Subliminal Messaging In Movies

Subliminal messages have always been an uncanny phenomenon and often subject to scientific and public debate. A subliminal message is a signal in the form of a picture or sound that is designed to pass the normal limits of perception, which means that people perceive it with their subconscious while not perceiving it consciously. However, it is difficult to prove whether images are meant to be subliminal and whether they trigger the sought-after effect. Concurrently, they also give good way for nice conspiracy theories and spooky stories. Nevertheless, the deliberate use of suggestive images meant to evoke a secondary hidden effect could be at least considered dubious and unethical.

The most famous story about subliminal manipulation is that of the infamous experiment held in 1957 at a movie theatre in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Here it was believed that ultra-fast editing of images of popcorn and Coke throughout the movie Picnic would lead to a significant increase in refreshment sales during the intermission. The experiment was soon after ruled as a hoax after the experimenter James Vicary admitted that he tampered with the results. I believe his James Vicary made up the tampering story to cover up the true affect his subliminal messages had on the refreshment sales.

In cinema subliminal messaging has been used a lot. One of the most famous examples were the gruesome images used in The Exorcist; subliminal images were edited in to increase the fear of the audience. This might explain why the movie induced such strong reactions of terror with so many people. The subliminal images were cut out of the movie only to be reinstated in the 2000 Director’s Cut. Another film was Oliver Stone’s award winning movie JFK is ridden with subliminal messages, sending out a message that the Kennedy slaying was tied to Masonic or secret societies. More recently, subliminal messages were openly used in David Fincher’s Fight Club, turning the spotting of Tyler Durden almost into a game.

Also, Fight Club contains notable inserts mimicking an activity attributed to one of the lead characters an insomniac (Tyler Durden) played by Brad Pitt. At night, whilst unable to sleep, he holds down a job as a movie projectionist. As an act of rebellion he splices frames of pornographic material into the movies he shows, similar to the 1957 experiment with popcorn and Coke. Director David Fincher did likewise, presumably for artistic reasons. However, if you wish to be cynical, it could have been simply to add a bit of 'spice' to the movie or generate some street buzz to complement advertising hype. Given the erotic nature of the nude inserts their presence may also have increased interest or arousal levels at crucial points in the film. Whatever the justification offered for the inclusion of these 'subliminal' frames in Fight Club, their use should help lead viewers, whether closely attending to the content of the movie or not, to conclude this is a 'sexy' movie.

There were several examples of perceived subliminal messaging in three well know animated Disney films. In the movie Aladdin, some have heard a whispered message saying, “Good teenagers, take off your clothes.” In The Lion King, the word “sex” seems to form in the clouds above Simba’s head after he watches his father die. And of course how could anybody forget the Priest with a boner during the wedding ceremony at the end of The Little Mermaid. These images and messages have been argued about for years. In one hand, you have those followers who believe that these messages were made and implemented on purpose, and in the other you have the people that argue against that notion.

Subliminal messaging has been supposedly outlawed for more than 50 years, but there have been numerous accusations, as well as hypothesis about subliminal messaging continuing to be used in cinema and advertising. The subliminal message is perceived by the sub-conscious mind, therefore why do some people believe these messages are real? I think it is because many people choose to believe only what they see, but if there have been numerous people admitting to seeing the same image, it must be real! Right?