Illuminati in popular culture
Founded by
conspiracy theories
surrounding the Illuminati have inspired various creative works, and continue to do so.
Books and comics
- Gothic literature had a particular interest in the theme of the Illuminati. The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction states that readers had a "scandalous vogue for German tales of the Illuminati."[1] The Illuminati have a role in Horrid Mysteries, as in Montague Summers' introduction to a later reprint of it. The Illuminati also turn up in two spoofs of the gothic genre, which both also reference Horrid Mysteries, Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen and Nightmare Abbey by Thomas Love Peacock.[2]
- A number of writers have pointed out Mary Shelley's familiarity with the early anti-Illuminati text, Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism (1797–98), due to Percy Bysshe Shelley's enthusiasm for it. They describe the Memoirs influence in Frankenstein, and point to Frankenstein's monster as an amalgam of Shelley's Illuminati-influenced ideas as well as of the Illuminati itself, with the monster being created in Ingolstadt, where the Illuminati had been formed.[3][4][5]
- Illuminatus! was produced and published by Eye-n-Apple Productions and Rip Off Press between 1987 and 1991. A nine-hour theatrical adaptation was produced by Ken Campbell.
- Robert Anton Wilson also published Cosmic Trigger I: The Final Secret of the Illuminati in 1977, The Illuminati Papers in 1980, Masks of the Illuminati in 1981, and The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles in the 1980s and 1991.
- Rosicrucians.[7]
- Fallen Angels (1984) by Bernard Cornwell (under the pseudonym Susannah Kells) is a love story set in the shadow of the Paris revolutionary guillotine and the grounds of Lazender Castle in England. The Illuminati plot to bring revolution to England is a central thread.
- Angels & Demons (German title: Illuminati), Dan Brown's 2000 precursor to 2003's The Da Vinci Code, is about an apparent Illuminati order plot to destroy its enemy the Catholic Church by using antimatter to blow up the Vatican while Papal elections are being held. In this novel the Illuminati movement was founded by Galileo Galilei, and others, as an enlightened reaction to persecution by the Catholic Church. They were initially based in Italy, but fled after four key members were executed by the Vatican. Apparently there are four churches to them in Rome, each representing one of the four elements. In fact, the Illuminati are indeed defunct and the events of the book are orchestrated as part of an elaborate scheme by its central antagonist.[8] This is also the plot of the film of the same name. Simon Cox, writer of Cracking the Davinci Code, also wrote the book Illuminating Angels and Demons, in which he explains the facts behind the pagan signs and secret societies in Angels & Demons.[9]
- In
- In Larry Burkett's book The Illuminati, "The Society" seeks world power.[11]
- In Freemason, is accused of attempting to introduce the ideals of Illuminism to his lodge.
- In Kazue Kato's manga Blue Exorcist, the Illuminati are a secret organization that oppose the True Cross Order (an organization of exorcists that specializes in killing demons) and, by extension, the Vatican itself, which controls the Order. Their goal is to merge the world of humans and world of demons so that Satan, the king of all demons, can rule over the new world order.
- The Kree-Skrull War.
- Tarzan Alive (1972), Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life (1973) and The Other Log of Phileas Fogg(1973), linked the fictional characters to various Illuminati, plots and conspiracy theories.
Television and film
- In the cartoon David Xanatos, Thailog and John Castaway are Rank 36.
- In Simon West's 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, a group of high-society villains call themselves Illuminati, developing a plan to rule the world. Along with Lara Croft's father, they claim that the Illuminati have existed for four millennia for this purpose.[12][13]
- In Prithviraj Sukumaran's 2019 Malayalam film Lucifer, Mohanlal's character Stephen Nedumpally / Khureshi-Ab'raam is said to be a member of the Illuminati. Many signs and symbols of the Illuminati are used throughout the film.[14][15] In Prithviraj Sukumaran's 2019 Malayalam film Lucifer, Mohanlal's character Stephen Nedumpally / Khureshi-Ab'raam is said to be a member of the Illuminati. Many signs and symbols of the Illuminati are used throughout the film.[14][15] Following the blockbuster success of the movie, director Prithviraj Sukumaran announced that he would be doing a sequel for the movie, which is titled L2: Empuraan and stars Mohanlal, reprising his role from the original.
- In the 2021 Netflix animated series Inside Job, the Illuminati leadership is shown to consist mostly of figures from the world of media and entertainment, namely Lin-Manuel Miranda, Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey and Jay-Z.
Games
- Several games from
- In the MMORPG The Secret World, the Illuminati is one of the three playable factions.[17]
- In the Shadaloo.[18]
- The Illuminati frequently appears in the cyberpunk Role-playing video game Deus Ex game series as a major faction.
- In the first Deus Ex, the Illuminati was almost destroyed in an inside coup by their own research division Majestic 12. The events of the game are part of a power struggle between the Illuminati, Majestic-12 and other factions attempting to secretly take over the world.
- In transdenominational church called "The Order Church", in order to better control society through social division.
- In Adam Jensen discovers the Illuminati were behind many of the game's events, attempting to control the spread of "augmentations", advanced artificial organs capable of greatly improving and enhancingthe human body's performance.
Music
Many fans of modern
Public Enemy have made reference to. Other such conspiracy books circulate in African-American communities, where both artists and listeners encounter them.[19] Aside from this, the "Illuminati" are invoked to explain why some artists become rich and famous, some die suddenly, and others go unnoticed.[20]
See also
- Conspiracy theories
References
- ISBN 978-0-521-79124-3. pp. 51–55
- ^ Gothic immortals: the fiction of the brotherhood of the rosy cross by Marie Mulvey Roberts, passim.
- ^ Roberts.
- ISBN 978-0-19-812249-4. p.36
- ^ Mary Shelley: Her Life, Her Fiction, Her Monsters, Anne K. Mellor, pp. 73, 83–84.
- ^ Colagrossi, Mike (March 28, 2019). "Behold, the '70s sci-fi book series that popularized the Illuminati conspiracy". bigthink.com. Big Think. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
- ^ "Foucault's Pendulum (review)", New York, 6 November 1989, p. 120
- ISBN 0-9673466-4-9, p. 305
- ^ "The facts behind Angels and Demons". Philippine Daily Inquirer. May 2, 2005. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
- ISBN 978-0-8108-3504-7, p. 60
- ^ The new inquisitions: heretic-hunting and the intellectual origins of modern totalitarianism By Arthur Versluis, pp. 121–122.
- ISBN 978-0-7407-3834-0, p. 362
- ^ Pocahontas in the Alps: Masonic traces in the stage works of Franz Christoph Neubauer, Chris Walton. Musical Times; Autumn 2005, pp. 50–51.
- ^ "Murali Gopy talks about the Illuminati references in Lucifer - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
- ^ "Prithviraj viral statement on Illuminati presence in the world Lucifer Empuran". Behindwoods. 2020-02-15. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
- ^ Conspiracy theories: Secrecy and Power in American Culture Mark Fenster, University of Minnesota Press, 2008. pp. 173–178
- ^ "The Secret World". Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
- ^ Young, Harrison (7 September 2016). "See What Urien Brings to the Table in the September Update!". Capcom Unity. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
- ^ .
- ^ McManus, Brian. "The Illuminati: Conspiracy Theory or New World Order?". www.philadelphiaweekly.com. Archived from the original on April 20, 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
