From: Ant McWatt (antmcwatt@hotmail.co.uk)
Date: Thu Aug 04 2005 - 16:39:14 BST
Ant McWatt quoted Derren Brown July 29th:
“Public speakers often capitalise on the same response. Have you ever
listened to a politician giving rapid-fire statistics so fast that the
audience can't possibly take them in, only to end the speech with a simple,
memorable phrase? The soundbite comes as such a relief after all those facts
and figures that this is all the listeners remember.”
(http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/M/mindcontrol/trick/phone.html)
Ant McWatt commented on this July 29th:
Keep in mind Brown’s last point the next time you hear Bush Junior read out
one of his scripted speeches. After an hour, what do you actually remember
from what he said?
Though it didn’t have an immediate effect, the critical analysis of politics
and capitalist society provided from my education studying sociology, did
eventually have the affect of making me more sensitive/aware of how
politicians, religious organizations and the media surreptitiously works.
In other words – as long as you also turn your critical faculties to what
you learn from sociologists - you learn to be critical of everything, what
you read in the paper, see on the TV, the adverts in the local shops and
what other people say to you i.e. you eventually free your mind….
For example, in another TV program/me “Mind Control” originally broadcast in
2001 by Channel 4, Brown played with the heads of two London advertising
executives (Bill Hick’s favorite people – I love them as well – especially
boiled…). This was done by him deciding a theme for the executives of an
animal sanctuary he predicted the exact campaign that two advertising
executives would produce for this theme. This was done by Brown and his
team by placing certain pictures and phrases on shop windows, pedestrians
wearing T-shirts, and even pub signs that the executives would see
fleetingly on their route to the office. The executives were unconscious of
the information provided by the pictures and phrases that they had absorbed
on their journey, and therefore provided pictures and phrases very similar
to those that Brown had given to them beforehand in a sealed brown envelope.
Now the executives were amazed at Brown’s supposed prediction skills when
they opened the envelope after their journey but they shouldn’t have been
because that’s what their industry does to people’s minds every day.
Platt Holden “replied” July 29th:
How does Brown know the executives where "unconscious of the information
provided." Does he read minds, too?
Ant McWatt comments:
No, the executives weren’t aware that Brown and his team were placing any
pictures and phrases on their respective commuter routes to the office.
Unless you believe in the direct mind transference of ideas, it is only
rational to believe that - on these journeys - the executives unconsciously
absorbed the ideas that Brown had already put down within the sealed brown
envelope he had given them earlier (I think it was the day before).
Platt Holden “commented” July 29th:
Brown sounds like a typical charlatan.
Ant McWatt comments:
Where did this sweeping conclusion suddenly derive from, Platt? Where’s the
evidence? I bet you haven’t watched any of Brown’s TV program/mes or even
heard of him until I mentioned him.
I guess your throwaway conclusion based on minimal evidence about Brown
being a charlatan is probably a good indication of how your closed mind
works in general and your fear that people like him and myself are probably
right about the political propaganda that many people are largely
brainwashed with.
Ant McWatt commented July 29th:
Unfortunately, only a minority of people are fortunate enough to study
sociology at university level and many more people are brought up in a
typical conservative upbringing where – unless something radical happens in
their life – maybe unemployment, a civil war or a severely disabling
accident (for example), they remain unconsciously trapped in their comfort
zone. Now this is why I go on about being critical with the mainstream
media and recommend the value of critical texts such as those written by
Chomsky and Pilger. It doesn’t mean that the latter don’t have their own
agenda and biases (I know they do!) but they can help (as with even a
two-bit hypnotist) to analyse what really is going on in this planet of
ours.
Platt stated July 29th 2005:
If you rely on Chomsky and a two-bit hypnotist to find out what's going on
in the world, that explains a lot about your political beliefs.
Ant McWatt comments:
For your information, Noam Chomsky and Derren Brown are people I have come
across relatively recently. They have confirmed my political views rather
than formed them.
As far as Chomsky is concerned, if you could refer to a direct quote of his
which you are prepared to argue as being a falsehood (rather than relying -
as usual - on secondhand opinion “And what is good and is not good, do we
need conservative commentators to tell us, Phaedrus?”) that would at least
be intellectually constructive.
Best wishes,
Anthony.
N.B. For anyone interested there are fourteen video clips of Brown’s “Mind
Control” TV Series (including the one about political speeches) at:
http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/M/mindcontrol/video/index.html
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