The Babe of The Sky

This conspiracy theory is about Amelia Earhart. Jamiles Lartey, an investigator journalist tells the conspiracy from the History channel's story that came from many credible sources. Many people know that Amelia Earhart disappeared while on her mission to be the first woman to fly around the world. Earhart, her navigator Fred Noonan, and her twin-engine Lockheed Electra Airplane went missing on June 2, 1937 and were never found. The identity of Amelia Earhart was very important because she was known as “The Babe of The Sky.” She was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean and the first of many other things. The intended audience was the people of the world, but mainly Amelia Earhart fans that long to know the truth of what happened to this amazing woman. Conspiracy theorists usually want to convince the people of things that do not add up. The main conspiracy theory from the History channel is that “Earhart might not have crashed into the Pacific at all, but crash-landed in the Marshall Islands, was captured by the Japanese military and died while being held prisoner on the island of Saipan”. This is not the only conspiracy theory, but many people believe this one because of the new evidence that was recently found.

This theory surfaced sometime in the 1960’s and was deemed as a bigger conspiracy last year when a photo from the U.S National archives was found. I think this conspiracy theory is very believable because if the plane crashed into the ocean, the remains of the bodies and the plane should have been found. In the picture that was found, it does indeed look like Amelia Earhart sitting, Shawn Noonan standing, and the plane in the back. I believe this theory has a lot of credibility because many experts have studied the photo and many professionals have searched the ocean. There was also a document from the Office of Naval Intelligence referencing Amelia Earhart possibly being a prisoner on the Marshall Island. Marshall Islanders also supposedly saw Earhart’s plane land and witnesses Earhart and Noonan in Japanese custody. Pathos is used to present the conspiracy when the theorists bring governance into play, even if it was just the Japanese government. Whenever people hear that tragic events have something to do with the government, they get more interested.

The intended audience perceives this as logos because they know the government has hid things from the people in the past, and they wouldn’t doubt it if everything was blamed on them. The theory has a lot of ethos because there is a lot of credible sources that help the theorist, which persuades the audience to believing. The language used to describe the conspiracy theory, is language that experts on the subject would use. This language is important because it shows that they knew dates, the type of plane Earhart was flying, the type of Japanese military boats, and other useful things that show knowledge on the topic. The tone and register that was used is assertive. You can tell they were trying to prove the evidence and point of views to convince the audience. It is very difficult to decide what could be true because it seems as if it all could be true. It is hard to believe something you didn’t experience yourself.

Another crazy but possibly true theory from the Buzzfeed unsolved video, “The Odd Vanishing of Amelia Earhart”, is that Amelia Earhart crash landed in the ocean and then floated to safety on Nikumaroro Island. On shore, it was said that Amelia and Fred got eaten by giant coconut crabs that live there because all that was found was partial bones on the island.  A director named Ric Gillespie stated that the coconut crabs carried the bones off into burrows. They are said “to grow up to three feet long, can break open coconuts with their pinchers, and are the largest anthropods living on land.” This concludes that the coconut crabs would have been big enough to kill, eat, and carry parts of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan’s bones away. The Journal of Archaeological Science reports stated that the bones found were a middle aged man and not Amelia Earhart, but the bones were thrown away, so there isn't evidence anymore. This theory doesn't have pathos or ethos, which makes it hard for the audience to believe or be persuaded. Some people may believe this theory just because of its logos. It is very logical that the crabs could have done what was believed to have happened.

Overall, I believe the first Conspiracy Theory the most because it is the only theory with the most believable evidence. Investigator journalist, Jamiles Lartey provided great evidence and examples on the side of the conspiracy theory. Even though some experts remain unconvinced of the photograph, I do think there is a huge possibility that the people in the photo are Amelia and Fred. Every person has there own opinions and beliefs on these conspiracy theories, but as for everything that has been talked about in the past and the present, most people also side with the conspiracy of Earhart being held prisoner. Supporting a conspiracy theory is difficult, but I think once the audience believes at least a little, it is easy to keep them convinced!

References

Cross, Pamela J., and Richard Wright. “The Nikumaroro Bones Identification Controversy: First-Hand Examination versus Evaluation by Proxy — Amelia Earhart Found or Still Missing?” Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, vol. 3, 2015, pp. 52–59., doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2015.05.015.

Lartey, Jamiles. “Newly Discovered Photo Reignites Amelia Earhart Conspiracy Theory.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 5 July 2017, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/05/amelia-earhart-disappearance-photo-marshall-islands-japan.

Wamsley, Laurel. “Does A Newly Discovered Photo Show Amelia Earhart Survived A Crash Landing?” NPR, NPR, 6 July 2017, www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/07/06/535861448/does-a-newly-discovered-photo-show-amelia-earhart-survived-a-crash-landing.

buzzfeedblue. “The Odd Vanishing of Amelia Earhart.” YouTube, YouTube, 25 Aug. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=y__v0aEgzO0.