For anyone who is not familiar with the concept of a "moral panic," here you go: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_panic. A moral panic is an issue that is perceived as threatening to society or culture, and is therefore often over-exaggerated and sensationalized.

IMO, many UM segments contained a subtext of some moral panic, and this is one of my favorite features of the show--especially re-watching it now with a critical eye.

What are some moral panics that play a part in UM episodes?

Here's one of the most common ones to get you started:

-Satanic cults / Satanic ritual abuse / Satan, the devil, ahhhh!: How many times does the prince of darkness come up in some form on UM? There are countless segments of supposed Satanic cult conspiracies/murders, and even exposed examples of people making up Satanic accusations (i.e. Satanic grandma, etc.). It wouldn't be the 1980s/90s without a whole lot of Satanic worries and anxieties--and UM embodies this to a T.

Pretty much asked and answered your own question there, OP.

The entire Satanic BS was the primary moral panic that UM portrayed.IMHO, it was one the major reasons that this program lost its credibility.

There's definitely some others worth noting, though they are not the most politically correct.

Girls gone wild - this rather sexist/ sometimes racist trope seems to crop up a few times, think about segment where young women are living on their own or introduced to exotic cultures/ foreign lands, and UM floats theories that they were overcome with some urge to abandon their lives and loved ones. The Freedon segment, (name escapes me) the 29-year-old femal Fodor's editor who disappears in Jamaica (UM calls the custom of tourists leaving their everyday life to live in Jamaica "Breaking Away")

-The dangers of drugs: the segments that highlight the horrors of drug use (such as the two young teenagers who are described as somehow "OD-ing" on marijuana and passing out on the train tracks)

-out of control hippies: young people committing crimes are part of an underground social revolution: the Brandeis student who robbed the Boston bank (I always think about that 60s montage scene, with the actress repeating "this is revolution, this is revolution" watching the Kent State shootings); also, think of the young woman who was so obsessed with Kerouac's On the Road, and decided to abandon her life.

-white, female slavery: the young girl kidnapped by the Outlaws motorcycle gang and supposedly held in practical slavery by the gang

-xenophobia, particularly fear of Latin American cultures and south Asia: i.e. Spanish lotto scam, all the segments on Mexican faith healers, psychic surgery episodes--even the Amelia Earhart segment had undertones of xenophobia

Sorry, my recollection of exact segment names is very spotty.

the rachel runyun segment. Stories about snuff films are a typical example of moral panic.

Definitely the Missing White Girl Syndrome. I think that is a lot more damaging to UM reputation than the Satanic panic thing.

xenophobia, particularly fear of Latin American cultures and south Asia: i.e. Spanish lotto scam, all the segments on Mexican faith healers, psychic surgery episodes--even the Amelia Earhart segment had undertones of xenophobia


This is the one I was going to bring up. Shafaa Salem I feel is also a good example, as well as the young caucasian woman around whose death existed speculation that there was a connection to her Vietnamese boyfriend's possible contacts in ethnic organized crime.