Coin‐Op conspiracies: Nostalgia and moral panic in the video arcade

Abstract

The Polybius conspiracy theory has been featured in numerous contemporary pop cultural works from The Simpsons to Loki. The conspiracy theory suggests that a government created arcade cabinet was installed in numerous video arcades in the early 1980s as a means of experimenting on unsuspecting children. While the theory itself remains an outlandish and nostalgic remnant of 1980s culture, this paper traces the very real history of suburban border policing, classism, racism, and sensationalism that ultimately gave rise to the enduring myth of Polybius.