Mind control

Mind control is a general term for a number of controversial theories proposing that an individual's thinking, behavior, emotions or decisions can, to a greater or lesser extent, be manipulated at will by outside sources.

Mind control in fiction

Mind control has proven a popular subject in fiction, featuring in books and films such as The Ipcress File, and The Manchurian Candidate, which has the premise that controllers could hypnotize a person into murdering on command while retaining no memory of the killing.

Related Topics:
The Ipcress File - The Manchurian Candidate

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The TV series The Prisoner featured mind control as a recurring plot element.

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George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four features a description of mind control, both directly by torture, and indirectly, in the form of pervasive mind control by the use of Newspeak, a constructed language designed to remove the possibility, Sapir-Whorf-wise of articulating or of even thinking subversive thoughts.

Related Topics:
Nineteen Eighty-Four - Newspeak - Constructed language - Sapir-Whorf-wise - Subversive

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In science fiction, fantasy and superhero fiction, mind control often appears as the means whereby a person literally seizes control of the minds of the victims to the point where not only their bodies come under direct control, but also their consciousnesses as well, so that they become puppets or slaves to the controller. Fiction often depicts this process taking place electronically; the trademark equipment of the Batman supervillain The Mad Hatter—headgear designed to put victims under his control when placed in direct physical contact with the head—furnishes one example of this. In addition, characters with powerful telepathic or psychic abilities, like Professor X and Jean Grey of the X-Men, can do the same with mental concentration against a target.

Related Topics:
Science fiction - Fantasy - Superhero - Puppet - Slave - Batman - Supervillain - Telepathic - Psychic - Professor X - Jean Grey - X-Men

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The Illuminatus! Trilogy pokes fun at conspiracy theorists' assertions of pervasive mind control. The best known example for the book is the fnord, a word that the populace at large has been programmed since birth to not consciously notice, but to associate with a sense of fear and general unease; it is supposedly inserted into published works on current events, such as magazines and newspapers, but is absent from advertising, leading people to avoid knowledge of the world and to be obedient consumers.

Related Topics:
The Illuminatus! Trilogy - Fnord

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See also: mind uploading

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