Conspiracy theories have existed for as long as humanity itself, and filmmakers have long mined them for drama, from government cover-ups to claims that the world itself is a simulation. Four films stand out as favourites among viewers drawn to the genre: 'The Truman Show,' 'The Post,' 'Dark Waters' and 'Zeitgeist.'
The Truman Show
'The Truman Show' stars Jim Carrey as a man living in a picture-perfect town where everyone adores him and his life resembles a glossy advertisement. At a certain point Truman begins to suspect something is wrong, coming to realise he is not living in the real world at all but inside a television show built entirely around him, in which everyone else in his life is merely an actor watching him.
The film regularly appears on lists of conspiracy movies because it plays out one of the genre's enduring theories: that the world people live in is really a vast simulation being watched by someone else.
The Post
Steven Spielberg also took on government secrecy with 'The Post,' a film nominated twice for an Academy Award. It tells the story of the Washington Post's decision to publish the leaked Pentagon Papers, secret Pentagon documents revealing that the US government had concealed the truth about the Vietnam War for decades. Meryl Streep plays the newspaper's editor, who chooses to challenge the government rather than stay silent.
Dark Waters
'Dark Waters' tells the story of the chemical company DuPont, which for years poisoned people with a toxic substance used in the coating on Teflon cookware. Attorney Robert Bilott took on the company and discovered the poisonous chemical present even in the blood of young children. The film had such an impact on audiences that people in the United States reportedly began throwing out their Teflon pans and reconsidering the safety of non-stick cookware. Films like this, built around real corporate cover-ups, tend to leave viewers questioning what else might be hidden from them.
Zeitgeist
Peter Joseph is a well-known figure in conspiracy circles, and his first film, 'Zeitgeist,' ties together several theories at once. It opens by presenting Jesus as a mythical figure, then goes on to claim the CIA played a direct role in the September 11 attacks and explores alleged conspiracies among financiers and major corporations.
Joseph does not break new ground with these ideas, since each has been discussed elsewhere many times before. But viewers say he presents them more elegantly and skilfully than others who have covered the same territory, and he does so by weaving several theories into a single film rather than focusing on just one.
