Macbeth, Pop Culture, and Conspiracy Theories

Macbeth, Pop Culture, and Conspiracy Theories

The Netflix TV show House of Cards is supposed to be based on William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and in that show the “Macbeth” character does whatever it takes to stay in power.

The tragedy Macbeth is known for the title character’s ruthless behavior. Macbeth kills his way to the top, and then is forced to kill to stay at the top. However, Macbeth has relevance to more than just TV shows. In Argentina, a prosecutor investigating a twenty year old murder case recently died. It is unclear as to how the investigator Alberto Nisman died, but some suspect the government of foul play.

Alberto Nisman was the chief investigator of the 1994 Jewish Community Center Bombing in Buenos Aires. This terrorist attack killed 85 people, and Nisman suspected that the Argentinian president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner covered up actions made by Iranians. This alleged cover-up preserved Argentinian-Iranian relations, which was crucial for Argentina to trade for Iranian oil. Nisman died on January 18th, 2015 from a gunshot wound. It is unknown whether he committed suicide or was murdered. The Nisman case is not nearly as clear cut as the one presented in Macbeth, but if Nisman was murdered, then there are unmistakable similarities between this case, House of Cards, and Macbeth. In House of Cards, Frank Underwood murdered Zoe Barnes after she started to suspect him of murder. In Macbeth, Macbeth killed Banquo after he realized that Macbeth killed Duncan. Macbeth is at the surface, about the effect that power has on a person, and what a person will do to remain in power. However, perhaps the story is actually meant to be about those who are oppressed by the powerful. In the play, Scotland is taken over by a rebel, and those who try to stop the rebel are put in grave danger. From this perspective, there are “Macbeth’s” all over the world. Millions of people are oppressed and are not able to anything about their predicament.