote Donate
      visit 9-11cc.org/

      dave skyman

      Feb 14, 2012 at 10:20am

      isnt it funny,that when the people come up with evidence of a crime committed by a government, suddenly they are mentally ill or labelled an activist or whatever they can come up with that day ,something is very wrong with the leaders of the world,they seemed to be the only ones spreading terror,and one by one stripping us of our rights,internet and cell phones,home phones,are people that stupid to keep giving up thier fundimental rights,are you scared of being called a name by your socialist government ,wake up stupid people,is this not like nazi germany,did nobody learn anything about how the german people were tricked by hitlers lies and propaganda,do you really think everything is ok in your country,fema camps,and trains,homeless familys everywhere,houses being tore down while people live in the streets.soup lines blocks long.we have a responsibility to end this now,all people of all countrys,make the best use of this summer for our kids sake,stand up and do something,TAKE BACK OUR COUNTRYS,lock up the people who put us in this mess,and start pursuing the truth about war crimes committed by these people.police and army personal have to join the people in this quest,the citizens are not the enemy,we are tired of being poor and having nothing to pass on to our children,land and homes are out of the reach of an average person,we will never have anything,unless we stop this now and start over.it is time to start over,forgive our debts as we forgive our debters