Into the UpsideDown: Conspiracy Pedagogies, Critique, and the Apocalypse of Exposure

Abstract

In this article, we explore one phenomenon that was ‘exposed’ by the ongoing multiple apocalypticpandemics of COVID-19, Trumpism, racism, science denialism, and misinformation: QAnon.We examine the limits of the concept and practice of ‘exposure’ by exploring how QAnon adherentsshare many processes and practices with critical theory-oriented academics. We employ themetaphor of the “UpsideDown”—taken from the television show Stranger Things—to analyze howQAnon creates inverse, even perverse, versions of the academic discourses and practices of criticalmedia literacy, critical thinking, feminism, and more. We end by asking “what is to be done”,where we argue that we should look for pedagogies that lie outside of the “critical thinking” mantra,specifically those currently being enacted by artists, activists, and journalists.