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Original Art Work by RGonzo

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Monstrous Anomalies and Classical Criminology 2

By Randy Gonzalez
In the last episode of Monstrous Anomalies, the criminological conjecture revolved around the
probability that most ghost stories are part of a scheme to con people. A suggestion was offered
bringing to forefront the idea of a pyramid scheme. Such a ruse is illegal. Generally, it is a business
model that basically recruits investors based on a promise of future material gain when they recruit
others. Lower levels of investment funnel materiality to upper levels of the organizational
construct. Pyramids are contingent on networking. This is a construct can be expanded to
encompass a post-modern assessment of the “reality television” craze. And is most notably found
in U.S. movie making and television storytelling, but not exclusively. Collusion is carefully crafted
with advertisers to sell products and services. Success of the showmanship depends on viewers
who are consumer and buy stuff. There is a symbiotic relationship among all interactions and
similarities reflected by a gluttonous culture bent on surreal diversions from reality.
Comparisons are expressed to other venues of the global reach of entertainment. Not to forget
of course, the inclusion of mainstream news reporting and social media. Some might beg the
question, what is real and what is no real? Embellishment, exaggeration, and fallacies of inference
contribute to the vast realm of infotainment to manufacture societal consent. A twisted notion of
“normal” emerges in egregious efforts to standardize what is socially approved. By various means
of distraction, and sleight of hand techniques, manufactured complacency attempts enforce
something called normalcy. One size fits all, the standard issue template for thinking, and the
imposition of conventional consensus. Shows capitalizing on the one-sided view that the unknown
is filled with monstrous anomalies is a significant part of the ongoing social subterfuge. By one-
sided, the story telling typically presents a biased point of view.
Rather than engage at least two or more sides of arguments for or against the phenomenon, a
very prejudiced self-serving viewpoint is often promoted. Very little effort is invested in offering
the counter arguments or pointing out the lack of scientifically validated evidence. Most “reality
tv shows”, particularly regarding UFO’s, cryptids, etc., present the opinions, gossip and rumors of
adherents who believe the ghost stories. Alleged “eye witness” testimony, along with gossipy
blather are not respected or viable forms of substantive evidence. Its hearsay and telltale
scandalmongering. Potentially, efforts to defraud others runs up against lawful sanctions against
consumer fraud, in the same consideration of an illegal pyramid scheme.
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Meanwhile, over in academia, in the “social studies arena”, related schemes are underway. And,
this refers to the collegiate enclaves of criminology, psychology, sociology and theology. Such
fields of study concoct an array of ideological constructs, often confused with the hard sciences.
Sometimes referred to as the ‘four horsemen of the intellectual apocalypse”, the “social studies
arena” contrasts starkly with the campus science community. In the real sciences, astrophysics and
astronomy, biology, chemistry, physics, etc., endeavor to discover the harsh realities of life. Over
in the “social studies arena”, the pseudosciences are very active in a variety of philosophical
conjecture. In some cases, these schools of metaphysics attempt to act in scientific ways and
thereby manufacture much confusion. As to that, the position here is from the posture of
pseudoscience emanating from the realms of classical criminology. By slant of reference, science
enters the picture typically from the crime lab when serious scientific efficacy is needed.
As such, where classical criminology serves as a thinking process for some law enforcement
investigators, others may differ, divert, or digress accordingly. In classical criminology, or rational
choice theory, there are no excuses for unlawful, illicit or anti-social behaviors. from the classics
of criminogenic factors, intent underscores the willful insistence to premeditate from malice
aforethought. From the dark recesses of ideation, people perpetrate the most heinous acts of
unlawful debauchery. Criminality spans of spectrum from small acts of deceit and scam, to
genocidal atrocities. Free will selectivity, cost benefit analysis, calculated intention, as well as
premeditated purposes, contrive toward the commission of criminal or potentially criminal
activities. People make choices of their own volition in order to willfully take advantage of others.
No deceptive justifications, no alibis, and no excuses based on contrived mitigations to evade
responsibility and accountability for maladaptive actions taken.
Regarding so called reality tv shows, the scam, or sleight of hand is always at work. At the
same time, other schools of thought in the “social studies arena” will differ. Some of these
perspectives will be quite aggressively condescending toward those who disagree. And yet, no
science has been developed to substantiate their efficacy. Of course they will tell you they are
“scientists” doing the work of “science”. Diverse ideological frameworks in the “liberal arts” realm
will conjure an array of vindications invoking deterministic forces whereby criminals attempt to
escape culpability. This is the ongoing debate between what is sometimes referred to a classical
versus positivistic ideological discourse. With monstrous anomalies as an investigative interest,
deception is behind the scenes manipulating the public’s viewpoint.
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Once again, the assertion is made that an evolving notion of fraud should be considered. Wider
perspective from a legal standpoint. How much false information can one entity promote, with no
solution of evidence in sight, until such time repercussions occur? Similarly, how many times can
a show claim to “investigate” the paranormal, supernatural, or aerial phenomenon and fail to reveal
evidentiary artifacts? Where’s the evidence? What about the smoking gun? Where are the real,
barebones, gut wrenching, messy bloody, or decomposing actual authentications? When do we get
to witness the demonstration or proof with scientific authenticity? When shows collude with
advertisers to ensure profit continuity, the circus continues with bizarre carnival sideshows. And,
potentially, the definition of scam and fraud ought to encompass a larger framework. The con
artistry is at work and snake oil sales escalate with foolish superficiality.
This is not very much different from the land of academia and the “social studies arena”. Again,
the real sciences pursue a different agenda, while pseudosciences disguise their philosophies as
something like a science. In monstrous TV shows, the typical setup seems all too familiar. Eerie
music in the background, alleged credentials of the “investigator, and spokesperson off screen
chumming up the audience. As frames jump, blur and sputter, green tinted effects lure the visual
range into the seductive trap of the darkened hallway, strange looking landscape, or shadowy
forest. The recipe appears to be a standard ghost hunting “cookbook”, or tv-movie script, whereby
the acting is either well done, or poorly contrived with juvenile antics. From laughable to insulting,
the gambit unfolds. With that, good stage management is essential, but the hunt for evidentiary
substantiation is always elusive. The power of suggestion is cleverly at work and influential in the
magic tricks employed to keep followers and believers willfully in the snare.
From 2019, another show in the ghost hunting genre of reality tv emerges. One television critic
warns parents that it’s a “dark series” that produces a different version of “entertainment”. And
yet another viewpoint, reviewing one episode, questions the authenticity of the investigative
process. Thinly veiled are the cinematic attempts to portray a serious inquiry into so called
unsolved mysteries. The cloak and dagger mystique is overly dramatic. Not to forget of course,
the appearance of younglings (alleged paranormal researchers), who are far too inexperienced,
gullible and naïve to offer much in the way of expertise. How come the pretentious eyewitnesses
in a modern context, with plenty of cell phones, remain incompetent with photographic
technology. Needless to say, opinions, gossip, rumor are not high value forms of evidence. Shaky
images are interpreted according to the bias of the viewer.
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And, to the extent necessary for amative exertion of inner carnality, people believe what they
want to believe. Needless to say at this juncture, the classical view here also asserts that all
behavior is about the nature of sexuality. Of course, some will probably get hysterical as to any
utterance of sensuality, eroticism, and mention of lasciviousness. In all likelihood, that emotional
reactivity is psychically linked to their baser inhibition and overall fear of their individual sexual
potency. As to that, this perspective expressed herein is not concerned with opposing viewpoints.
Moving on and back to fakery of reality tv shows, and to the potentiality of repetitiveness,
credentials are of necessity in need of credibility. To assert the protagonist is an “explorer” of some
skillset or has prior investigative experience in whatever is no guarantee of a viable investigative
process. With a resurgence in American culture for fascination with monsters, etc., an interesting
assessment of society frames a particular attitude.
An online magazine focusing on pop culture reviews the current craze over “monster
documentaries”. Calling into question the authenticity of the so called investigations, using the
word “fake”, the discourse focuses concern over the misrepresentations asserted to be realistic. In
doing so, such fakery from dragons, giant sharks, to Bigfoot, pretends a faux educational format
that negatively feeds an overly consumptive culture. By bending reality using clever cinematic
techniques, and myriad stage props, the sleight of hand tactics distorts real nature of a scientifically
based set of inquiries. Trickery, fakery, and chicanery know no limits as related to the fraudulent
extent perpetrators will travel. In collusion with such antics by producers, et al, viewers share some
level of complicity for their purposeful beguilement. Regarding the aforementioned reference
about monster hunting reality shows using a standard format, another reference source suggests
similarities. As such, the generic formula falls into four basic parts.
First, there is the “team” of three to five colorful characters. If the acting is really good, then
the more enticing the entertainment becomes. Some shows may use a team of one, or maybe two,
while others might use a larger group. In one so called “extreme” hunt for the paranormal,
including mysterious jungle creatures, a team of two is deployed. One is supposedly a “credible”
scientist”, while the other claims a background in supernatural investigations. As to the latter point,
where do you get a degree in that? As a follow up, where do you apprentice, intern, or mentor, so
to speak, to gain expertise in the field of ghost of hunting? Is there an “academy of the
supernatural”, something like the police academy, and then a couple years of training, etc.? another
show claims the main actor attended private detective school?
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But, what about field experience conducting numerous investigations over a lengthy period of
time? Again, a good inquiry to ponder are the credentials of those claiming expertise in whatever
there are claiming. Does any of it sound logical? To continue from the first component, the team
typically examines some alleged evidence. May be its grainy photos, poor movie camera attempts
to film a UFO, or some other sketchy artifacts. Merging into the second component of the ruse,
the team travels to the “scene of the crime” to stumble around and pretend authenticity. Yep, there
it is, the darkened forest, the mountainous terrain, or the dense jungle. In the third part, act three
so to speak, a gathering of supposed witnesses occur. With a background accentuated by eerie or
dramatic music, the stage is set. As storytelling unfolds, witnesses spin a yarn or two, reminisce
over legends, camp fire tales and so forth. Meanwhile, CGI might be at work amplifying the
atmosphere with a mysterious inclination. Maps, drawings, etc. are soon deployed.
Act four, or part four, the “investigation” unfolds with the team venturing into the darkness of
the environment in question. Typically, no one seems to bring any firepower with them in the event
of an attack. Why is that? Who or what might attack? Well, it could be anything from a human to
an animal predator, like a bear, mountain lion, or huge reptile (alligators get very big). Then again,
what if Bigfoot is not very friendly and takes offense to the team’s trespassing? But wait, there is
also the camera crew. How many is that added to the team? As night falls, phase four is underway
and the team heads into the dark realms of the mystery. You got to have darkness for the full effect.
Apparently cryptids only operate at night. Could be a vampire thing. The light of the day might
melt them or something like that. At any rate, once in the woods, night vision might be used to add
to the overall effect of the plot. As the antics ensue, the creatures hide and never appear.
With a standard issue formula, a simplistic equation, repeated over and over, the scam continues
from one show to the next. The familiarity of such tactics is fascinating to the extent that so many
people want to be taken in by it all. Yet, at the end of each adventure, replicated year after year,
over the decades, where is the evidence. One business magazine calls out such television shows as
“fake documentaries” that degrade the very nature of a documentary. That source cited the failure
of one popular streaming channel to produce credible evidence about a prehistoric sea creature.
However, the fraudulent documentary convinced 70% of its viewers that such sea monster really
existed. In spite of scientific evidence to the contrary, high ratings were achieved in viewership
for that particular genre at the time. The formula is very familiar. Again, the team, the theme, the
meme and the scene, all fabricated by careful stage management.
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A new show in the genre of “monster reality tv” follows the same format. It is as though in
post-modern America creativity has been shelved. Do producers, writers, etc., think the viewing
public is generally stupid? Well, maybe there is an argument there. If polling data reveals nearly
80% of the public have at least one paranormal belief, and the average literary consumption level
is between middle school and high school, then a captive audience is out there. In the realm of
criminology, and the various criminal justice multisystem, the “CSI effect” surfaces. That is,
exaggerated portrayals in the entertainment industry (movies and tv fiction) are misunderstood by
the public in general. As a result, this in turn leads to egregious fallacies of inference regarding the
nature of reality. As to the latest sleight of hand “monster hunt”, an alleged private investigator,
also an actor in fictional tv drama, dramatically sets out to find the creatures.
In so doing, the adventure is to expose their hiding places, take them into custody, and otherwise
reveal their nefarious schemes. Uh no, that is not the mission. Entertainment is the primary
objective to ensure the bottom line, sometimes called a budget, and otherwise known as making
money. Material gain, or gain minus risk, is the fundamental basis for human actions. At the core,
the vital force of the impetus is the sexuality. Libido, carnality, seduction, etc., the essence of
human energy to think, plot, scheme and do all manner of things. Well, in so far as the classical
view of criminology is concerned in this perspective. Others may differ, some my foam at the
mouth, fume and fuss, run screaming and hollering at the mention of anything sexual. Meanwhile,
following the ideation of fantasy to reality, with malice aforethought and intent, purposes instigate
actions. This means sales and profit continuity, and that is very salacious.
Comparing two shows in particular side by side, two observers with extensive law enforcement
and intelligence related backgrounds, studied the suspected hunt for monsters. On one show,
biologists, physicists, and other credible scientists were called in to examine assumed “evidence”.
By contrast, the other show (not very scientific) used an actor, who claimed some investigative
status, along with a “paranormal” researcher. As a side note, what’s the expertise for this? An
inquiring mindset might want to know how you get a degree in that? Or, for that matter, where are
the graduate degrees for cryptozoology? While the real scientists carefully examine alleged
mysterious “artifacts”, the other acting team spent a lot of time talking about mysterious phantom
creatures. In the end, nothing was either discovered or found to substantiate evidentiary viability.
With the science show however, scientific efficacy determined the mysterious to be not so
mystical. In fact, the evidence on the science side of things proved explainable realities.
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And so, the hunt continues. What is the truth and who do you trust? There answer is nothing
and no one. According to a “shrink-ologist” oriented magazine, devoted to the pseudoscience of
psychology, one article examines the dubious notion of cryptozoology. Of which, an inquisitor
might be curious that one questionable field of study is questioning another field of questionable
study. Of course, this is the fun of metaphysical endeavors whereby debate stimulates commentary
over the spurious conjecture. Regardless, the article looks at the work of a noted paleontologist
who challenges cryptozoologists to produce the evidence. For some people, the assertion is
offered, belief systems of a mystical nature are at the core of quasi-religious inclinations. Many
feel comfortable reinforcing their ideations with the paranormal for things they cannot explain.
Emotional reactivity reflets the fear some have about the unknown. People confuse themselves
with simplistic notions in misunderstanding nature, ignorance about the world of science, and
mystical thinking regarding how things really work.
In critiquing so called crypto-investigations, and the pursuit of cryptids, the aforesaid article
delves into the realm of the psyche. From a psycho-pseudo backdrop, the writer suggests
prehistoric evolutionary processes of “huge predatorial” animal fears might be deep-seated in the
believer’s thinking. Well now, this really opens up a few questions. And, the key term here is
“might”. That summons a follow up as to how is this known scientifically? Also, is fear hereditary?
What does the DNA say about that? So, the psychobabble gets more confusing. And what about
big game hunters? Do they go hunting massive land creatures because they fear being eaten by
large carnivores? Realistically though, one problem with investigating the existence of monstrous
anomalies is that “evidence” typically relies on suspected eye witness testimony. Another issue is
that with all the high tech cameras on the planet, monster photographers, or UFO film makers,
often appear photographically incompetent. Opinion evidence is not real evidence.
As such the hunt continues. What does the data show on have many mysterious creatures have
been caught and studied? To date, nothing at all. Yet, the con artistry continues, and the
commercial applications are flourishing. For those who purport to have found physical evidence,
such as tissues, hair, a toenail, etc., laboratory analysis suggests a bear, a deer, or a wolf.
Meanwhile, as to the photographic depictions, modern technology shows that anything can be
faked. Some technicians, artists, and novice photographers are very adept of photographic
creativity. Fakery in terms of photo depiction is becoming an art form. With a computer, a graphic
artist can tell a fascinatingly entertaining story. Sometimes the experts get fooled.
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Original Art Work by RGonzo

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