Conspiracy theories existed long before the internet, but the web certainly amplifies them. Despite the fact that we have access to more information than at any other time in human history, we have myriad supposed plots and schemes that live and thrive on the internet, impervious to facts. One such conspiracy theory that predated the web and then exploded on it is the theory that legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick helped NASA fake the Moon landing footage the world saw on July 20th, 1969.
In light of almost five decades of evidence to the contrary and NASA’s recent successful mission to put the JUNO spacecraft around Jupiter, Stanley Kubrick’s daughter today took to Twitter to settle the matter once and for all. You can read her statement in full below:
Re: Faked Moon Landings
Many people have asked me about this. And this feels like the right time to respond … pic.twitter.com/UVlNFofFW8— Vivian Kubrick (@ViKu1111) July 5, 2016
Though Ms. Kubrick doesn’t say that all conspiracy theories are bogus, she makes a good point. A monolithic artist like Mr. Kubrick probably wouldn’t have thought it fine to dupe an entire planet. Kubrick, in all of his films and in 2001: A Space Odyssey especially, was dedicated to accuracy and precision. To compromise all of this during the filming of his most iconic film and then not tell a soul for decades defies belief.
Ms. Kubrick’s testimony isn’t the only reason we know people have compacted lunar regolith under the most expensive boots anyone has ever worn of course. The filmmaker was to release 2001 just a year before the moon landing, and so no one really knew how the lunar surface looked in person. That’s why the lunar surface in the film looks different than in NASA footage — he had to guess. Beyond this, nearly every moon landing conspiracy claim has been thoroughly debunked, from “multiple light sources” to “wind” blowing the American flag. Still, Ms. Kubrick’s words are a reminder that her father was a consummate artist, and outright fakery wasn’t his style, literally.
Are you convinced, or do you think the MythBusters missed something? (You know Buzz Aldrin will punch you in the face right?) Let us know in the comments below.
Images: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
