There exist a few theories that try to explain why popular culture is nowadays so full of symbolic content. Some of these theories are focused on symbols as transmitters of metaphysical and religious concepts. Others are centered around psychology, sociology and how unconscious symbolic absorption can accelerate societal changes in one direction or another. 

The same theory may be too far fetched for some persons while making complete sense for others. Our mission here is only to provide some knowledge and discussion, as well as to raise some relevant questions. It will correspond to each individual to discover and solidify their own position on these matters.  

1. “[…] It should be no surprise that Netflix, Microsoft, Comcast, Meta, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Fox, Disney, Lionsgate, Roku, Paramount, AMC Networks, Warner Bros. Discovery, Nexstar and Live Nation all count Vanguard and BlackRock among their 2022 13G filers.”

Who Owns What? Top Investors Shuffle Their Securities Holdings in the Media and Entertainment Sector (08 March 2023). Variety.com

2. “The American audience, having been exposed to a narrowing range of ideas over the decades, often assumes that what they see and hear in the major media is all there is. It is no way to maintain a lively marketplace of ideas, which is to say it is no way to maintain a democracy.”

3. “The safest way to ensure diversity of opinion is diverse ownership.”

― Ben Bagdikian (1987). “The 50, 26, 20 . . . corporations that own our Media.”

The definition of an oligopoly is a situation in which small number of organizations or companies has control over an area of business, so that others have no share. Oligopolistic markets have homogenous products and few market participants, since no new players can enter the scene.

Ben Bagdikian ^{2, 3} published the first edition of his book called The New Media Monopoly in 1983. Back then, he was called an alarmist regarding his warnings about the decreasing number of owners of mass media companies. Forty years have passed, and the book has reached its twentieth edition. Also, the number of corporations controlling most of America’s media (newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations, book publishers, and movie companies) has been reduced from fifty to five, according to the most recent edition of the book.

This may not explain why symbolism is so prevalent in modern media, but it surely is a necessary step for the interest of a few to dominate the cultural landscape in an efficient and homogeneous way.

The previous section can, by itself, explain the homogeneity and regularity found on the symbolic patterns present in popular culture. The following theories, in contrast, try to explain the motives behind this. 

They range from the psychological to the political or even the ritualistic. They have in common that they believe that symbolism is being used to reinforce subtle psychological manipulation techniques in order to steer society and human beliefs in a pre-determined direction. Obviously, without the knowledge or consent of the public being targeted by them. 

Predictive programming can be defined as a psychological conditioning technique in which the notions of already pre-planned societal changes that have yet to pass, most of them drastic, are implanted by the media in the mind of the public. If these are later put through, public resistance may be lessened due to the familiarity of the public with what they are facing. Even if unconsciously, the changes were already implanted in seed form in the mind of the masses as pertaining to the realm of the possible. Common examples are The Simpsons frequently accurate future predictions or a 2016 episode of the Legends of Chamberlain Heights cartoon, where Kobe Bryant´s death in a helicopter crash seems to have been predicted four years prior to it really happening.

Negative priming is a concept that originally comes from the field of psychology. It can be defined as the creation of an implicit memory effect in which prior exposure to a stimulus unfavourably influences the response to the same stimulus afterwards.

It has been proposed that this well known psychological effect could be used to subtly condition unsuspecting spectators in order to generate aversion for specific ideas. It could be done by presenting a truth, but with the intention of leading the viewers to intentionally reject it through the way it is presented to them (e.g., in a terror movie context). Our unconscious association between this truth and a work of fiction could also play a role in udermining the core idea being targeted.

Symbols that represent a certain worldview could be used with this purpose in mind (e.g., a cross, or some other symbol representative of a certain worldview or belief).

The use of subliminal imagery is nothing new. For example, the horror film The Exorcist effectively used subliminal images throughout the film. It depicted a demonic entity named Captain Howdy / Pazuzu, in order to create an automatic and unconscious emotional response, thus increasing the fear caused by the movie.

The idea is that our brain can perceive and process the information presented to it even if it is shown for a period of time so short that our conscious mind cannot.

These unconscious manipulation techniques have also been associated with modern theories of magic (or magick), where the ritualistic implantation of seed ideas in the unconscious mind of the practitioner has a special power to make them become real.

In some of these modern subjectivist worldviews (e.g., Chaos Magic), movies could be used as a forced mass ritual where certain notions would be implanted in the unconscious mind of a large number of unsuspecting viewers, thus bringing closer their manifestation in reality. Symbols could be used as “instruments of power”, due to their special harmony with certain fundamental metaphysical truths.

Two ideas are especially important regarding this modern magical worldview:

1.  For the unconscious mind there are no false notions. If an idea has been implanted there, it is processed as existent and therefore as true, because it has already created a memory.

2. Reality is the manifestation of the consensus beliefs of the minds of the masses. Manipulating this consensus changes reality itself, and it is most effectively done via the unconscious mind.

The Overton window is a political theory. It states that there exists a spectrum of acceptability of governmental policies and that politicians can act only within this acceptable range. However, the shifting of this acceptable range (the Overton window itself) is possible by persuading the public to expand it.

Therefore, some ideas and practices that are viewed as completely unacceptable at a certain point in time can end up, not only being accepted, but actually being enforced and protected by laws and governmental policies. Some people fear worrying trends in mass media may imply that this technique is being slowly but purposefully used to make us tolerant to things now considered unacceptable.

Yuri Bezmenov was a journalist and a former KGB informant. He is famous for having revealed the communist programme to take over a culture via psychological subversion, without the need of waging an actual physical war. This plan included demoralization as one of the key steps needed for cultural take over ⁴.

Some people think that symbolism may be purposefully being used as a form of mocking or taunting. The final aim of this would be the demoralization of society in general and of the most vigilant persons of a given population in particular. This would crush them psychologically before any effective resistance could be formed.

The last, but one of the most interesting of the proposed theories, is that we are being initiated. Or at least, being prepared for a future initiation, while laying the doctrinal building blocks that will be needed.

Mircea Eliade defines initiation as:

4. “ […] Exposure to true information does not matter anymore. A person who is demoralized is unable to assess true information. The facts tell him nothing, even if I shower him with information, with authentic proof, with documents and pictures. …he will refuse to believe it… That’s the tragedy of the situation of demoralization.

― Yuri Bezmenov (1983). Interview, as quoted in 38 years ago, a KGB defector chillingly predicted modern America. Big Think

“[…] a body of rites and oral teachings whose purpose is to produce a decisive alteration in the religious and social status of the person to be initiated. In philosophical terms, initiation is equivalent to a basic change in existential condition; the novice emerges from his ordeal endowed with a totally different being from that which he possessed before his initiation; he has become another”.

Regarding the ultimate purpose of any initiation, he further explains:

“Initiation introduces the candidate into the human community and into the world of spiritual and cultural values. He learns not only the behavior patterns, the techniques, and the institutions of adults but also the sacred myths and traditions of the tribe, the names of the gods and the history of their works; above all, he learns the mystical relations between the tribe and the Supernatural Beings as those relations were established at the beginning of Time. Every primitive society possesses a consistent body of mythical traditions, a “conception of the world”; and it is this conception that is gradually revealed to the novice in the course of his initiation.”

In this view, modern media would be using ancient metaphysical symbols and fictional psychodramas that follow initiatory narrative templates in order to prepare us and to make us acquainted with certain ancient metaphysical concepts. This, in turn, would be the preliminary preparation needed for the future acceptance of a new or revived worldview by a higher percentage of the population.

As we have previously seen, the basic Monomyth template is already widely used in science fiction movies. And as Eliade explains, this is also the basic template that any initiation follows:

“The majority of initiatory ordeals more or less clearly imply a ritual death followed by resurrection or a new birth. The central moment of every initiation is represented by the ceremony symbolizing the death of the novice and his return to the fellowship of the living. But he returns to life a new man, assuming another mode of being. Initiatory death signifies the end at once of childhood, of ignorance, and of the profane condition.”

― Mircea Eliade (1958). Rites and Symbols of Initiation. Introduction. 

4. “ […] Exposure to true information does not matter anymore. A person who is demoralized is unable to assess true information. The facts tell him nothing, even if I shower him with information, with authentic proof, with documents and pictures. …he will refuse to believe it… That’s the tragedy of the situation of demoralization.

― Yuri Bezmenov (1983). Interview, as quoted in 38 years ago, a KGB defector chillingly predicted modern America. Big Think

Whatever our position may be regarding the different possible explanations discussed above regarding the consistent and recurrent use of symbolism in popular culture, the facts remain the same:

1. The symbolism and narrative templates currently employed in movie making and other media are ancient, and they contain metaphysical teachings of how reality ultimately works. These notions and beliefs are compatible with some worldviews, but not with others.

2. Their consistency and frequency implies centralized coordination, which is made possible by media ownership consolidation in a few hands.

Can it be just a fancy fad? A pretentious way of adding a false layer of depth into modern culture? In that case, it would be arguably better to use a more varied range of narratives in order to provide the public with a sense of novelty and variety. Instead, massive blockbusters prefer to face criticism and probably see profit reduced for rehashing already familiar stories. Is this just because the top players in the industry are running short on creativity? It seems doubtful. After all, they have whole mythological pantheons and stories to choose from, as well as highly talented people working for them.

If profit is not the most important consideration in these cases, then delivering a specific message must be. So, what are the most common messages being delivered? What do the symbols tell us? What is the fruit of this informal symbolic teaching, if any, in our life and in our interpretation of reality?