Believe it or not: Conspiracy theories are invading pop culture

What have Dan Brown and the Internet done?

For years, conspiracy theories were relegated to underground newspapers, late-night television and Oliver Stone. Then, during the past 20 years, two things happened: The Internet became readily available to millions and Dan Brown wrote "The Da Vinci Code."

From a marketing standpoint, the book was brilliant. Brown took one of history's mysteries - did the Catholic Church hide the true story of Jesus? - and incorporated it into a book that is also full of puzzles for the reader to solve. Brilliant! Like any business, when a new concept is successful, others follow. Soon, we had a whole genre of fiction about secret societies.

Brown continues to lead the field, however, with his new book about the Freemasons, "The Lost Symbol," expected to sell millions of copies after its release this week.

Meanwhile, the Internet has given voice to those who previously might reach only the people in their medieval role-playing game group. People have jammed cyberspace with theories on Bigfoot, UFOs, 9/11, the Freemasons, the Bilderberg Group, Nazis and the occult, the Mayan calendar, the Bermuda Triangle, electromagnetism, Yeti, alien abductions, time travel, parallel dimensions, shadow governments, false flag terrorism, black helicopters, the Trilateral Commission, Roswell and the symbology on the cover of The Beatles' "Abbey Road."

You know, to name a few.

Recently, there also has been an explosion of shows on cable channels regarding any number of topics formerly considered to be fringe, from "Ghost Hunters" on the Sy Fy Channel to "The Nostradamus Effect" on the History Channel.

The reason for all of this is the same as it always has been: People like mysteries, and a good capitalist - even a creative type such as a writer or a film director - knows a chance to make big piles of money when he or she sees one. And so, Brown and many others have incorporated popular conspiracy theories into their works of fiction.

Here are a half dozen examples. (We'll stay away from television to keep this story from needing a special section all its own).

Eagle-eyed readers will note we have left 9/11 conspiracies off this list, because no one has had the gumption to cash in on this one yet. They will.

The JFK Assassination

Basic theory: The official story, arrived at after a 10-month investigation by the Warren Commission, is that Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed President John F. Kennedy from the Texas Book Depository building on Nov. 22, 1963. Conspiracy theorists argue Oswald could not have done it alone, particularly scoffing at the idea of a "magic bullet" that hit both Kennedy and Texas Gov. John Connelly. They claim instead that this is the work of the CIA, the Mafia, Cuban operatives or the "military-industrial complex" that didn't want to see the end of military operations in Vietnam.

Cashing in: Oliver Stone, whose 1991 film "JFK" might be the best depiction of the conspiracy theory mindset ever put onscreen. Dripping with paranoia, blurring the line between fiction and reality, it's the one movie you have to watch if you want to understand both how "out there" conspiracy theories can be and how exhilarating it is for the theorists themselves. (In this case, it's New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison - played by Kevin Costner - and his staff). Also good are the novels "American Tabloid" and "The Cold Six Thousand" by James Ellroy.

Aliens are real, and the government knows it

Basic theory: Seriously, can you remember a time when this wasn't a theory? The London Daily Mail reported in November 2008 that a survey by a marketing firm (done for the release of an "X-Files" movie) found more people believe in aliens than God - 58 percent to 54 percent. Most of this goes back to the belief aliens crashed a spaceship near Roswell, N.M., in 1947 and the government has been hiding it ever since.

Cashing in: The list is very long. Among our favorite "aliens visit Earth" movies, however, are "The Day The Earth Stood Still" (1951, not that wretched Keanu Reeves remake), "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977), "Men In Black" (1997), "Independence Day" (1996) and "Mars Attacks!" (1996). One of the better movies about "ancient aliens" - the idea aliens visited Earth in antiquity - is "The Fifth Element" (1997). "Roswell," a 1994 made-for-TV movie available on DVD, directly addresses the "Roswell Incident," although the one doing the addressing is Kyle MacLachlan. (Just warning you.)

Faked moon landings

Basic theory: Starting in 1969, America's space program sent six different Apollo missions to the moon (Apollo 13, famously, never made it. See "Apollo 13," directed by Ron Howard). A surprisingly popular theory argues that none of the missions actually made it - that once President Kennedy said we'd get to the moon, we discovered it was too difficult. But to convince the rest of the world we were still the world leaders in space exploration, we faked it.

Cashing in: Peter Hyams, the writer/director of "Capricorn One." Hyams, who had already made "2010: The Year We Make Contact" (1984), outdid himself here. Despite its many flaws - asking us to accept James Brolin and O.J. Simpson as astronauts, for example - people who have seen it remember it. It involves astronauts who decide to break out of a studio - where a mission to Mars is being faked - and tell the world that the American space program is fiction. Naturally, people try to kill them. Oddly, references to faked moon landings pop up in many places, from a scene in "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971) to "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" (more on that below).

Secret societies run the world

Basic theory: The world is not run by random events, but rather orchestrated by secret societies - the Bilderberg Group, perhaps, or the Freemasons - who control governments in most major countries. They are behind most wars (from which they profit) and major political events.

Cashing in: Dan Brown has been the most successful at mining this particular vein, with "The Da Vinci Code" and "Angels and Demons" mentioning groups like The Illuminati and secret cabals within the Catholic Church. Another recent example is the "National Treasure" series of movies that have made more than $392 million at the domestic box office. More interesting are works that depict Yale's Skull and Bones Society as controlling much of America's intelligence operations, such as "The Good Shepherd" (2006).

The world will end in 2012

Basic theory: The ancient Mayan calendar predicts that on Dec. 21, 2012, civilization as we know it will come to an end.

Cashing in: Roland Emmerich, who else? Having already destroyed much of the world in "Independence Day" and "The Day After Tomorrow," Emmerich returns to destroy all of it in another high-budget, effects-intensive movie called, you guessed it, "2012." It'll be in a megaplex near you this November.

A large, apelike animal roams North America

Basic theory: Despite satellites in space that can see a beer can sitting on a table in your backyard, and despite the fact that the world has been explored and mapped repeatedly, people believe a large, apelike being roams the forests of North America, hiding out from human contact.

Cashing in: Mostly cable networks, which run Bigfoot shows constantly, most featuring a bearded, wide-eyed fellow talking about how it could be true. The part documentary, part horror film "The Legend of Boggy Creek" (1972) is still creepy, although the most memorable part might be the sad song about the loneliness of being a large, hairy swamp dweller. "Harry and the Hendersons" (1987) played the Bigfoot phenomenon for laughs and to make a point about being nice to nature.