Editing Paul is dead (section)

==Analysis and legacy==
Author [[Peter Doggett]] writes that, while he thinks the theory behind "Paul is dead" defied logic, its popularity was understandable in a climate where citizens were faced with conspiracy theories insisting that the [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassination of President John F. Kennedy]] in 1963 was in fact a [[coup d'état]].{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=107}} Schaffner said that, given its origins as an item of gossip and intrigue generated by a select group in the "Beatles cult", "Paul is dead" serves as "a genuine folk tale of the [[mass communication]]s era".{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=128}} He also described it as "the most monumental hoax since [[Orson Welles]]' [[The War of the Worlds (1938 radio drama)|''War of the Worlds'' broadcast]] persuaded thousands of panicky New Jerseyites that Martian invaders were in the vicinity".{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=128}} 

In his book ''[[Revolution in the Head]]'', [[Ian MacDonald]] says that the Beatles were partly responsible for the phenomenon due to their incorporation of "random lyrics and effects", particularly in the White Album track "Glass Onion" in which Lennon invited clue-hunting by including references to other Beatles songs.{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|pp=16, 273–75}} MacDonald groups it with the "psychic epidemics" that were encouraged by the rock audience's use of hallucinogenic drugs and which escalated with [[Charles Manson]]'s homicidal interpretation of the White Album and [[Mark David Chapman]]'s [[Murder of John Lennon|murder of Lennon in 1980]].{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|pp=273–75}}

During the 1970s, the phenomenon became a subject of academic study in America in the fields of [[sociology]], [[psychology]] and [[Communication studies|communications]].{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|pp=128–29}} Among sociological studies, Barbara Suczek recognised it as, in Schaffner's description, a contemporary reading of the "archetypal myth wherein the beautiful youth dies and is resurrected as a god".{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=128}} Psychologists Ralph Rosnow and [[Gary Fine]] attributed its popularity partly to the shared, vicarious experience of searching for clues without consequence for the participants. They also said that for a generation distrustful of the media following the [[Warren Commission]]'s report, it was able to thrive amid a climate informed by "The credibility gap of [[Lyndon Johnson]]'s presidency, the widely circulated rumors after the [[Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.|Martin Luther King Jr.]] and [[Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy|Robert F. Kennedy assassinations]], as well as attacks on the leading media sources by the [[yippies]] and [[Spiro Agnew]]".{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=128}} 

American social critic [[Camille Paglia]] locates the "Paul is dead" phenomenon to the [[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greek]] tradition symbolised by [[Adonis]] and [[Antinous]], as represented in the cult of rock music's "pretty, long-haired boys who mesmerize both sexes", and she adds: "It's no coincidence that it was Paul McCartney, the 'cutest' and most girlish of the Beatles, who inspired a false rumor that swept the world in 1969 that he was dead."<ref>{{cite journal|first=Camille|last=Paglia|title=Cults and Cosmic Consciousness: Religious Vision in the American 1960s|journal=[[Arion (journal)|Arion: A Journal of Humanities and the Classics]]|date=Winter 2003|series=3rd|volume=10|number=3|pages=61–62}}</ref>

"Paul is dead" has continued to inspire analysis into the 21st century, with published studies by Andru J. Reeve, [[Nick Kollerstrom]] and Brian Moriarty, among others, and exploitative works in the mediums of [[mockumentary]] and documentary film.<ref name="Shivani/Dawn" /> Writing in 2016, Beatles biographer [[Steve Turner (writer)|Steve Turner]] said, "the theory still has the power to flare back into life."{{sfn|Turner|2016|p=368}} He cited a 2009 ''[[Wired Italia]]'' magazine article that featured an analysis by two forensic research consultants who compared selected photographs of McCartney taken before and after his alleged death by measuring features of the skull.{{sfn|Turner|2016|p=368}} According to the scientists' findings, the man shown in the post-November 1966 images was not the same.{{sfn|Turner|2016|p=368}}<ref>Carlesi, Gabriella ''et al.'' (2009) [http://mag.wired.it/rivista/storie/chiedi-chi-era-quel-beatle.html "Chiedi chi era quel «Beatle»"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007174054/https://mag.wired.it/rivista/storie/chiedi-chi-era-quel-beatle.html |date=7 October 2022 }}, ''Wired Italia''</ref>{{refn|group=nb|In his article on the legacy of "Paul is dead", for ''[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]'' in January 2017, Anis Shivani wrote that the narrative has grown, in the manner of JFK's assassination, to incorporate related conspiracy theories. In this expanded narrative, Lennon's murder in 1980, Harrison's near-fatal stabbing in 1999, and the death of Beatles associate [[Mal Evans]] in 1976 are all credited to forces protecting the "truth" behind "Paul is dead".<ref name="Shivani/Dawn" />}}

Similar rumours concerning other celebrities have been circulated, including the unsubstantiated allegation that Canadian singer [[Avril Lavigne]] died in 2003 and [[Avril Lavigne replacement conspiracy theory|was replaced by a person named Melissa Vandella]].<ref name="Cresci/Guardian">{{cite news|first=Elena|last=Cresci|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2017/may/15/avril-lavigne-melissa-cloning-conspiracy-theories|title=Why fans think Avril Lavigne died and was replaced by a clone named Melissa|date=16 May 2017|newspaper=[[The Guardian|guardian.co.uk]]|access-date=1 October 2018|archive-date=15 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220715020329/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2017/may/15/avril-lavigne-melissa-cloning-conspiracy-theories|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Lamia|last=Estatie|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-39921209|title=The Avril Lavigne conspiracy theory returns|date=15 May 2017|publisher=[[BBC|bbc.co.uk]]|access-date=1 October 2018|archive-date=25 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825092224/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-39921209|url-status=live}}</ref> In an article on the latter phenomenon, ''[[The Guardian]]'' described the 1969 McCartney hoax as "Possibly the best known example" of a celebrity being the focus of "a (completely unverified) cloning conspiracy theory".<ref name="Cresci/Guardian" /> In 2009, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine included "Paul is dead" in its feature on ten of "the world's most enduring conspiracy theories".<ref name="Time" />