3. We Reflect On The Profound And Unsettling Ideas Of Conspiracy
Conspiracies abound. The secret world reflects the idea that people with good and bad intentions are at work, behind the scenes, determining our fates. The rise in popularity of conspiracy theories has helped fuel the popularity of shows like Homeland. Conspiracies fascinate us for at the surface level they are terrifying as they indicate the extent to which people and certain forces will go to perpetuate a crime, an act of terror, or a cover-up. Curiously, once we begin to dig deeper, we discover the sense that "The Truth Is Out There," as the X-Files taught us. We realize that the terror perpetuated by the secret world and its conspirators can be uncovered and that we (like Carrie Mathison) can have a direct role in the uncovering. What works so well in Homeland in terms of conspiraciesespecially as compared with the over-the-top layers of conspiracy in the show The Followingis the drama of key characters Carrie Mathison, Saul Berenson, and Peter Quinn who show great levels of persistence in following the conspiracies to their bitter end. A related aspect of such conspiracies (to return to the early themes of mistrust and deception) is the fact that no matter our sense of how much we have figured out the conspiracy, it could, and likely will, turn out that we were wrong about it from the beginning. As Homeland continues to progress, we may discover that Saul is the mole at the CIA, that Carrie is not who she claims to be, or that Brody isn't as guilty as he seems. Whatever the case may be, we are kept guessing and in constant suspense.
Scott A. Lukas
Contributor
Scott A. Lukas has taught anthropology and sociology Lake Tahoe Community College for sixteen years and in 2013 was Visiting Professor of American Studies at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany. He has been recognized with the McGraw-Hill Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching of Anthropology by the American Anthropological Association (2005), the California Hayward Award for Excellence in Education (2003), and a Sierra Arts Foundation Artist Grant Program Award in Literary–Professional (2009). In 2006, he was a nominee to the California Community College Board of Governors. He is the author/editor of The Immersive Worlds Handbook (2012), Theme Park (2008), The Themed Space: Locating Culture, Nature, and Self (2007), Fear, Cultural Anxiety, and Transformation: Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy Films Remade, (co-edited with John Marmysz, 2009), Recent Developments in Criminological Theory (co-edited with Stuart Henry, 2009), and Strategies in Teaching Anthropology (2010). His book Theme Park was recently translated into Arabic. He appeared in the documentary The Nature of Existence and has provided interviews for To the Best of Our Knowledge, The Huffington Post UK, The Daily Beast, The Washington Post, and Caravan (India).
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