In the news today: a Japanese woman has just divorced her husband because…he didn’t like the Disney movie "Frozen."
This bizarre snippet of news inspires the question: why has this movie inspired such global acclaim, even bordering on obsession in some? Has Disney imbued it with hidden, subliminal messages?
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A new study helps explain why some ads seem to stick in our minds. It turns out that certain types of commercials trick the hippocampus area of the brain (where long-term memories are stored) believing that the scene we just watched on television actually happened–to us. This is done by evoking nostalgic scenes (such as Christmas) that bring up vivid emotions in most viewers.
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Subliminal messages can be powerful, even though we aren’t consciously aware of them. Research has shown that more men named “Ken” move to Kentucky and more women named “Florence” move to live in Florida than would be likely if these were random choices. Also, more men named “Dennis” become dentists and more women named “Laura” become lawyers. Is there really such a thing as coincidence?
In LiveScience.com, Melinda Wenner writes that scientists who study the brain say that we really don’t know who we are, and most of what drives our thoughts and action is unconscious. Researcher Joseph LeDoux says, “The intuitive everyday idea about the sense of self and its control over behavior is as incorrect as the idea that the earth is flat.”
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Subliminal messages ARE registered by our brains?despite the fact that we don’t consciously see them. Alfred Hitchcock wove frames of the subliminal image of a skull-and-crossbones into his films in order to increase the tension for viewers. These went by too quickly to be consciously noticed by the audience, but were discovered later, upon close examination of the film reel. There is a clear potential here for misuse here?by big business or perhaps for even more subtle purposes.
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