Entertainment and pop culture are at a crossroads. Games like Dustborn and Concord have failed spectacularly due to their adherence to DEI and ESG principles within the framework of “woke” ideology. Now, with movies and games seeming to move back to a more universal and merit-based presentation of fun and interest, there are fears that one authoritarian viewpoint could transition to another. However, worries that the mistakes of the moral conservatives of the past to reemerge in the modern landscape seem difficult to see as a likely upcoming threat.
For those who weren’t around during the conservative censorship surrounding pop culture’s influences in the 80s and 90s, a widespread moral panic swept through the United States and parts of the Western world during those decades. Rooted in fear of dark arts, ritual abuse, and the supposed infiltration of evil influences into mainstream pop culture, this phenomenon reflected the anxieties of a rapidly changing society.
The “Satanic Panic” (as it was later called) began as a confluence of cultural, religious, and media-driven forces. A major catalyst was the publication of Michelle Smith and Lawrence Pazder’s book Michelle Remembers in 1980, which claimed to recount recovered memories of satanic ritual abuse. This book, though later debunked, spurred widespread fear of secret satanic cults. This also tied into an effort to claim that popular board game Dungeons and Dragons was part of this interest in the dark arts of the time. Of course, viewers of Stranger Things today are all too familiar with the fears of the eighties.
#StrangerThings #StrangerThings4 #EDDIEMUNSON Eddie Munson playing Master of Puppets by Metallica in the finale was one of the hottest things ever. Truly will go down as one of the most iconic moments of the whole show CHILLS 🙌🏽🔥👏🏽pic.twitter.com/ITQiNRErpe
— 𝙶𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎 WHAT IF S3 ERA//💥⏳ 💍 (@giselleb1234) July 1, 2022
Coupled with the rise of evangelical Christianity and its focus on spiritual warfare, the panic spread rapidly. High-profile criminal cases, like the McMartin preschool trial, further fueled the hysteria, despite a lack of credible evidence for widespread ritual abuse. Meanwhile, daytime talk shows like Geraldo and Oprah amplified these fears, often featuring sensational claims about satanic cults infiltrating suburban America.
Pop culture became a prime target. Music genres like heavy metal were accused of promoting satanic worship, especially bands like Black Sabbath and Slayer. Role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons were labeled as gateways to occult practices, and even children’s media like He-Man and The Smurfs were scrutinized for alleged satanic imagery.
The “Satanic Panic” was largely driven by moral conservatives who sought to impose stringent controls on media and culture to preserve traditional values. Organizations like the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), led by Tipper Gore, famously advocated for content warnings on music, leading to the “Parental Advisory” label that remains in use today. Censorship efforts extended to book bannings, restrictions on films, and warnings about video games. How funny is it today that Al Gore’s wife was pushing a conservative censorship effort?!
incredible pic of hillary clinton and tipper gore (it’s getty images so it’s not on wikipedia) pic.twitter.com/2bHERJG34f
— depths of wikipedia! (@depthsofwiki) March 22, 2023
However, the backlash to these authoritarian measures led to a gradual evolution in conservative strategy. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, many moral conservatives began to adopt a less authoritarian approach to governance and the marketplace. Instead of direct censorship, they emphasized free-market principles and parental choice. This shift reflected a recognition that top-down control of culture was neither feasible nor desirable in a pluralistic society. Conservative advocacy groups began focusing on creating alternative media rather than attempting to suppress mainstream content, leading to the rise of faith-based films, music, and television programming.
Several factors make a recurrence of the “Satanic Panic” improbable. Firstly, the internet has democratized information, making it much harder for any one narrative to dominate the cultural conversation unchallenged. Skepticism towards media sensationalism has also grown, with fact-checking and investigative journalism playing a more prominent role in public discourse. Moreover, society’s increasing embrace of diverse viewpoints and lifestyles has reduced the likelihood of mass hysteria centered on moral conformity. While cultural battles still rage, they are often fought on more fragmented and less sensationalized grounds.
Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) in Marvel Television’s AGATHA ALL ALONG, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. © 2024 MARVEL.
While the Satanic Panic was emblematic of right-wing authoritarianism in pop culture, many critics argue that left-associated “woke” ideology had taken its place as the dominant force in cultural regulation up until the most recent election. Woke ideology, rooted in social justice and identity politics, often seeks to influence pop culture through calls for representation, inclusivity, and accountability. Those calls are made in words that are presented as positives but often metastasize into dictatorial demands for power.
Unlike the Satanic Panic’s reliance on overt censorship, woke ideology operates through social and economic pressures, such as boycotts, cancel culture, and calls for de-platforming individuals or media deemed offensive. This approach mirrors the moral absolutism of the Satanic Panic but is driven by a different set of values. Moral conservativism, when organized for censorship, is often driven by a fear of immorality and civil decline; woke ideology is instead driven by a need for power and disavows absolute truth and/or objectivity in its striving to obtain power for people groups. Its influence is authoritarian, stifling creative freedom and punishing dissenting voices.
The “Satanic Panic” of the 1980s and 1990s serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of moral authoritarianism and the ease with which fear can distort public perception. While the specific anxieties of that era are unlikely to return, the dynamics of cultural control continue to evolve. Today, the debates over “woke” ideology reveal that the impulse to regulate and shape pop culture remains strong, albeit in new and complex forms. Understanding these shifts helps us navigate the challenges of maintaining both cultural diversity and freedom of expression in a rapidly changing world. But the idea that conservative moral censorship will rise out of the current Trump era is exceedingly unlikely. And perhaps once you realize Hillary Clinton, Tipper Gore and Oprah were part of the “conservative” efforts of the past for censorship, the left of today makes much more sense.
