Project MK Ultra
“Knowledge is power”, but a man without knowledge is simply a man (Bacon). Project MK Ultra was a government-controlled research idea that brainwashed victims with the use of drugs and LSDs in order to study how the human brain. It collected victims who could not resist, and despite being illegal with many violations within the project, it was kept secret. With little information as to what the exact goal was, some conspiracies have risen; the project wanted to use drugs and LSDs for efficient interrogation, to simply study the mind and manipulate it, or to create humans who can be easily controlled without hesitation. Allow us to examine the purpose of the infamous project, and possibility of controlling people, with none other than celebrities like Beyonce.
Beyonce
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles, more commonly known as Beyoncé, is a bold and strong individual in the celebrity society. Before the spark of the Black Lives Matter movement in March of 2020, she was a part of the movement before the events and has always spoken about the subject before March of 2020. She had stated on her website back in 2016 that she was “sick and tired of the killings of young men and women” in the black community (Beyoncé). Beyoncé is a celebrity who is not afraid to use the gift of having a voice that can be heard by millions of people throughout the world, making her one of the boldest celebrities.
Beyoncé is also known to be an adventurous soul throughout her life. Being a star at these current times can be rough for some celebrities, but Beyoncé treats her life as it was normal and continues to try new things such as big projects and new directions she is interested in (Gray). During an interview with Elle, Beyoncé has spoken out about it and believes “creativity starts with a leap of faith” (Beyoncé). In a graduation address, she has also spoken out and gave the advice that “stepping out is the best thing you can do for self-discovery” (Beyoncé). With what Beyoncé has spoken out with, she is clearly an individual willing to take steps and to have a mindset of going through life with experience.
Beyoncé is known to be an empathic person among her fans and other citizens that face struggles. Most stars use their fame as a way of showing their title or gaining power among fans, but Beyoncé uses that fame for fortune throughout the people in the world. Back in 2005, she released “Stand Up For Love” for World’s Children's Day, for which she was an ambassador for (Bamford). Beyoncé has also said publicly said during the tragic Hurricane Ike that hit the Houston area in 2008, “just when you think it couldn’t possibly get worse, natural disasters take precious life, do massive damage, and forever change lives” (Bamford). She tends to use her platform for the sake of showing everyone peace and empathy towards others while encouraging those to help people in need.
While not just being empathic towards society, Beyoncé is also a generous and thoughtful being. Along with the critical damage, Hurricane Ike had left in the Houston area in 2008, Beyoncé volunteered to donate $100,000 to the Gulf Coast Ike Relief Fund (Vena). She had also founded the organization Survivor Foundation alongside Kelly Rowland to help those who had been affected by Hurricane Katrina as well (“Beyoncé: Charity Work & Causes). Beyonce is a human who enjoys giving to those who need it and will take the step to do so.
Despite all these good and thoughtful characteristics Beyoncé may have, she is also a mysterious person in her own life. Though it makes sense that most celebrities chose to have their own personal life for themselves and not told to their fans, Beyoncé is said to keep it to herself and let it remain a mystery on what goes on with her (Sabat). She has also said that even if she wants to keep her personal life private, she shares her experiences through her music, making it unclear whether she wants to keep her life exactly private (Sabat). While Beyoncé is a notable celebrity that is well-known for her generosity, she is also human, leaving many mysteries hidden from the public.
Conspiracies
There are three main conspiracies about the unsolved and mysterious case of Project MK Ultra. Was it made to create efficient ways to interrogate? Create humans that listened to order without hesitation? Or was it simply a project to explore the ways to manipulate the mind? Lastly, where do celebrities like Beyonce fit in into all of this?
One of the conspiracies made to figure out the purpose behind Project MK Ultra was to find ways to interrogate people with the usage of LSD’s and other kinds of drugs. The government believed there could be a way to discover new ways to interrogate foreign spies, traitors to the nation, and such to decrease the difficulty of even simply interrogating someone who wouldn’t budge (Joint Hearing 30). This shows that the people involved in the Project at the Joint Hearing in 1977 admitted to wanting to find a way to create an efficient process of obtaining information from someone they needed that information from.
Despite this conspiracy having rarely any ties with Beyonce or any other celebrity, the government themselves have given the reason behind the project. The government states that it had 30 universities involved, along with the process and experiments of hypnosis and interrogation with the usage of all kinds of drugs (Joint Hearing 6, 10). Even if it turns out to be true conspiracy, would higher power, especially the government, keep certain things easily noticeable? Is there more behind it all that isn’t just what they spoke, and with that, comes the reason why most celebrities are victims of the project.
Another conspiracy was the belief that Project Mk Ultra was made to create humans who could be controlled without hesitation. A clear example of this is simply within the beginning and end of the project. Project Mk Ultra began in 1953 to 1964, and it happens to be that the Cold War, beginning from 1947 to 1981, starts near the project’s lifetime (Join Hearing 12). Despite being 6 years apart, it makes sense for Project Mk Ultra to have risen up during the Cold War, as the Cold War was more of a race of advances between Russia and America, with America trying to unlock something before the Russians can.
But how would Beyonce and other celebrities be involved in this? On the social media platform known as Twitter, a Congressional candidate KW Miller has spoken out and said Beyonce is not black; in fact, she is Italian, and her original name is Ann Marie Lastrassi (Maar). While many people found it crazy for it to be true, Beyonce did not respond whatsoever to the tweet when she is in fact a person willing to defend herself when backed up into a position like this. With this, it proves that Project Mk Ultra is trying to create humans that obey, thus making celebrities like Beyonce refuse to answer sensitive questions about certain things like the project.
Another conspiracy Project Mk Ultra could have been up to be the process of simply manipulating the mind and experimenting on it. The brain is still one of the most mysterious and most researched part of the human, with cases such as Phineas Gage, a man who had gotten stabbed right through his skull but only damaging his frontal lobe, leaving him completely normal (Twomey). While this event was 100 years before the project, it still shows that scientists are still trying to discover the secrets of the mind, and with the project they were able to test it freely.
While this has similar correlations to the previous conspiracy, it could be true that they may have figured out the ways to manipulate someone into thinking they’re someone else. As KW Miller had spoken out on how Project Mk Ultra changed who Beyonce was before, it could be true that they grabbed victims who could not resist or fight back and experimented on them (Maar). Other celebrities, like Kanye, have had similar accusations with how he acts towards other people, and many declare it to be a neurological problem. Beyonce could have been a successful trial, while Kanye failed to succeed and ended up having neurological issues.
Ironic that while we mess with the mind, our own mind is growing from it. The infamous Project Mk Ultra was cancelled around the year 1964 by the government, and had left 3 different conspiracies:
1. A project made to use drugs ad LSDs for easier interrogation.
2. Study the mind and manipulate it.
3. Control other human beings who do not resist or hesitate order.
With some suspected victims being the celebrities like Beyonce now, who have shown to be strangely accused and or acted abnormal in public, could be victims or successful projects of Project Mk Ultra. Even if the government showing they had confessed about the project, it is shown to be true that they are continuing the project with the usage of celebrities.
Works Cited
Bamford, Sarah. “Beyonce.” The MY HERO Project, http://myhero.com/beyonce. Accessed 17 Oct.2021.“Beyonce | Biography, Songs, Movies, & Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica,https://www.britannica.com/biography/Beyonce. Accessed 15 Oct. 2021.“Beyoncé: Charity Work & Causes.” Look to the Stars,https://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/beyonce. Accessed 17 Oct. 2021.Beyoncé Commencement Speech | Dear Class Of 2020. www.youtube.com,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGtJE58bli0. Accessed 16 Oct. 2021.“Beyoncé Is a Powerful Voice for Black Lives Matter. Some People Hate Her for It.” Washington Post.www.washingtonpost.com,https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/07/10/beyonce-is-a-powerful-voice-for-black-lives-matter-some-people-hate-her-for-it/. Accessed 15 Oct. 2021.November 1, Lauren Gray and 2020. “The One Thing Beyoncé Says She Tries to Do for 5 MinutesEvery Day.” Best Life, 1 Nov. 2020, https://bestlifeonline.com/beyonce-tips/.World, Republic. “Beyonce Shares How She Manages Balance between Public and Personal Life.”Republic World, https://www.republicworld.com/entertainment-news/hollywood-news/how-does-beyonce-find-balance-in-her-public-and-personal-life.html. Accessed 17 Oct. 2021.
Joint Hearing. Select Committee on Intelligence and Committee on Human Resources, 3 Aug. 1977,https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/hearings/95mkultra.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiF5snspqL0AhWlmXIEHSkMBh4QFnoECBEQAQ&usg=AOvVaw04lYncMze5pM1E6oRde5Wf.Maar, Madeline. Florida Man Calls out Super Star. 2 July 2020,https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.miamiherald.com/entertainment/celebrities/article244021727.html.Twomey, Steve. “Phineas Gage: Neuroscience’s Most Famous Patient.” Smithsonian Magazine,https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/phineas-gage-neurosciences-most-famous-patient-11390067/. Accessed 18 Nov. 2021.