Research Paper On Balloon Boy Hoax
What is a hoax? A hoax is a humorous or malicious deception. In simpler terms, a hoax is basically a large prank that affects and tricks many people. Some of the most famous hoaxes of all time are Loch Ness Monster photo, Piltdown Man, “The Beatles” Paul McCartney died and was replaced by a look-alike, Orson Wells’ The War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast, Hitler’s Diary, and the Balloon Boy. A theory that caused the Balloon Boy Hoax, which I believe to be true, is that a couple were greedy for fame. But why did they pull off such a hoax? Was the aspect of fame really worth such a serious prank? On October 15, 2009, in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States, parents Richard and Mayurni Heene set float to a large homemade gas balloon. What made this story so scary, was that they claimed their six year old son, Falcon, was inside the balloon when it was released and without their acknowledge. Many media sites now started reporting that “Balloon Boy”, Falcon’s new nickname from
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the world, was traveling up to altitudes of 7,000 feet. After Balloon Boy’s hour long flight that traveled over 50 miles and over three counties, he landed 12 miles outside of Denver International Airport. Authorities closed temporarily shut down the airport and sent the National Guard and local police to help rescue the boy. However, the boy was nowhere to be found, causing media panic. They thought he must have fell out of the balloon! Later in the day, it was discovered that Falcon had been in his home’s attic the entire time he was believed to be in the balloon. Almost immediately, suspicions of this being a hoax played by Richard and Mayurni. These suspicions and theories were much more one sided when the family had an interview with Wolf Blitzer on Larry King Live. When Falcon was asked why he didn’t come out when he heard his family calling for him. Falcon’s response shocked everyone. He looked confused and addressed his parents with “You guys said that, um, we did this for the show.” Three days later Larimer County sheriff announced that after investigation, the incident was indeed a hoax and the parents received some felony charges. Richard Heene spent 90 days in jail, Mayumi Heene got 20 days of weekend jail, and they were also ordered to pay $36,000 in restitution. The public watched their TV’s for hours waiting to know what will become of the balloon boy. When it was discovered that he was nowhere to be found when the balloon landed, some audience members went berserk and panicked. It was soon found out that it was a hoax carried out by the parents of the family because they hoped to make “better marketing (of) themselves for a reality television show some time in the future. After the public received this news, many called the authorities to have the parents charged and to get Child Protective Services to investigate if the environment the Heene parents put their kids in were safe. Turns out the father is a failed actor, amateur scientist, and a storm chaser. He constantly brought his family with him to chase storms and go for UFO-hunting expeditions, putting all three of their kids, Falcon, Bradford, and Ryo, in constant danger. Even with their punishments and all the evidence against them, the Heene parents continually deny that it was a hoax. After 5 years, the parents try to prove innocence while the boys have moved on and formed a band. Meanwhile, outside of the Heene family, most of the viewers of this hoax have made sure not to believe everything because they know that some people want to be famous so bad, they would put their own family in danger and lie to the world. Personally, I believe this was a hoax because after watching their interviews on YouTube, it was obvious that something was going on. For example in the video, “Balloon Boy’s Father to CNN: “I’m Appalled at You!” Richard Heene denies his son to answer the question on why he said “You guys said that, um, we did this for the show.” He instead stalls, changes topics, and tells CNN that he is appalled they “made” them do the interview. He still leaves the question unanswered by the kid and says that Falcon probably meant the show was a reference to when they were on a TV show Wife Swap. In most of the other videos on YouTube, the father answers all the questions and the kids tend to say very little, not answering the question, and everything seems rehearsed. In one video named “Proof Balloon Boy was a staged Publicity Stunt - richard heene” shows parts of the video clips and questions some of the things they did and said. For example, one of the sons, Bradford, said at one time, “Don’t say anything.” to his brother who was about to answer a question. The maker of the video also points out the parents lacking acting ability. I also noticed when watching the interviews that Falcon, a.k.a. Balloon Boy, was very uncomfortable every time his dad hugged him. The mom was also introduced in the picture later when revealed court papers showed “…that she and RICHARD HEENE had lied to authorities on October 15, 2009. That the release of the flying saucer was intentional as a hoax, that she and RICHARD HEEENE knew all along that FALCON was hiding in the residence…The motive for the fabricated story was to make the HEENE family more marketable for future media interest.” Why do all this for fame? According to a very persuasive Yahoo answer, people want to be famous because they want to feel their lives matter, that they are loved and values, and to be seen as heroes. If you look at fame seeking this way, it is easy to understand that this family conjured up this hoax to get the attention they feel they needed and deserved. While researching the Balloon Boy Hoax, I found that there are many dangers in this situation.
Because the family angered a whole nation in hopes to be famous and have their own reality TV show, they put themselves in danger from suspicions, interviews, and felony charges. Knowing that the whole prank was the parent’s idea, I find it a good thing that five years later, in 2014, they are the ones suffering from being called the worst parents, biggest liars and even had to ridicule over the internet before giving up on trying to claim innocence. This elaborate hoax raised so many questions everywhere, that people, are thankfully more aware of great pranks and the dangers of wanting to be famous. I personally believe that the Heene family is famous, just not in the way they want to be. They are constantly made fun of and have lost respect. Therefore, I believe the moral to be learned from this hoax is be aware, don’t lie, and don’t be willing to put your family in danger just to have a TV
show.
the world, was traveling up to altitudes of 7,000 feet. After Balloon Boy’s hour long flight that traveled over 50 miles and over three counties, he landed 12 miles outside of Denver International Airport. Authorities closed temporarily shut down the airport and sent the National Guard and local police to help rescue the boy. However, the boy was nowhere to be found, causing media panic. They thought he must have fell out of the balloon! Later in the day, it was discovered that Falcon had been in his home’s attic the entire time he was believed to be in the balloon. Almost immediately, suspicions of this being a hoax played by Richard and Mayurni. These suspicions and theories were much more one sided when the family had an interview with Wolf Blitzer on Larry King Live. When Falcon was asked why he didn’t come out when he heard his family calling for him. Falcon’s response shocked everyone. He looked confused and addressed his parents with “You guys said that, um, we did this for the show.” Three days later Larimer County sheriff announced that after investigation, the incident was indeed a hoax and the parents received some felony charges. Richard Heene spent 90 days in jail, Mayumi Heene got 20 days of weekend jail, and they were also ordered to pay $36,000 in restitution. The public watched their TV’s for hours waiting to know what will become of the balloon boy. When it was discovered that he was nowhere to be found when the balloon landed, some audience members went berserk and panicked. It was soon found out that it was a hoax carried out by the parents of the family because they hoped to make “better marketing (of) themselves for a reality television show some time in the future. After the public received this news, many called the authorities to have the parents charged and to get Child Protective Services to investigate if the environment the Heene parents put their kids in were safe. Turns out the father is a failed actor, amateur scientist, and a storm chaser. He constantly brought his family with him to chase storms and go for UFO-hunting expeditions, putting all three of their kids, Falcon, Bradford, and Ryo, in constant danger. Even with their punishments and all the evidence against them, the Heene parents continually deny that it was a hoax. After 5 years, the parents try to prove innocence while the boys have moved on and formed a band. Meanwhile, outside of the Heene family, most of the viewers of this hoax have made sure not to believe everything because they know that some people want to be famous so bad, they would put their own family in danger and lie to the world. Personally, I believe this was a hoax because after watching their interviews on YouTube, it was obvious that something was going on. For example in the video, “Balloon Boy’s Father to CNN: “I’m Appalled at You!” Richard Heene denies his son to answer the question on why he said “You guys said that, um, we did this for the show.” He instead stalls, changes topics, and tells CNN that he is appalled they “made” them do the interview. He still leaves the question unanswered by the kid and says that Falcon probably meant the show was a reference to when they were on a TV show Wife Swap. In most of the other videos on YouTube, the father answers all the questions and the kids tend to say very little, not answering the question, and everything seems rehearsed. In one video named “Proof Balloon Boy was a staged Publicity Stunt - richard heene” shows parts of the video clips and questions some of the things they did and said. For example, one of the sons, Bradford, said at one time, “Don’t say anything.” to his brother who was about to answer a question. The maker of the video also points out the parents lacking acting ability. I also noticed when watching the interviews that Falcon, a.k.a. Balloon Boy, was very uncomfortable every time his dad hugged him. The mom was also introduced in the picture later when revealed court papers showed “…that she and RICHARD HEENE had lied to authorities on October 15, 2009. That the release of the flying saucer was intentional as a hoax, that she and RICHARD HEEENE knew all along that FALCON was hiding in the residence…The motive for the fabricated story was to make the HEENE family more marketable for future media interest.” Why do all this for fame? According to a very persuasive Yahoo answer, people want to be famous because they want to feel their lives matter, that they are loved and values, and to be seen as heroes. If you look at fame seeking this way, it is easy to understand that this family conjured up this hoax to get the attention they feel they needed and deserved. While researching the Balloon Boy Hoax, I found that there are many dangers in this situation.
Because the family angered a whole nation in hopes to be famous and have their own reality TV show, they put themselves in danger from suspicions, interviews, and felony charges. Knowing that the whole prank was the parent’s idea, I find it a good thing that five years later, in 2014, they are the ones suffering from being called the worst parents, biggest liars and even had to ridicule over the internet before giving up on trying to claim innocence. This elaborate hoax raised so many questions everywhere, that people, are thankfully more aware of great pranks and the dangers of wanting to be famous. I personally believe that the Heene family is famous, just not in the way they want to be. They are constantly made fun of and have lost respect. Therefore, I believe the moral to be learned from this hoax is be aware, don’t lie, and don’t be willing to put your family in danger just to have a TV
show.