BY QUITTERIE GOUNOT

In print | Published December 3, 2009

As the end of the semester draws near, Swarthmore students find themselves submerged in papers and exams. The students in Professor Rehak’s class, however, have a very different type of final. Their assignment? To make “conspiracy walls” that illustrate certain conspiracy theories, which are either pre-existent or of their own invention. Far from random, this project is the culmination of an entire course focused on conspiracy theories in the media.
This semester, for the first time, Professor Bob Rehak, Chair of the Swarthmore film and media studies program, is teaching a course entitled “Conspiracy.” The class mainly focuses on film but also looks at websites, digital media and “any other kind of media that has conspiracy at its center.” The focus is on how conspiracy theories developed from the 1950s to the present — such as theories relating to the Red Scare, the Apollo Moon landings, 9/11 and current healthcare reforms.

Rehak has had a lifelong fascination with conspiracy theories. “As a kid, I always loved that kind of story, the mystery and the kind of puzzle it presents you with.” He defended the academic relevance of conspiracy theories by noting the paradoxical evolution of this “genre”: whereas it seemed like a “fringe practice” in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, it has now become part of mainstream culture.

“Conspiracy has become an open secret, something people make movies about and money off of,” Rehak said. Citing political theorist Frederic Jameson, he added, “any conspiracy you know about is a bad conspiracy. A good conspiracy is completely unknown.”

For the conspiracy wall project, students formed teams and “prepare[d] for public display a conspiracy wall that documents in visual form a conspiracy of [their] choosing.” They are given a 40 by 80 inch white canvas to fill with any materials they see fit — photographs, newspaper clippings, ticket stubs and of course, yarns and pins to connect the different elements.

The students can select a conspiracy theory that piques their interest or come up with a new theory themselves.
Rehak explained that the idea for this project came to him even before the idea for the course. He recalled a scene in the movie “The Line of Fire,” with Clint Eastwood and John Malkovich, in which the secret service goes into Malkovich’s apartment and finds a wall that seems like a shrine to the JFK assassination. Since then, Rehak noticed similar happenings in other movies.

“Conspiracy walls are a kind of trope. They are Hollywood shorthand for paranoia.” Rehak sees these conspiracy walls as conceptually significant because they provide a picture of a conspirator’s thought process and show how a conspiracy theory is put together.

“What I like about [a conspiracy wall] is that it’s a way to visualize people’s mind, to show a person’s obsession. It’s a psychological collage,” Rehak said.

Students took a variety of approaches to this project. For example, Noah Lang ’10 and Justin Hughes ’10 devised their own conspiracy. According to them, their project “involves Google, the Bilderberg group, the CIA, and the echelon intelligence network in the formation of a one world government through the use of freely available communication and information technologies.”

On the other hand, Lauren McBride ’10 relied largely on pre-existing conspiracy theories. “My conspiracy wall is mainly concerned with American imperialism and the possibility of brainwashing having a role in the process,” she said.

The students seemed to enjoy this project and the course as a whole. McBride said that it gave her more freedom to explore and express ideas. “This class has allowed me to take logical liberties. [Here] it’s okay that my explanatory devices are a little off kilter, because a conspiracy is in many ways an individual’s cognitive map.”
Lang further expressed the view that the course helped him view others’ theories more charitably. “This class allows you a unique perspective into a pervasive and infinitely interesting culture that the majority of culture is quick to dismiss,” he said.

The conspiracy walls were unveiled in McCabe on Wednesday. They will be on display until after the start of the spring semester.

Rehak and his class hopes that their audience will see the wall in a lighthearted way, while also considering some of the greater concerns from which the featured conspiracy theories stem.

FMST 43, “Conspiracy” will be offered again in 2011-2012.

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