Hypnosis

Hypnosis is a psychological state whose existence and effects are strongly debated. Some believe that it is a state under which the subject's mind becomes so suggestible that the hypnotist, the one who induces the state, can establish communication with the subconscious mind of the subject and command behavior that the subject would not choose to perform in a conscious state (even behavior to be performed after the subject has left the hypnotic state, through post-hypnotic suggestion,) or even behavior the subject would be incapable of in a conscious state, such as not feeling pain, manifesting skin blisters as if the subject had been burned, or recalling things the subject's conscious memory does not retain. However, there is strong dispute and skepticism about what behavior and effects hypnosis can induce; some believe that the state does not actually exist, and that all effects of 'hypnotism' that have been observed are in actuality a combination of subjects' expectations (based on their beliefs of hypnotism's effects) and their desire to please the hypnotist (see Hawthorne Effect).

Popular culture

The notion of hypnotism has elicited many presentations in popular culture. Intrinsically, the notion that people are succeptible to commands outside their conscious control can be an effective way of representing the notion of the fallible narrator.

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Fictional treatments

The typical uses of hypnotism in fiction concentrate on one of the major abilities of hypnotism. As mentioned in the introduction, hypnotism can be used to:

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• Recollect knowledge
• Take command of a subject
• Implant suggestions that the subject will obey while free of the hypnotic trance.

The recollection of knowledge has inspired use in detective fiction, as a tool for witnesses to examine details (such as license plate numbers) that could not be recalled while fully conscious. This appears in many television series, such as Law & Order or . In addition, it has been expanded to the notion of remembering "past lives", that is, previous reincarnations of the subject, in such movies as Dead Again.

Related Topics:
Law & Order - Reincarnations - Dead Again

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In real life cases, recollection of knowledge via hypnosis has been used in many cases, but its effectiveness is disputed. Proponents claim that recovered memories have aided in the solving of many crimes, often corroborating with physical evidence which would have been impossible to obtain otherwise. Skeptics suggests that such success are a function of simple chance, pointing to cases where its use on victims of rape or attempted murder to help them jog their memory in identifying an accused has caused sentences to be doled out to the wrong person. This is because the hypnotist might make suggestions that are more likely to be remembered as "truth". Most experts recommend that the practice be used at most like a lie detector, to glean more information, and never as the smoking gun.

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The notion of implanting suggestions is probably the most thoroughly explored; ranging from comedies such as The Naked Gun trilogy to dramas such as The Manchurian Candidate. These films usually center around the concept of brainwashing or mind control. Several cases have been recorded where the defense arguing the accused had committed the murder under hypnosis, though there is little real evidence that such control is possible.

Related Topics:
The Naked Gun - The Manchurian Candidate - Brainwashing - Mind control

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Stage hypnotism

Stage hypnotists will put on a show, usually comedic in nature, that centers around the use of hypnotism. Typically, they will select a subject from the audience and have him or her perform acts that he or she would normally be very reluctant to perform in public, usually slightly humiliating or embarrassing acts, such as dancing, singing, or pretending to be someone else. Very often, the subject will claim to not remember having performed these acts.

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The response to these acts from people who consider themselves legitimate practitioners of clinical hypnotism as well as skeptics of hypnotism is that the performer will select those from the audience that he or she feels already have exhibitionist tendencies, and use hypnotism to relax the inhibitions away or to give the person an unconscious excuse to violate his or her own inhibitions.

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