blog post 6

The three components of arguments from conspiracy discussed in our textbook are sowing disgust, challenging plausibility, and telling a better story. Loose Change is a documentary focusing on how the attacks of September 11, 2001 were a conspiracy set up by the US government. The documentary tries to convince viewers that the attacks were orchestrated by the components of the US America against its citizens for particular reasons.

            “Conspiracy arguments claim that a secret combination of two or more people are plotting or have plotted to commit illegal or harmful acts”. Loose Change exhibits sowing disgust exceptionally well. The documentary arouses serious doubt to the audience on whether the government helped the terrorists plan the attacks. The music, the video footage, and the biased narrating allows for any viewer to think that the United States Government would actually threaten its people. Trusting the storyteller on the issue is the biggest part of sowing disgust by creating doubt for the audience.

            In order for the audience to believe in the conspiracy theory, there must be no challenge for plausibility. It has to be a solid argument that would allow the audience to sway from the government is for us to believing that the government is against us. The sources must be honest and truthful, along with their credibility being extremely important for the cause. “The mere accusation of a conspiracy is enough to ‘prove’ it”. If someone were to challenge the attacks on 9/11 at least one human would believe the rhetoric without wanting facts. People are sometimes very easy to persuade. In the film, they argued how there were bombs coming out of the tower, and they show this through like arrows pointing to the bombs. It is not much evidence but anyone not willing to analyze the facts would believe it.

            Some audiences want a better story because they see the faults in the actual representation from news reporters. The conspiracy advocate must create a better story for viewers that is believable, compelling, and competes against the real story. They have to show the audience that their conspiracy theory is correct in order for the actual storyline to be disapproved. Showing overwhelming amounts of analysis, clips, and proof is necessary for any audience to believe the cause. It must be a better story than what the government issues. People are going to question its rationality or validity.

            In the film, the film producers effectively sold the conspiracy theory to the audience. The film showed valid points, especially the theory that there were bombs placed in the towers that allowed them to fall within a few hours. The 9/11 conspiracy is probably one of the biggest conspiracy theories in our history that people continue to question. Filmmakers are constantly making new documentaries and analyzing data on the day that changed America. People don’t want to believe that the US government targets its own people, but the facts in the film prove that there is something going on. Loose Change effectively put forth the facts for audiences but with any conspiracy theory, there will always be some sort of skepticism.