Conspiracy Fiction Genre
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A Conspiracy Fiction Genre is a thriller genre that revolves around the plot of a large, overarching conspiracy.
- Context:
- It can (typically) emphasizes themes of suspicion, intrigue, and the quest for truth, typically featuring a protagonist who unravels hidden secrets against significant odds.
- It can (typically) involve Complex Plots and Hidden Agendas that unfold throughout the narrative.
- It can (often) portray Government Agencies or Multinational Corporations as antagonists.
- It can range from being a Realistic Fiction to a Speculative Fiction, depending on the nature of the conspiracy.
- It can explore Sociopolitical Themes and often reflects contemporary societal anxieties.
- It can invoke Paranoia and skepticism among characters and readers alike.
- ...
- Example(s):
- the novel "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown, which showcases a historical and religious conspiracy involving the Catholic Church.
- the TV show "The X-Files", which demonstrates government cover-ups and alien conspiracies.
- the film "Three Days of the Condor", where a CIA analyst uncovers a plot within his own agency.
- ...
- Counter-Example(s):
- High Fantasy novels, such as "The Lord of the Rings", where the conflict is generally more overt and based on a clear delineation between good and evil rather than hidden conspiracies.
- Romantic Comedy films, which focus on relationships and personal dilemmas without the elements of grand conspiracies or political intrigue.
- ...
- See: Morality Play, Paranoid Fiction, Thriller (Genre), Quest, Whodunit, Detective Fiction, Propaganda, Political Thriller, Espionage Fiction.
References
2024
- (Wikipedia, 2024) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_fiction Retrieved:2024-5-4.
- The conspiracy thriller (or paranoid thriller) is a subgenre of thriller fiction. The protagonists of conspiracy thrillers are often journalists or amateur investigators who find themselves (often inadvertently) pulling on a small thread which unravels a vast conspiracy that ultimately goes "all the way to the top." The complexities of historical fact are recast as a morality play in which bad people cause bad events, and good people identify and defeat them. Conspiracies are often played out as "man-in-peril" (or "woman-in-peril") [1] stories, or yield quest narratives similar to those found in whodunits and detective stories.
A common theme in such works is that characters uncovering the conspiracy encounter difficulty ascertaining the truth amid the deceptions: rumors, lies, propaganda, and counter-propaganda build upon one another until what is conspiracy and what is coincidence become entangled. Many conspiracy fiction works also include the theme of secret history and paranoid fiction.
- The conspiracy thriller (or paranoid thriller) is a subgenre of thriller fiction. The protagonists of conspiracy thrillers are often journalists or amateur investigators who find themselves (often inadvertently) pulling on a small thread which unravels a vast conspiracy that ultimately goes "all the way to the top." The complexities of historical fact are recast as a morality play in which bad people cause bad events, and good people identify and defeat them. Conspiracies are often played out as "man-in-peril" (or "woman-in-peril") [1] stories, or yield quest narratives similar to those found in whodunits and detective stories.