Old Project Avalon Forum (ARCHIVE) - View Single Post - Mind control from slavery to self mastery

mudra · 09-28-2009, 09:29 PM

Mind Control
Subliminal Persuasion

Subliminal CIA

Forty years ago, the American public suddenly faced an unsettling question: could subliminal persuasion be used to influence the unsuspecting? The anecdotal evidence seemed to confirm the Big Brotherish power of undetected commands slipped "beneath the threshold of awareness." The Central Intelligence Agency, then in the midst of a multi-million dollar mind war research program, was intrigued by the potential power of subliminal messages. Classified documents released decades after these events reveal an obscure and intriguing chapter in the CIA's long involvement with techniques of mental manipulation.

As the CIA learned, the effectiveness of subliminal communication is very much open to question. Even today, the scientific community continues to debate whether subliminals, which are messages too brief to be noticed by the viewer or listener, have any impact at all.

When the CIA peered into the power of subliminal persuasion, what did it find? The best available evidence is the surviving documentation on the CIA's research programs. These records have surfaced sporadically since the mid-1970s, when Congressional investigators and investigative reporters probed into some of the agency's notorious experiments in mind and behavior control.

A few years ago, the CIA began declassifying back copies of Studies in Intelligence, its internal journal on the history and methodology of the spy trade. At last the public can read what is probably the agency's first assessment of "The Operational Potential of Subliminal Perception." A report bearing this title appeared in the CIA journal's Spring 1958 issue.

We don't know when -- if ever -- the CIA quit investigating subliminals, but thanks to this recently released document, we know what piqued their interest. The date of the report is significant; at that time, the United States was in the midst of the first great "subliminal scare" (see Dossier's documented feature on the evolution of this phenomenon).

It began in late 1957, when New Jersey marketing specialist James Vicary claimed to have increased concession sales by flashing too-brief-to-be-seen messages like "Hungry? Eat Popcorn" and "Drink Coke" in the midst of feature films. Vicary later downplayed the effectiveness of the technique, and admitted that his research data on subliminal projection was "too small to be meaningful." But the damage was done. Subliminal mania spread like wildfire across the national consciousness, as people began to wonder, "What do I see that I don't notice, and what can it do to me?"

The concern spread to Washington, D.C., where legislators led by Utah Representative William Dawson started a drive to ban subliminal broadcasting, which he called the "secret pitch." Dawson spoke of the "frightening aspects" of subliminals. "Put to political propaganda purposes," he warned, subliminal communication "would be made to order for the establishment and maintenance of a totalitarian government."

Continue reading here: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Shad...roject196.html

YouTube - Derren Brown - Subliminal Advertising

09-28-2009, 09:29 PM	#6
mudra Avalon Spiritual Mother Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: belgium Posts: 4,919	Re: [B]Mind control from slavery to self mastery [/B] Mind Control Subliminal Persuasion Subliminal CIA Forty years ago, the American public suddenly faced an unsettling question: could subliminal persuasion be used to influence the unsuspecting? The anecdotal evidence seemed to confirm the Big Brotherish power of undetected commands slipped "beneath the threshold of awareness." The Central Intelligence Agency, then in the midst of a multi-million dollar mind war research program, was intrigued by the potential power of subliminal messages. Classified documents released decades after these events reveal an obscure and intriguing chapter in the CIA's long involvement with techniques of mental manipulation. As the CIA learned, the effectiveness of subliminal communication is very much open to question. Even today, the scientific community continues to debate whether subliminals, which are messages too brief to be noticed by the viewer or listener, have any impact at all. When the CIA peered into the power of subliminal persuasion, what did it find? The best available evidence is the surviving documentation on the CIA's research programs. These records have surfaced sporadically since the mid-1970s, when Congressional investigators and investigative reporters probed into some of the agency's notorious experiments in mind and behavior control. A few years ago, the CIA began declassifying back copies of Studies in Intelligence, its internal journal on the history and methodology of the spy trade. At last the public can read what is probably the agency's first assessment of "The Operational Potential of Subliminal Perception." A report bearing this title appeared in the CIA journal's Spring 1958 issue. We don't know when -- if ever -- the CIA quit investigating subliminals, but thanks to this recently released document, we know what piqued their interest. The date of the report is significant; at that time, the United States was in the midst of the first great "subliminal scare" (see Dossier's documented feature on the evolution of this phenomenon). It began in late 1957, when New Jersey marketing specialist James Vicary claimed to have increased concession sales by flashing too-brief-to-be-seen messages like "Hungry? Eat Popcorn" and "Drink Coke" in the midst of feature films. Vicary later downplayed the effectiveness of the technique, and admitted that his research data on subliminal projection was "too small to be meaningful." But the damage was done. Subliminal mania spread like wildfire across the national consciousness, as people began to wonder, "What do I see that I don't notice, and what can it do to me?" The concern spread to Washington, D.C., where legislators led by Utah Representative William Dawson started a drive to ban subliminal broadcasting, which he called the "secret pitch." Dawson spoke of the "frightening aspects" of subliminals. "Put to political propaganda purposes," he warned, subliminal communication "would be made to order for the establishment and maintenance of a totalitarian government." Continue reading here: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Shad...roject196.html YouTube - Derren Brown - Subliminal Advertising Last edited by mudra; 09-29-2009 at 09:03 AM.