Illuminati in popular culture
Encyclopedia
Illuminati in popular culture covers how the secret society of the Illuminati
founded by Adam Weishaupt
in Bavaria
in 1776 has been manifested in popular culture, in books and comics, television and movies, games, and music.
A number of novelists, playwrights, and composers are alleged to have been Illuminati members and to have reflected this in their work. Also, early conspiracy theories surrounding the Illuminati inspired a number of creative works, and continue to do so.
, 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
. A number of writers have indicated the familiarity of Mary Shelley
with the early anti-Illuminati text Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism
due to Percy Bysshe Shelley
's enthusiasm for it and see its influence in Frankenstein
, Zastrozzi
and The Assassins particularly, reading the Monster itself as an amalgam of Shelley's Illuminati-influenced ideas and of the Illuminati itself, with the monster being created in Ingolstadt
, where the Illuminati had been formed.
The Illuminatus! Trilogy
by Robert Shea
and Robert Anton Wilson
is a three-book science fiction
series published in the 1970s, which is regarded as a cult classic particularly in the hacker community. An incomplete comic book version of the Illuminatus! was produced and published by Eye-n-Apple Productions and Rip Off Press
between 1987 and 1991. Robert Anton Wilson also wrote The Historical Illuminati Chronicles in the early 1980s, and several other books and stories making use of it.
Umberto Eco
's Foucault's Pendulum
is a labyrinthine 1988 novel about all sorts of secret societies, including the Illuminati and the Rosicrucians.
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. This is also the plot of the movie by the same name.
In Michael Romkey's vampire novels, the Illuminati are an order of benevolent vampires, consisting of many famous figures throughout history (Beethoven
, Mozart
, etc.). The main character, David Parker, joins the order, but later leaves.
Author Larry Burkett
wrote a book called The Illuminati, where "The Society" seeks world power.
In Marvel Comics
, the Illumnati is a group of superheroes who joined forces and secretly work behind the scenes in Marvel's main shared
universe
.
are based on the mythos : the card game Illuminati
and its trading card game reincarnation Illuminati: New World Order, and the role-playing game
GURPS
Illuminati. By appearing in video games like Deus Ex
, in which the player is a United Nations
agent pitted against conspirators that include the Illuminati, Illuminati conspiracy theories are kept alive partly by "the fertile imaginations of computer game creators and their players."
In the role-playing game Paranoia
the Illuminati is a secret society so secret that all its members are undercover, pretending to be members of one of the other, less secret, secret societies and presumably attempting to influence their activities for some greater purpose.
The 'Oro' in the Condemned
video game series is highly reminiscent of the Illuminati, as it is a secretive organization consisting of members in lofty political positions (including the President of the United States) seeking to influence society.
On the radio show in Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines, a conspiracy theorist, Gomez, says that the Illuminati is in bed with the United States government to get traffic records. They then use these records to make coffee houses in the most profitable of locations. Also, the Illuminati controls the world's energy, so they know which people are watching TV and which are not, enabling them the know who is receiving their "subliminal messages" of keeping the "sheep" putting money in banks rather than their secret headquarters. Finally, Gomez says that recycling isn't real, existing only to get human DNA. They then use this DNA to create clones to assassination and assume the identity of those who go poking around in Illuminati business.
In the first person shooter series Call of Duty
the Illuminati is mentioned several times in the zombies mode, which is playable in Call of Duty: World at War
and Call of Duty: Black Ops
. One of the four main playable characters, Edward Richtofen, is suspected to be a member of the Illuminati, due to how many times he references to them.
Street Fighter III
, the final boss (Gill) is the leader of Illuminati. Also, in Assassin's Creed
, Assassin's Creed 2 and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
the Illuminati is a theme of the many symbols revealed at the end of the game. And also mentioned couple of times in game as "Masonic secret society".
Illuminati
The Illuminati is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically the name refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on May 1, 1776...
founded by Adam Weishaupt
Adam Weishaupt
Johann Adam Weishaupt was a German philosopher and founder of the Order of Illuminati, a secret society with origins in Bavaria.-Early life:...
in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
in 1776 has been manifested in popular culture, in books and comics, television and movies, games, and music.
A number of novelists, playwrights, and composers are alleged to have been Illuminati members and to have reflected this in their work. Also, early conspiracy theories surrounding the Illuminati inspired a number of 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 wrote that readers had a "scandalous vogue for German tales of the Illuminati." The role of the Illuminati in Horrid MysteriesHorrid Mysteries
The Horrid Mysteries, subtitled "A Story From the German Of The Marquis Of Grosse" is a translation by Peter Will of the German Gothic novel Der Genius by Carl Grosse. It was listed as one of the seven "horrid novels" by Jane Austen in her Northanger Abbey and also mentioned by Thomas Love Peacock...
, as in Montague Summers
Montague Summers
Augustus Montague Summers was an eccentric English author and clergyman. He is known primarily for his scholarly work on the English drama of the 17th century, as well as for his idiosyncratic studies on witches, vampires, and werewolves, in all of which he professed to believe...
' 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
Northanger Abbey
Northanger Abbey was the first of Jane Austen's novels to be completed for publication, though she had previously made a start on Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. According to Cassandra Austen's Memorandum, Susan was written approximately during 1798–99...
by Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
and Nightmare Abbey
Nightmare Abbey
Nightmare Abbey was the third of Thomas Love Peacock's novels to be published. It was written in late March and June 1818, and published in London in November of the same year by T. Hookham Jr of Old Bond Street and Baldwin, Craddock & Joy of Paternoster Row...
by Thomas Love Peacock
Thomas Love Peacock
Thomas Love Peacock was an English satirist and author.Peacock was a close friend of Percy Bysshe Shelley and they influenced each other's work...
. A number of writers have indicated the familiarity of Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus . She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley...
with the early anti-Illuminati text Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism
Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism
Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism is a book by the French Jesuit, the Abbé Augustin Barruel....
due to Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
's enthusiasm for it and see its influence in Frankenstein
Frankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
, Zastrozzi
Zastrozzi
Zastrozzi: A Romance is a Gothic novel by Percy Bysshe Shelley first published in 1810 in London by George Wilkie and John Robinson anonymously, with only the initials of the author's name, as "by P.B.S."...
and The Assassins particularly, reading the Monster itself as an amalgam of Shelley's Illuminati-influenced ideas and of the Illuminati itself, with the monster being created in Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As at 31 March 2011, Ingolstadt had 125.407 residents...
, where the Illuminati had been formed.
The Illuminatus! Trilogy
The Illuminatus! Trilogy
The Illuminatus! Trilogy is a series of three novels written by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson first published in 1975. The trilogy is a satirical, postmodern, science fiction-influenced adventure story; a drug-, sex-, and magick-laden trek through a number of conspiracy theories, both...
by Robert Shea
Robert Shea
Robert Joseph Shea was an American novelist and former journalist best known as co-author with Robert Anton Wilson of the science fantasy trilogy Illuminatus!. It became a cult success and was later turned into a marathon-length stage show put on at the British National Theatre and elsewhere. In...
and Robert Anton Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson , known to friends as "Bob", was an American author and polymath who became at various times a novelist, philosopher, psychologist, essayist, editor, playwright, poet, futurist, civil libertarian and self-described agnostic mystic...
is a three-book science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series published in the 1970s, which is regarded as a cult classic particularly in the hacker community. An incomplete comic book version of the Illuminatus! was produced and published by Eye-n-Apple Productions and Rip Off Press
Rip Off Press
Rip Off Press, Inc. is a seminal publishing company that specializes in adult-themed literature and graphic novels, mostly in a specific comic book format known as underground comix.-Overview:...
between 1987 and 1991. Robert Anton Wilson also wrote The Historical Illuminati Chronicles in the early 1980s, and several other books and stories making use of it.
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...
's Foucault's Pendulum
Foucault's Pendulum
Foucault's Pendulum is a novel by Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco. It was first published in 1988; the translation into English by William Weaver appeared a year later....
is a labyrinthine 1988 novel about all sorts of secret societies, including the Illuminati and the Rosicrucians.
Angels & Demons (German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
title: Illuminati), Dan Brown
Dan Brown
Dan Brown is an American author of thriller fiction, best known for the 2003 bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code. Brown's novels, which are treasure hunts set in a 24-hour time period, feature the recurring themes of cryptography, keys, symbols, codes, and conspiracy theories...
's 2000 precursor to 2003's The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 mystery-detective novel written by Dan Brown. It follows symbologist Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu as they investigate a murder in Paris's Louvre Museum and discover a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus having been married to...
, is about an apparent Illuminati order plot to destroy its enemy the Catholic Church by using antimatter
Antimatter
In particle physics, antimatter is the extension of the concept of the antiparticle to matter, where antimatter is composed of antiparticles in the same way that normal matter is composed of particles...
to blow up the Vatican
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
while Papal elections
Papal conclave
A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, who then becomes the Pope during a period of vacancy in the papal office. The Pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church...
are being held. In this novel the Illuminati movement was founded by Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...
, 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. This is also the plot of the movie by the same name.
In Michael Romkey's vampire novels, the Illuminati are an order of benevolent vampires, consisting of many famous figures throughout history (Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
, Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, etc.). The main character, David Parker, joins the order, but later leaves.
Author Larry Burkett
Larry Burkett
Larry Burkett was an American author and radio personality whose work focused on financial counseling from an evangelical Christian point of view. Burkett was born the fifth of eight children. After completing high school in Winter Garden, Florida, he entered the U.S...
wrote a book called The Illuminati, where "The Society" seeks world power.
In Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, the Illumnati is a group of superheroes who joined forces and secretly work behind the scenes in Marvel's main shared
Shared universe
A shared universe is a fictional universe to which more than one writer contributes. Work set in a shared universe share characters and other elements with varying degrees of consistency. Shared universes are contrasted with collaborative writing, in which multiple authors work on a single story....
universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
.
Television and film
- In Simon WestSimon WestSimon West is an English-born film director. West started as a film editor with the BBC, then directed documentaries and commercials including many for Budweiser...
's 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb RaiderLara Croft: Tomb RaiderLara Croft: Tomb Raider is a 2001 adventure thriller film adapted from the Tomb Raider video game series. Directed by Simon West and starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, it was released in U.S. theaters on June 15, 2001. The film was a commercial success...
, a group of high-society villains call themselves Illuminati, developing a plan to rule the world. They and Lara Croft's father claim that the Illuminati have existed four millennia for this purpose.
- In several episodes of the Walt DisneyThe Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
animated series GargoylesGargoyles (TV series)Gargoyles is an American animated series created by Greg Weisman. It was produced by Greg Weisman and Frank Paur and aired from October 24, 1994 to February 15, 1997. Gargoyles is known for its dark tone, complex story arcs and melodrama...
, one of the major antagonists of the series, David Xanatos, was revealed to be a member of the Illuminati. Other individuals revealed to be Illuminati members in the Gargoyles series were former FBI agent Martin Hacker, NYPD detective Matt Bluestone, and Quarrymen founder John Castaway.
- The History Channel series Decoded featured Illuminati author Mark DiceMark DiceMark Dice is an author, pop culture critic, and political activist based in San Diego, California.Dice and his supporters have been reported to "flood the airwaves of call-in radio and television shows," a practice called phone mobbing, to promote these ideas. His first book, a 450-page manifesto...
, who met with the show's investigators to discuss the IlluminatiIlluminatiThe Illuminati is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically the name refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on May 1, 1776...
and their operations today.
- The protagonist group in the film G-SaviourG-SaviourG-Saviour is an live-action made for television movie set in Gundam metaseries, set in the Universal Century timeline. It also officially marks the last events of the Universal Century.-Production:...
from GundamGundamThe is a metaseries of anime created by Sunrise studios that features giant robots called "Mobile Suits" ; usually the protagonist's MS will carry the name Gundam....
franchise is called "Illuminati", a secret society loosely based on Illuminati.
- In one episode of Justice League UnlimitedJustice League UnlimitedJustice League Unlimited is an American animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the...
, The Question, a conspiracy theorist, exclaims several theories under torture, one of them being that Illuminati mystics forged the Magic BulletSingle bullet theoryThe single bullet theory was introduced by the Warren Commission in its investigation of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to explain what happened to the bullet which struck Kennedy in the back and exited through his throat...
to 'stop us from learning the truth'.
- In several episodes of the modern television show "BonesBones (TV series)Bones is an American crime drama television series that premiered on the Fox Network on September 13, 2005. The show is based on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, with each episode focusing on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent...
", the cannibalistic serial killer referred to as "the Gormogon" is revealed to act and behave under the doctrines of the Illuminati.
- The Illuminati are parodied in an episode of American Dad called Black Mystery Month, the "Illuminuti" is a secret organization revolving the origin of peanut butter.
Games
Several games from Steve Jackson GamesSteve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and the gaming magazine Pyramid.-History:...
are based on the mythos : the card game Illuminati
Illuminati (game)
Illuminati is a standalone card game made by Steve Jackson Games , inspired by The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea. The game has ominous secret societies competing with each other to control the world through sinister means, including legal, illegal, and even mystical...
and its trading card game reincarnation Illuminati: New World Order, and the role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
GURPS
GURPS
The Generic Universal RolePlaying System, or GURPS, is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting...
Illuminati. By appearing in video games like Deus Ex
Deus Ex
Deus Ex is an action role-playing game developed by Ion Storm Inc. and published by Eidos Interactive in 2000, which combines gameplay elements of first-person shooters with those of role-playing video games...
, in which the player is a United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
agent pitted against conspirators that include the Illuminati, Illuminati conspiracy theories are kept alive partly by "the fertile imaginations of computer game creators and their players."
In the role-playing game Paranoia
Paranoia (role-playing game)
Paranoia is a dystopian science-fiction tabletop role-playing game originally designed and written by Greg Costikyan, Dan Gelber, and Eric Goldberg, and first published in 1984 by West End Games. Since 2004 the game has been published under licence by Mongoose Publishing...
the Illuminati is a secret society so secret that all its members are undercover, pretending to be members of one of the other, less secret, secret societies and presumably attempting to influence their activities for some greater purpose.
The 'Oro' in the Condemned
Condemned: Criminal Origins
Condemned: Criminal Origins is a psychological horror first-person shooter video game, developed by Monolith Productions and published by Sega. It was launched worldwide in 2005 on the Xbox 360, with a Microsoft Windows version released later in 2006...
video game series is highly reminiscent of the Illuminati, as it is a secretive organization consisting of members in lofty political positions (including the President of the United States) seeking to influence society.
On the radio show in Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines, a conspiracy theorist, Gomez, says that the Illuminati is in bed with the United States government to get traffic records. They then use these records to make coffee houses in the most profitable of locations. Also, the Illuminati controls the world's energy, so they know which people are watching TV and which are not, enabling them the know who is receiving their "subliminal messages" of keeping the "sheep" putting money in banks rather than their secret headquarters. Finally, Gomez says that recycling isn't real, existing only to get human DNA. They then use this DNA to create clones to assassination and assume the identity of those who go poking around in Illuminati business.
In the first person shooter series Call of Duty
Call of Duty
Call of Duty is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision in 2003. It is the first game in a series with the same name. The game simulates the infantry and combined arms warfare of World War II. The game is based on the Quake III: Team Arena engine...
the Illuminati is mentioned several times in the zombies mode, which is playable in Call of Duty: World at War
Call of Duty: World at War
Call of Duty: World at War is a first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision for PC, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360. It is generally considered to be the fifth mainstream game of the Call of Duty series and returns the setting to World War II. The game was...
and Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Black Ops is a first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch, published by Activision and released worldwide on November 9, for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii consoles, with a separate version for Nintendo DS developed by n-Space. Announced on April 30, 2010,...
. One of the four main playable characters, Edward Richtofen, is suspected to be a member of the Illuminati, due to how many times he references to them.
Street Fighter III
Street Fighter III
is a fighting game in Capcom's Street Fighter series, originally released as coin-operated arcade game in . Street Fighter III was produced for the CD-ROM-based CP System III hardware, which allowed for more elaborate 2D graphics than the CPS II-based Street Fighter Alpha games , while revamping...
, the final boss (Gill) is the leader of Illuminati. Also, in Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed is an award-winning historical third person, stealth action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The bulk of the game takes place during the Third Crusade, with the plot revolving around a sect known as the Secret Order of...
, Assassin's Creed 2 and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is a historical third person, stealth action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2010, Microsoft Windows in March 2011 and Mac OS X in May 2011...
the Illuminati is a theme of the many symbols revealed at the end of the game. And also mentioned couple of times in game as "Masonic secret society".