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cactusmush
New Member
21 Posts |
 Posted - 03/12/2007 : 18:19:51
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I would like to discuss the differences in amount of media time the paranormal gets now versus the 70's. I broach the topic as some of our student age skeptic brothers and sisters may not realize how accommodating the media was to the paranormal in the 70's.
To me the decade of the 70's was the decade of:
1. Pyramid power
2. The Bermuda Triangle
3. Biorhythms
4. Astrology
5. A greater number of cults
6. Reincarnation
7. TM
8. Bed bouncing levitation
9. Ouija boards
10. Mood rings
11. A tremendous body of UFO documentaries on TV
12. Ghost, Amityville horror obsessions.
At least this is what I recall.
Of the above I find little contemporary media reference to items 1-3, 6,8,9,10. While not one of the above items is fully extinct, certainly some of them have been all but extinguished.
Could it me that Skeptical effort through the 80's until now succeeded in slaying some of these paranormal fads? Or is it the case that the culture and media of the 70's was more fertile to paranormal phenomenon than now?
Of the above I list the paranormal beliefs that seem to persist in strength:
4. Astrology persists in the newspapers. However, in the 70's asking "what's your sign?", came shortly after "what's your name?"
5. Cults: Jonestown shocked us all but decades on we had Waco and Heavens Gate.
11/12. References to UFO's seem to persist somewhat. More so are persistent references to ghost, spirit and Psychic phenomenon in contemporary media.
Comments anyone?
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Hawks
SFN Regular
Canada
1383 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2007 : 19:10:38 [Permalink]
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The most I remember of "paranormal" from the 70's was the rather frequent antics of Uri Geller. And the Bermuda Triangle, I suppose. Oh, oh, oh. Biorythms, that reminds me. A friend of mine sat down in front of his vic-20 and entered the code (from a magazine as you did in those days) for a program that output some biorythms (this was early 80's, btw). Ah, memories...
I'm afraid I can't add much more. I was born in '69 and was more interested in "KISS" and "the Runaways" in the 70's. |
METHINKS IT IS LIKE A WEASEL
It's a small, off-duty czechoslovakian traffic warden! |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2007 : 22:07:02 [Permalink]
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The New Age is with us. And growing. So in a way many of the things on your list have been institutionalized. They bring us the flavor of the week. This week it's “The Secret.” And they promote a boatload of alternative medicines, which is a multi billion dollar industry all by itself.
Then there is Sylvia Browne, John Edwards and their kind getting plenty of media exposure.
Fox stepped up to the plate with their moon hoax documentary and also the alien autopsy and the alien autopsy hoax to double their use of some silly “exclusive” footage.
Frankly, there is no shortage of baloney going on now. And worse, much of it has made its way into the popular culture by way of the New Age, credulous “news” reporting and popular books by people like Andrew Weil…
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Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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cactusmush
New Member
21 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2007 : 04:53:50 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Kil
The New Age is with us. And growing. So in a way many of the things on your list have been institutionalized. They bring us the flavor of the week. This week it's “The Secret.” And they promote a boatload of alternative medicines, which is a multi billion dollar industry all by itself.
Then there is Sylvia Browne, John Edwards and their kind getting plenty of media exposure.
Fox stepped up to the plate with their moon hoax documentary and also the alien autopsy and the alien autopsy hoax to double their use of some silly “exclusive” footage.
Frankly, there is no shortage of baloney going on now. And worse, much of it has made its way into the popular culture by way of the New Age, credulous “news” reporting and popular books by people like Andrew Weil…
Good point Kil. It is admittedly difficult to quantify but do you think that the "amount" of TV media exposure sympathetic to the paranormal has trended up, down or static? Do you think the diversity (if you will) of various forms of the paranormal has condensed, at least in the TV media? The big ones remain (UFO's, Ghosts, Psychic powers, Astrology), but my interpretation is that the variety of paranormal nonsense, as portrayed by the main stream media, has consolodated.
Obviously I am a skeptic and I discount the popular Paranormal fads no less than the fringe or fad ones. Today, I see no equivilant consumer popularity for some of the sillier commercial products we saw in the 70's. I mean, as kids many of us wore mood rings. For a gift I once recieved a pyramid frame and was encouraged to place a dull razor within it (which after a few months would be sharp again)? These things were sold in regular stores.
Comments anyone?
oh...and also the razor remained dull.
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Original_Intent
SFN Regular
USA
609 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2007 : 05:00:09 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by cactusmush
I would like to discuss the differences in amount of media time the paranormal gets now versus the 70's. I broach the topic as some of our student age skeptic brothers and sisters may not realize how accommodating the media was to the paranormal in the 70's.
To me the decade of the 70's was the decade of:
1. Pyramid power
2. The Bermuda Triangle
3. Biorhythms
4. Astrology
5. A greater number of cults
6. Reincarnation
7. TM
8. Bed bouncing levitation
9. Ouija boards
10. Mood rings
11. A tremendous body of UFO documentaries on TV
12. Ghost, Amityville horror obsessions.
At least this is what I recall.
Of the above I find little contemporary media reference to items 1-3, 6,8,9,10. While not one of the above items is fully extinct, certainly some of them have been all but extinguished.
Could it me that Skeptical effort through the 80's until now succeeded in slaying some of these paranormal fads? Or is it the case that the culture and media of the 70's was more fertile to paranormal phenomenon than now?
Of the above I list the paranormal beliefs that seem to persist in strength:
4. Astrology persists in the newspapers. However, in the 70's asking "what's your sign?", came shortly after "what's your name?"
5. Cults: Jonestown shocked us all but decades on we had Waco and Heavens Gate.
11/12. References to UFO's seem to persist somewhat. More so are persistent references to ghost, spirit and Psychic phenomenon in contemporary media.
Comments anyone?
You forgot he magic 8 ball.....
My un-educated guess is loss of intrest due to a shift in culture. Athough skepticism will change a few lives, I am skeptical of the power of it to shift a culture.....
Peace
Joe |
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2007 : 06:12:32 [Permalink]
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It seems that channeling was bigger in the 70's, wasn't it? I know that Ramtha and Shirley Maclaine's friend what's-his-name- are still around, but it seems like more people were interested in the 60's, 70's and 80's.
I was hooked on the Jane Robert's "Seth Material" books, but didn't discover them until the early 80's. |
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 03/13/2007 : 06:27:53 [Permalink]
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quote:
You forgot he magic 8 ball.....
My un-educated guess is loss of intrest due to a shift in culture. Athough skepticism will change a few lives, I am skeptical of the power of it to shift a culture.....
Peace
Joe
Magic  doesn't count. It's not from the '70s, but was brought forth in 1946. Besides, it is far more reliable than all other forms of divination, sacred or profane. Let us venerate the wondrous Ball, not bash it....
I think that if this is looked at statistically, beliefs in hoo-hah are probably about the same as they've always been, culture deciding which hoos or hahs are to be believed.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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| Edited by - filthy on 03/13/2007 06:29:19 |
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2007 : 07:25:30 [Permalink]
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| It is decidedly so. |
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2007 : 07:59:00 [Permalink]
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| Kevin Ryerson was the name of Shirley Maclaine's channel friend. |
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter
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cactusmush
New Member
21 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2007 : 09:14:35 [Permalink]
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Ahhh channeling and magic 8-ball. I forgot.
I destinctly remember watching a Tonight Show (w.Johnny Carson) in the 70's where some psychic came on and told the TV audience that if you had one of those glass domed table clocks with the exposed clock-work...that he would make that clock in your home stop right then and now. The tactic being that the 95% of the TV audience which did not have a domed clock and would be unable to verify. The 5% that did have the domed clock - a good % of those clocks would already be out of order or unwound - another small % would be unaccessible in the room of someone who was sleeping - and several other odd conditions - leaving a tiny sample of people to verify his bogus claim.
Guess what? We had a functioning domed clock and all of his other odd conditions were met and the thing kept on ticking away - but we kids were SO disappointed - we stared at the functioning clock for minutes hoping the thing would stop. |
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2007 : 09:30:47 [Permalink]
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| But is it still running? Sounds like Uri Geller. |
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter
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furshur
SFN Regular
USA
1536 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2007 : 10:22:08 [Permalink]
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Kevin Ryerson will do a 90 minute reading over the phone for only $275. According the the site the first half of the phone conversation is with Kevin and the second half is the reading.
So you tell Kevin about yourself for 45 min and then he repeats it back to you for 45 minutes and you give him $275.
Neat!
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If I knew then what I know now then I would know more now than I know. |
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pleco
SFN Addict
USA
2998 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2007 : 10:25:11 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by furshur
Kevin Ryerson will do a 90 minute reading over the phone for only $275. According the the site the first half of the phone conversation is with Kevin and the second half is the reading.
So you tell Kevin about yourself for 45 min and then he repeats it back to you for 45 minutes and you give him $275.
Neat!
What a bargain! |
by Filthy
The neo-con methane machine will soon be running at full fart. |
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2007 : 10:28:49 [Permalink]
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I had forgotten I actually saw Kevin Ryerson a few yaers ago at a Whole Life Expo in Columbus OH. He and some other guy were touting the idea that several U.S. "founding fathers" were reincarnated and something big was going to happen because of it.
http://www.johnadams.net/ |
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter
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Carmichael
New Member
5 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2007 : 12:16:30 [Permalink]
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| For my money, the difference between the exposure in the 1970's (and I unfortunately remember it well) to now is the influx of religion...conservative, fundamentalist religion which has a) no humor and b) no inquisitive mind. |
And if I can make myself strong, then I will be somebody. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2007 : 14:13:52 [Permalink]
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Welcome to SFN, Carmachael!
I agree. I think that's the main difference. The fundies have had all this time to consolidate many of the '70s magical thinkers into their own, more organized brand of bunkum.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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Paranormal in the 70's versus now
