501
THE PRIESTHOOD (continued)
And so it is that they who lose or give away their following,
Or they who through inactivity have lost their power,
Or they who are not in harmony and love with their Spiritual Father;
Shall be retired from a rank to which entitled
Other than by leadership of men.
But this can only be done by he who ordained them,
For only those who give can take away,
Yet each High Priest is responsible that this is done.
Should any Fellow fain the Priesthood, and use it wisely and well,
The Gods have decreed that those who serve them
Shall prosper and grow in this life,
And shall gain eternal perfection
To be freed from the Wheel of Life,
And to become like unto the angels
In that they should be perfect.
For perfection is to be gained by love,
And there is no greater love than to
Lay down one's life for his brethren
In their service and for their sake,
And the Father will reward them for
Their labor of love, because
He is not unjust.
FINIS
502
THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC:
Getting Specific about Magical Ethics
Sometimes a clichejust wearsout. It losesmeaning or, worse,begins
to say things we never meant. I think it's time to retire the phrase "black
magic."
Saying"black" when we mean "evil" is nasty nonsense. In the first
place, it reinforces the racist stereotypes that corrupt our society. And
that's not all. Whenever we say "black" instead of "bad," we repeat again
the big lie that darkness is wrong. It isn't, as people who profess to love
Nature should know.
Darkness canmean the inside of the womb, and the seed germinating
within the Earth, and the chaos that gives rise to all truly new
beginnings. In our myths, the one who goes down to the underworld returns
with the treasure. Even death, to the Wiccan understanding, is well-earned
rest and comfort, and a preparation for new birth. Using "black" to mean
"bad" is a blasphemy against the Crone.
But even if we no longer speak of magic as "black" or "white," we
still need to think and speak about the ethics of magic. Although black is
not evil, some actions are evil. It simply is not true that anything a
person is strong enough or skilled enough to do is OK, nor should doing
what we will ever be the whole of the law for us. We need a clear and
specific vocabulary that enables us to choose wisely what we will do.
We need to replace the word "black," not simply to drop it. Some
Pagans have tried using "negative" as their substitute, but that turned out
to be confusing. For some people, "negative" means any spell to diminish or
banish anything. Some things - tumors, depression, bigotry - are harmful.
There's nothing wrong with a working to get rid of bad stuff. "Left-handed"
is another common term for wrongful practice, very traditional, but just as
ignorant, superstitious and potentially harmful as the phrase "black magic"
itself. So in Proteus we tried using the word "unethical." That's a lot
better - free of extraneous and false implications - but still too vague.
Gradually, I began to wonder whether using any one word, "black" or
"unethical" or whatever, might just be too general and too subjective.
Perhaps all I really tell a student that way is "Judy doesn't like that."
I won't settle for blind obedience. If ethical principles are going to
survive the twin tests of time and temptation, people need to understand
just what to avoid, and why. Even more important, they need a basis for
figuring out what to do instead. Especially when it comes to projective
magic.
Projectivemagic means active workings,the kind inwhich we project
our will out into the world to make some kind of change. This is what most
people think of when they use the word magic at all. Quite clearly, magic
that may affect other people is magic that can harm. This is the basis of
the proverb "a Witch who can't hex can't heal." Either you can raise and
direct power, or you can't. Your strength and skill can be used for
blessing or for bane. The choice - and the karma - are yours.
503
Just as some people feel that strength and skill are their own
justification, others feel that any projective magic is always wrong - that
it is a distraction from our one true goal of union with the Divine or a
willful avoidance of the judgments of Karma. I think these attitudes are
equally inconsistent with basic Wiccan philosophy.
Weare taught that we will find theLady within ourselves or not at
all, that the Mother of All has been with us from the beginning. We can't
now establish a union that was always there. All we can do, all we need to
do, is become aware. Knowing what it feels like to heal and empower, again
and again till you can't dismiss it as coincidence, is one of the most
powerful methods for awakening that awareness. It makes no sense to say
that the direct experience and exercise of our indwelling divinity
distracts from the Great Work.
Indeed, it is this intimate connection between our magic and our
self-realization that our ethics protect. Wrongful use of magic will choke
the channel. No short term gain could ever compensate for that.
The karmic argument againstpractical workings seems to meto arise
from a paranoid and defeatist world view. Even if we assume that the
hardships in this life were put there by the Gods for a reason, how can we
be so sure that the reason was punishment? Perhaps instead of penance to be
endured, our difficulties are challenges to be met. Coping and dealing with
our problems, learning magical and mundane skills, changing ourselves and
our world for the better - in short, growing up - is that not what the Gods
of joy and freedom want from us?
One of the most radically different things about a polytheistic belief
system is that each one of us has the right, and the need, to choose which
God/desses will be the focus of our worship. We make these choices knowing
that whatever energies we invoke most often in ritual will shape our own
further growth. Spiritual practices are a means of self-programming. So we
are responsible for what we worship in a way that people who take their One
God as a given are not.
Think about this: what kind of Power actively wants us to submit and
suffer, and objects when we develop skills to improve our own lives? Not a
Being I'd want to invite around too often!
So it will not workfor us to rule out projectivemagic completely;
nor should we. Total prohibitions are as thoughtless as total
permissiveness or blind obedience. Ethical and spiritual adults ought to be
able to make distinctions and well-reasoned choices. I offer here a start
toward analyzing what kinds of magic are not ethical for us.
Baneful magicis magic done forthe explicit purposeof causing harm
to another person. Usually the reason for it is revenge, and the
rationalization is justice. People who defend the practice of baneful magic
often ask "but wouldn't you join in cursing another Hitler?"
For adults there is no rule without exceptions. If you think you would
never torture somebody, consider this scenario: in just half an hour the
bomb will go off, killing everybody in the city, and this terrorist knows
where it is hidden....
504
It's a bad mistake to base your ethics on wildly unlikely cases, since
none of us honestly knows how we would react in that kind of extreme.
Reasonable ethical statements are statements about the behaviors we expect
of ourselves under normally predictable circumstances.
We all getreally angry on occasion, and sometimeswith good cause.
Then revenge can seem like no more than simple justice. The anger is a
normal, healthy human reaction, and should not be repressed. But there's no
more need to act it out in magic than in physical violence. Instead of
going for revenge - and invoking the karmic consequences of baneful magic -
identify what you really need. For example, if your anger comes from a
feeling that you have been attacked or violated, what you need is
protection and safe space. Work for the positive goal, it's both more
effective and safer.
The consequences of baneful magic are simply the logical, natural and
inevitable psychological effects. Even in that rare and extreme situation
when you may decide you really do have to use magic to give Hitler a heart
attack, it means you are choosing by the same choice to accept the act's
karma. Magical attack hurts the attacker first.
The only way I know how to do magic is by use of my imagination, by
visualizing or otherwise actively imagining the end I want, and then
projecting that goal with the energy of emotional/physiological arousal.
All the techniques I know either help me to imagine more specifically or to
project more strongly. So the only way I can send out harm is by first
experiencing that harm within my own imagination. Instant and absolute
karma - the natural, logical and inevitable outcomes of our own choices.
I would think, also, that somebody dumb enough to dosuch workings
often would soon lose the ability to imagine specifically, as their
sensitivity dulled in sheer self-defense. That callusing effect is the
reality behind the pious proverb that says "if you abuse it, She'll take it
away."
But not every othermagician is ethical. Psychic attacksdo happen.
Should we not defend ourselves? Of course we should. Leaving ourselves open
to psychic attack is no good example of the autonomy and assertiveness our
chosen Gods expect. But first, how can we be sure what we are experiencing
really is psychic attack?
Thefantasy ofpsychic attackis often aconvenient excusethat allows
us to avoid looking at our own shortcomings. When lack of rest or improper
nutrition is the cause of illness, or a project isn't completed on time
because of distraction, it's a real temptation to put the blame outside
ourselves. Doing this too easily betrays our autonomy just as badly as
meek submission to attack does. Then, to compound matters, projected blame
becomes an excuse for unjust revenge -- and that is baneful magic without
excuse.
Once in a rare while, some fool really does tryto throw a whammy.
It's hard to predict when you might be targeted. Passive shields are always
a good idea. Like a mirror, these are totally inactive until somebody sends
unwelcome energy. Then a shield will protect you completely and bounce back
whatever is being thrown. You may not even know consciously when your
shield is working, but the result is perfect justice.
505
Perfect justice; elegant and efficient. You won't hurt anybody out of
paranoia or by mistake. And perfect protection, even though we do not have
perfect knowledge.
Bindings, according to some, arecompletely defensive. They do not
harm, only restrain. But imagine yourself being bound - perhaps by someone
who believes themselves justified - and notice the feeling of impotence and
frustration. Binding is bane from the viewpoint of the bound.
Even if restraint were truly not harm, bindings are just plain poor
protection. They target a particular person or group. What if you suspect
the wrong person? Somebody harmless is bound and your actual attacker is
not bound. Shields, which cover you, not your supposed enemy, will cover
you against any enemy, known or unknown.
So, baneful magic, besides being painful in the short run and
crippling in the long run, is never necessary. There are better ways of
self protection, and retribution is the business of the Gods.
Coercive magicis magicthat targets anotherperson to makethem give
us something we want or need. When most people think of the "Magic Power of
Witchcraft," this is what they have in mind.
The spell to make the teacher give you a good grade, or the supervisor
give you a good evaluation, the spell to make the personnel officer or
renting agent choose you, the spell to attract that cute guy, all are
examples of coercive magic.
So, what's wrong with high grades, a good job, a raise, a nice
apartment and a sexy lover? There's nothing at all wrong with those goals.
An it harm none, do what ye will. As long as nobody is hurt, go for it! But
don't strive toward good ends by coercive means.
Although there is no deliberate intent to do harm or cause pain in
coercive workings, other people are treated as pawns. Their autonomy and
their interests are ignored.
For Pagans, to do this is total hypocrisy. We profess to follow a
religion of immanence, one that places ultimate meaning and value in this
life on this Earth, here and now. We claim to see every living thing,
humans included, as a sacred manifestation. To do honor to this indwelling
divinity, we place great value on our own personal autonomy. How can we
then justify treating other people as objects for our use?
Nor is it harmless. Forcing the will, controlling the independent
judgement of another human being, is harm. Once again, empathy leads to
understanding. Just imagine you are the person whose will and judgement is
being externally controlled. How does puppethood feel? From the viewpoint
of the target, the harm is palpable.
506
The Pagan and Wiccan community asa whole is also hurt by coercive
magic. One of the main reasons people fear and hate Witches is our
reputation for controlling others. This is an old, dirty lie, created by
the invading religion in an attempt to discredit the indigenous
competition. Today, that reputation is mostly perpetuated by people who
claim to be "our own," who teach unethical coercive magic by mail order to
strangers whose ethical sensitivity cannot be evaluated long distance. May
the Gods preserve the Craft!
People who are connected to thesituation, but invisible to us,may
also be seriously hurt: the cute guy's fiancee, the other applicant for
that job. What you think of as a working designed only to bring good to
yourself can bring serious harm to innocent third parties, and the karma of
their pain will be on you.
That isn't the only way an incomplete view of the situation can
backfire. There's a traditional saying that goes, "be careful about what
you ask for, because that's exactly what you will get." What if he is
gorgeous, but abusive? What if the apartment house is structurally
unsound? Better to state your legitimate needs (love in my life, a nice
place to live) and let the Gods deal with the details.
Finally,remember this: asking specificallylimits us towhat we now
know or what we can now imagine. But I remember a time when I could not
have imagined being a priestess. What if the cute guy in the office is
perfectly OK, but your absolutely perfect soul-mate will be in the A+P next
Wednesday? The more specifically targeted your magic is, the more you limit
yourself to a life of tautology and missed chances.
And beyond all the scenario spinning lies the instant karma, the
natural, logical and inevitable consequence of the act. It's more subtle
than in the case of baneful magic, since you are not trying to imagine and
project pain, but the damage is still real.
Every time you treat another human being as a thing to be pushed and
pulled around for your convenience and pleasure, you are reinforcing your
own alienation. The attitude of being removed from and superior to other
people takes you out of community. As the attitude strengthens, so will the
behavior it engenders. The long term result of coercive magic, as with
mundane forms of coercion, is isolation and loneliness.
Are youbeginning to think thatmagic is useless?Did I justrule out
all the good stuff: love charms, job magic, spells for good grades? Not at
all. It is not only ethical but good for you to do lots of magic to improve
your own life. Whenever it works you will get more than you asked for -
because along with whatever you asked for comes one more experience of your
own effectiveness, your power-from-within.
Work on yourself and your own needs and desires without targeting
other people. Then feel free! Ask for what you want. Visualize it and raise
power for it and act in accordance on the material plane. "I need a caring
and horny lover with a good sense of humor." "I want an affordable
apartment near where my coven meets with a tree outside my window." "I need
to be at my best when I take that exam next week." Fulfill your dreams, and
sometimes let the Gods surprise you with gifts beyond your dreams.
507
Manipulative magic is magicthat targets another person forwhat we
think is "their own good," without regard for their opinions in the matter.
In the general culture around us, this is normal. As you read this, you may
have some friend or relative praying for you to be "saved" from your evil
Pagan ways and returned to the fold of their preference. These people mean
you well. By their own lights, they are attempting to heal you. We work
from a very different thealogical base.
Aspolytheists, weaffirm thediversity of thedivine andthe divinity
of diversity. If there is no one, true, right and only way in general, do
we dare to assume that there is one obvious right choice for a person in
any given situation? If more than one choice may be "right," how can one
person presume they know what another person would want without asking them
first?
No life situation ever looks the same from outside as it does to the
person who is experiencing it. Are you sure you even have all the facts?
Are you fully aware of all the emotional entanglements involved? Perhaps
that illness is the only way they have of getting rest or getting
attention. Perhaps they stay in that dead end job because it leaves them
more energy to concentrate on their music. How do you know till you ask?
And,to furthercomplicate theanalysis, it'spossible thatthe person
you are trying to help would agree with you about the most desirable
outcome, but fears and hates the very idea of magic. They have as much of a
right to keep magic out of their own life, as you have to make it part of
yours!
Ourreligion teaches thatthe sacredlives withineach person,that we
can hear the Lady's voice for ourselves if we only learn to listen. "... If
that which you seek, you find not within yourself, you will never find it
without." In behavioral terms, when you take another person's opinion
about their own life seriously, you are reinforcing them in thinking and
choosing for themselves. The more you do this, the more you encourage them
to listen for the sacred inner voice.
Conversely, whenever you ignore or override a person's feelings about
their own life, you are discounting those feelings and discouraging the
kind of internal attention that can keep the channels to wisdom open.
Although well-intentioned meddling may actually help somebody in the short
run, in the longer run it trains them to dependency and indecision. Few
intentional banes damage as severely. This is especially true because even
the untrained and unaware will instinctively resist overt ill-will, but in
our culture we are trained to receive "expert" interference with gratitude.
Check byasking yourself, "who'sin charge here?" Theanswer to that
will tell you whether you are basically empowering or undermining the
person you intend to help.
And, as usual, the effects go both ways. The same uninvited
intervention
that fosters passivity in the recipient will foster arrogance in the
"rescuer." It's control and ego-inflation masked as generosity. It's very
seductive.
508
If you makethis a habit, youwill come to believethat other people
are incompetent and powerless. Then what happens when you need help? Your
contempt will make it impossible for you to see what resources surround
you. Manipulative magic is ultimately just as alienating as coercive magic
- and it's a much prettier trap!
The way to avoid the trap is to do no working affecting another person
without that person's explicit permission. Proteans are pledged to this,
and I think it's a good idea for anybody.
You don'tneed to waitpassively forthe person toask. It'sperfectly
all right to offer, as long as you are willing to sometimes accept "no" for
your answer. For the person who believes s/he is unworthy or who is simply
too shy, offering help is itself a gift. Taking their opinion seriously is
an even greater gift: respect.
Therule is thatwhenever itis in anyway physically possibleto ask,
you must ask. If it's not important enough to pay long distance charges, it
certainly isn't important enough to violate a friend's autonomy. If asking
is literally not possible, then and only then, here are a few exceptions:
Sometimesan illness or injuryhappens very suddenly,and the person
is unconscious or in a coma before you could possibly ask them. If you know
that this person is generally comfortable with magic, you may do workings
to keep their basic body systems working and allow the normal healing
process the time it needs. If they are opposed to magic, for whatever
reason, back off!
Traditionally, anunconscious personis understood tobe temporarily
out of their body. Maintaining their body in habitable condition is
preserving their option, not choosing for them. Doing maintenance magic
requires a lot of sensitivity. At some point, the time may come when you
should stop and let the person go on. Be sure to use some kind of
divination to help you stay aware.
This is a hard road. It may be your lover, your child, lying there
helpless. Any normal human being would be tempted to drag them back, to
force them to stay regardless of what is truly best for them, regardless of
what they want. Don't repress these feelings, they do no harm, even though
your actions might. It takes great strength and non-possessive love to
recognize that your loved one knows their own need. You may be calling them
back to a crippled body, to a life of pain. You may be calling them back
from the ecstasy of the Goddess. And this is no more your right than it
would be to murder them.
If a person is temporarily not reachable, you may charge up a physical
object, such as an appropriate talisman or some incense. When you present
it to them, give them a full explanation. It is their choice whether to
keep or use your gift. By interposing an object between the magic and the
target in this way, you can work the magic in Circle, with the coven's
power to draw on, and still get the person's permission before the magic is
triggered.
509
With all these rulesabout permission, perhaps it would besafer to
work only on ourselves? Safer, yes, but not nearly as good. If you have
permission, you may do any working for another person that you might do for
yourself. Coercive magic is just as unacceptable when somebody else asks
for it, and you may not do manipulative magic on your friend's mother, even
at your friend's request. The permission must come from the magic's
intended target and from nobody else. With proper permission, working magic
for others is good for all concerned.
Every act of magic has two effects. One is the direct effect, the
healing or prosperity working or whatever was intended. The other is a
minute change in the mind and the heart of the person who does the working.
Everything we experience, and especially everything that we do in a
wholehearted and focused way - the only way effective magic can be done -
changes us. Each experience leaves its tiny trace, but the traces are
cumulative. They mold the person we will become. Our karma is our choice.
Instant karma can also be good karma. Logical, natural and inevitable
outcomes can be desirable. When you send out good, what you send it with is
love. Love is the driving force. When you let love flow freely, the channel
down to love's wellspring stays clear and open. When you send out good, you
direct it along the web of person-to-person connection, and awareness of
that web is reinforced. The totality of that web is the basis of community.
When you send out good it feels good. In the same way that sending out
bane requires imagining pain, sending out blessing requires imagining
pleasure, strongly and specifically. And, when you send out good, just the
same as when you call it to yourself, you reinforce your sense of
effectiveness in the world. Blessings grow in the fertile ground of
mutuality, to the benefit of all.
A pattern isbecoming visible.In baneful magic,the magicianintends
to harm the target. In coercive magic, the intent toward the target is
neutral. In manipulative magic, the magician actually means the target
well. But no matter how different the intent may be, in all three cases
magic is done to affect another person without that person's permission. In
all three cases, the target, the practitioner and ultimately the community
are all hurt. And in all three cases, there are safer and more effective
ways to reach the valid goals that we mean to aim for.
So, perhaps there is a descriptive word that covers all wrongful
magical workings after all. How about "non-consensual" or "invasive"
magic?
There's one thing left to examine: the paradox of making rules to
protect personal autonomy.
If we make some of our choices as a community, by discussing things
together and arriving at a common understanding about what magical
behaviors are acceptable among us, then we choose and shape the kind of
community we become.
Or wecould give up ourright to choose,because we feelwe shouldn't
tell each other what to do. Some people believe that a refusal to set
community standards promotes personal autonomy. It never has before.
Appeals toindividual rights can bereal seductive. Noneof us wants
Big Brother looking over our shoulders, telling us what to do "for our own
510
good." For Witches in particular - members of a religious minority with
bad image problems - this is a very legitimate fear. But make sure when
somebody talks about "rights" without specifying something like "religious
practice rights" or "the right to consensual sex," that you find out just
what "rights" they mean.
Rhetoric about"rugged individualism" hasbeen usedin recenthistory
to fast talk us into letting the rich or strong dominate all our lives.
Without anything to stop them, they can destroy the forestland, or deny
jobs or apartments to "cultists." Personal autonomy for most of us is
diminished when we allow that.
Magic can be used for dominance,just the same as muscle or money.
There is no difference, ethically, between the magical and the mundane. We
are not obligated to tolerate power trippers among us. We are not obligated
to run our own community by the slogans and ground rules of the dominator
culture.
Thinking about "rights," or about "laws" for that matter, in the
abstract leads to "all or nothing" thinking - immature and slogan driven. I
don't think we should ever "just say" anything. We need a deeper and more
mature analysis. We need to ask questions like "right to do what?" and
"law against what?" We need to get away from absolutes and to look in
practical terms at the advantages or disadvantages of our choices.
Once more,our religion itself showsus the way tosteer between the
false choices. "An it harm none, do what you will." What a person does
that affects only herself - magical or mundane - is truly nobody's business
but her own. For example, consensual sexual behavior affects only the
participants. But toxic waste dumping affects everybody in the watershed.
As long as we look at behavior in terms of private choices or
individual will, we obscure the distinction that really makes a difference.
If we're serious about wanting to give each of us the most possible control
over our own lives, then decisions should be made by all the people
affected by the behavior - not just by the people acting.
As soon as another person is magically targeted, that other person is
affected. If we allow such targeting without consent, we are not supporting
personal autonomy, we are subverting it!
When the behavior begins to affect us all - for example when real
estate development threatens the salt marshes, and ultimately the air
supply - or, very specifically, when invasive magic erodes the trust we
need to work together - then we have a right to protect ourselves as a
community. No ideology should turn us into passive victims when something
we hold precious stands to be destroyed.
Invasive magichurts the targetfirst, and soonthe actor, butin the
long run it hurts all of us. It's been so long since we've been able to
meet together, share our knowledge, help one another in need. Pagan
community is very new, and still very fragile. It can only grow in safe
space.
511
The People of this Land forbade skirmishes around the pipestone
quarries, keeping that sacred source open to all. Otherwise, no sane person
would go there, and the Old Ways would wither. For much the same reason, we
cannot tolerate poppets in our council meetings.
An atmosphere of coercion and manipulation and magical duels does not
nurture community. Eventually, for self protection, the gentle will either
change or go away. We could lose what we have misguidedly refused to
protect.
As within, so without: our karma is our choice.
Judy Harrow
512
THE BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND
by Dick Sutphen
Persuasion & Brainwashing Techniques Being Used On The Public Today
SUMMARY OF CONTENTS
The Birth of Conversion/Brainwashing in Christian Revivalism in 1735. The
Pavlovian explanation of the three brain phases. Born-again preachers:
Step-by-Step, how they conduct a revival and the expected physiological
results. The "voice roll" technique used by preachers, lawyers and
hypnotists. New trance-inducing churches. The 6 steps to conversion. The
decognition process. Thought-stopping techniques. The "sell it by zealot"
technique. True believers and mass movements. Persuasion techniques: "Yes
set," "Imbedded Commands," "Shock and Confusion," and the "Interspersal
Technique." Subliminals. Vibrato and ELF waves. Inducing trance with
vibrational sound. Even professional observers will be "possessed" at
charismatic gatherings. The "only hope" technique to attend and not be
converted. Non-detectable Neurophone programming through the skin. The
medium for mass take-over.
I'm Dick Sutphen andthis tape is a studio-recorded,expanded version
of a talk I delivered at the World Congress of Professional Hypnotists
Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although the tape carries a copyright to
protect it from unlawful duplication for sale by other companies, in this
case, I invite individuals to make copies and give them to friends or
anyone in a position to communicate this information.
Although I've been interviewed about the subject on many local and
regional radio and TV talk shows, large-scale mass communication appears to
be blocked, since it could result in suspicion or investigation of the very
media presenting it or the sponsors that support the media. Some government
agencies do not want this information generally known. Nor do the
Born-Again Christian movement, cults, and many human-potential trainings.
Everything I will relate only exposes the surface of the problem. I
don't know how the misuse of these techniques can be stopped. I don't think
it is possible to legislate against that which often cannot be detected;
and if those who legislate are using these techniques, there is little hope
of affecting laws to govern usage. I do know that the first step to
initiate change is to generate interest. In this case, that will probably
only result from an underground effort.
In talkingabout this subject, I am talking about my own business. I
know it, and I know how effective it can be. I produce hypnosis and
subliminal tapes and, in some of my seminars, I use conversion tactics to
assist participants to become independent and self-sufficient. But, anytime
I use these techniques, I point out that I am using them, and those
attending have a choice to participate or not. They also know what the
desired result of participation will be.
513
So, to begin, I want to state the most basic of all facts about
brainwashing: IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF MAN, NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN
BRAINWASHED AND REALIZED, OR BELIEVED, THAT HE HAD BEEN BRAINWASHED. Those
who have been brainwashed will usually passionately defend their
manipulators, claiming they have simply been "shown the light" . . . or
have been transformed in miraculous ways.
The Birth of Conversion
CONVERSION is a "nice" word for BRAINWASHING . . . and any study of
brainwashing has to begin with a study of Christian revivalism in
eighteenth century America. Apparently, Jonathan Edwards accidentally
discovered the techniques during a religious crusade in 1735 in
Northampton, Massachusetts. By inducing guilt and acute apprehension and
by increasing the tension, the "sinners" attending his revival meetings
would break down and completely submit. Technically, what Edwards was doing
was creating conditions that wipe the brain slate clean so that the mind
accepts new programming. The problem was that the new input was negative.
He would tell them, "You're a sinner! You're destined for hell!"
As a result, one person committed suicide and another attempted
suicide. And the neighbors of the suicidal converts related that they,
too, were affected so deeply that, although they had found "eternal
salvation," they were obsessed with a diabolical temptation to end their
own lives.
Oncea preacher, cult leader,manipulator or authority figure creates
the brain phase to wipe the brain-slate clean, his subjects are wide open.
New input, in the form of suggestion, can be substituted for their previous
ideas. Because Edwards didn't turn his message positive until the end of
the revival, many accepted the negative suggestions and acted, or desired
to act, upon them.
Charles J. Finney was another Christian revivalist who used the same
techniques four years later in mass religious conversions in New York. The
techniques are still being used today by Christian revivalists, cults,
human-potential trainings, some business rallies, and the United States
Armed Services . . . to name just a few.
Let me point out here that I don't think most revivalist preachers
realize or know they are using brainwashing techniques. Edwards simply
stumbled upon a technique that really worked, and others copied it and have
continued to copy it for over two hundred years. And the more sophisticated
our knowledge and technology become, the more effective the conversion. I
feel strongly that this is one of the major reasons for the increasing rise
in Christian fundamentalism, especially the televised variety, while most
of the orthodox religions are declining.
The Three Brain Phases
The Christians may have been the first to successfully formulate
brainwashing, but we have to look to Pavlov, the Russian scientist, for a
technical explanation. In the early 1900s, his work with animals opened the
door to further investigations with humans. After the revolution in Russia,
Lenin was quick to see the potential of applying Pavlov's research to his
own ends.
514
Three distinct and progressive states of transmarginal inhibition were
identified by Pavlov. The first is the EQUIVALENT phase, in which the brain
gives the same response to both strong and weak stimuli. The second is the
PARADOXICAL phase, in which the brain responds more actively to weak
stimuli than to strong. And the third is the ULTRA-PARADOXICAL phase, in
which conditioned responses and behavior patterns turn from positive to
negative or from negative to positive.
With the progression through each phase, the degree of conversion
becomes more effective and complete. The way to achieve conversion are many
and varied, but the usual first step in religious or political brainwashing
is to work on the emotions of an individual or group until they reach an
abnormal level of anger, fear, excitement, or nervous tension.
Theprogressive result of thismental condition isto impair judgement
and increase suggestibility. The more this condition can be maintained or
intensified, the more it compounds. Once catharsis, or the first brain
phase, is reached, the complete mental takeover becomes easier. Existing
mental programming can be replaced with new patterns of thinking and
behavior.
Other often-used physiological weapons to modify normal brain functions
are fasting, radical or high sugar diets, physical discomforts, regulation
of breathing, mantra chanting in meditation, the disclosure of awesome
mysteries, special lighting and sound effects, programmed response to
incense, or intoxicating drugs.
The sameresults can beobtained in contemporarypsychiatric treatment
by electric shock treatments and even by purposely lowering a person's
blood sugar level with insulin injections.
Before I talk about exactlyhow some of the techniques areapplied, I
want to point out that hypnosis and conversion tactics are two distinctly
different things--and that conversion techniques are far more powerful.
However, the two are often mixed . . . with powerful results.
How Revivalist Preachers Work
If you'd like to see a revivalist preacher at work, there are probably
several in your city. Go to the church or tent early and sit in the rear,
about three-quarters of the way back. Most likely repetitive music will be
played while the people come in for the service. A repetitive beat, ideally
ranging from 45 to 72 beats per minute (a rhythm close to the beat of the
human heart), is very hypnotic and can generate an eyes-open altered state
of consciousness in a very high percentage of people. And, once you are in
an alpha state, you are at least 25 times as suggestible as you would be in
full beta consciousness. The music is probably the same for every service,
or incorporates the same beat, and many of the people will go into an
altered state almost immediately upon entering the sanctuary.
Subconsciously, they recall their state of mind from previous services and
respond according to the post-hypnotic programming.
Watch the people waiting for the service to begin. Many will exhibit
external signs of trance--body relaxation and slightly dilated eyes. Often,
they begin swaying back and forth with their hands in the air while sitting
in their chairs. Next, the assistant pastor will probably come out. He
usually speaks with a pretty good "voice roll."
Voice Roll Technique
515
A "voice roll" is a patterned, paced style used by hypnotists when
inducing a trance. It is also used by many lawyers, several of whom are
highly trained hypnotists, when they desire to entrench a point firmly in
the minds of the jurors. A voice roll can sound as if the speaker were
talking to the beat of a metronome or it may sound as though he were
emphasizing every word in a monotonous, patterned style. The words will
usually be delivered at the rate of 45 to 60 beats per minute, maximizing
the hypnotic effect.
Now the assistant pastor begins the "build-up" process. He induces an
altered state of consciousness and/or begins to generate the excitement and
the expectations of the audience. Next, a group of young women in "sweet
and pure" chiffon dresses might come out to sing a song. Gospel songs are
great for building excitement and INVOLVEMENT. In the middle of the song,
one of the girls might be "smitten by the spirit" and fall down or react as
if possessed by the Holy Spirit. This very effectively increases the
intensity in the room. At this point, hypnosis and conversion tactics are
being mixed. And the result is the audience's attention span is now totally
focused upon the communication while the environment becomes more exciting
or tense.
Right about this time, when an eyes-open mass-induced alpha mental
state has been achieved, they will usually pass the collection plate or
basket. In the background, a 45-beat-per-minute voice roll from the
assistant preacher might exhort, "Give to God . . . Give to God . . . Give
to God . . ." And the audience does give. God may not get the money, but
his already wealthy representative will.
Next, the fire-and-brimstone preacher will come out.He induces fear
and increases the tension by talking about "the devil," "going to hell," or
the forthcoming Armageddon.
In the last such rally I attended, the preacher talked about the blood
that would soon be running out of every faucet in the land. He was also
obsessed with a "bloody axe of God," which everyone had seen hanging above
the pulpit the previous week. I have no doubt that everyone saw it--the
power of suggestion given to hundreds of people in hypnosis assures that at
least 10 to 25 percent would see whatever he suggested they see.
In most revivalist gatherings, "testifying" or "witnessing" usually
follows the fear-based sermon. People from the audience come up on stage
and relate their stories. "I was crippled and now I can walk!" "I had
arthritis and now it's gone!" It is a psychological manipulation that
works. After listening to numerous case histories of miraculous healings,
the average guy in the audience with a minor problem is sure he can be
healed. The room is charged with fear, guilt, intense excitement, and
expectations.
516
Now thosewho want tobe healed are frequentlylined up aroundthe edge
of the room, or they are told to come down to the front. The preacher might
touch them on the head firmly and scream, "Be healed!" This releases the
psychic energy and, for many, catharsis results. Catharsis is a purging of
repressed emotions. Individuals might cry, fall down or even go into
spasms. And if catharsis is effected, they stand a chance of being healed.
In catharsis (one of the three brain phases mentioned earlier), the
brain-slate is temporarily wiped clean and the new suggestion is accepted.
For some, the healing may be permanent. For many, it will last four
days to a week, which is, incidentally, how long a hypnotic suggestion
given to a somnambulistic subject will usually last. Even if the healing
doesn't last, if they come back every week, the power of suggestion may
continually override the problem . . . or sometimes, sadly, it can mask a
physical problem which could prove to be very detrimental to the individual
in the long run.
I'm not saying that legitimate healings do not take place. They do.
Maybe the individual was ready to let go of the negativity that caused the
problem in the first place; maybe it was the work of God. Yet I contend
that it can be explained with existing knowledge of brain/mind function.
The techniques and staging will vary from church to church. Many use
"speaking in tongues" to generate catharsis in some while the spectacle
creates intense excitement in the observers.
The use of hypnotic techniques by religions is sophisticated, and
professionals are assuring that they become even more effective. A man in
Los Angeles is designing, building, and reworking a lot of churches around
the country. He tells ministers what they need and how to use it. This
man's track record indicates that the congregation and the monetary income
will double if the minister follows his instructions. He admits that about
80 percent of his efforts are in the sound system and lighting.
Powerful soundand the properuse of lightingare ofprimary importance
in inducing an altered state of consciousness--I've been using them for
years in my own seminars. However, my participants are fully aware of the
process and what they can expect as a result of their participation.
Six Conversion Techniques
Cults and human-potential organizations are always looking for new
converts. To attain them, they must also create a brain-phase. And they
often need to do it within a short space of time--a weekend, or maybe even
a day. The following are the six primary techniques used to generate the
conversion.
The meeting or training takesplace in an area whereparticipants are
cut off from the outside world. This may be any place: a private home, a
remote or rural setting, or even a hotel ballroom where the participants
are allowed only limited bathroom usage. In human-potential trainings, the
controllers will give a lengthy talk about the importance of "keeping
agreements" in life. The participants are told that if they don't keep
agreements, their life will never work. It's a good idea to keep
agreements, but the controllers are subverting a positive human value for
selfish purposes. The participants vow to themselves and their trainer that
they will keep their agreements. Anyone who does not will be intimidated
into agreement or forced to leave. The next step is to agree to complete
training, thus assuring a high percentage of conversions for the
organizations. They will USUALLY have to agree not to take drugs, smoke,
517
and sometimes not to eat . . . or they are given such short meal breaks
that it creates tension. The real reason for the agreements is to alter
internal chemistry, which generates anxiety and hopefully causes at least a
slight malfunction of the nervous system, which in turn increases the
conversion potential.
Before the gathering is complete, the agreements will be used to ensure
that the new converts go out and find new participants. They are
intimidated into agreeing to do so before they leave. Since the importance
of keeping agreements is so high on their priority list, the converts will
twist the arms of everyone they know, attempting to talk them into
attending a free introductory session offered at a future date by the
organization. The new converts are zealots. In fact, the inside term for
merchandising the largest and most successful human-potential training is,
"sell it by zealot!"
At least a million people are graduates and a good percentage have been
left with a mental activation button that assures their future loyalty and
assistance if the guru figure or organization calls. Think about the
potential political implications of hundreds of thousands of zealots
programmed to campaign for their guru.
Be wary of an organization of this type that offers follow-up sessions
after the seminar. Follow-up sessions might be weekly meetings or
inexpensive seminars given on a regular basis which the organization will
attempt to talk you into taking--or any regularly scheduled event used to
maintain control. As the early Christian revivalists found, long-term
control is dependent upon a good follow-up system.
Alright. Now, let's look at the second tip-off that indicates
conversion tactics are being used. A schedule is maintained that causes
physical and mental fatigue. This is primarily accomplished by long hours
in which the participants are given no opportunity for relaxation or
reflection.
The third tip-off: techniquesused to increasethe tension in theroom
or environment.
Number four: Uncertainty. I could spend hours relating various
techniques to increase tension and generate uncertainty. Basically, the
participants are concerned about being "put on the spot" or encountered by
the trainers, guilt feelings are played upon, participants are tempted to
verbally relate their innermost secrets to the other participants or forced
to take part in activities that emphasize removing their masks. One of the
most successful human-potential seminars forces the participants to stand
on a stage in front of the entire audience while being verbally attacked by
the trainers. A public opinion poll, conducted a few years ago, showed that
the number one most-fearful situation an individual could encounter is to
speak to an audience. It ranked above window washing outside the 85th floor
of an office building. So you can imagine the fear and tension this
situation generates within the participants. Many faint, but most cope with
the stress by mentally going away. They literally go into an alpha state,
which automatically makes them many times as suggestible as they normally
are. And another loop of the downward spiral into conversion is
successfully effected.
The fifth clue that conversion tactics are being used is the
introduction of jargon--new terms that have meaning only to the "insiders"
who participate. Vicious language is also frequently used, purposely, to
make participants uncomfortable.
518
The final tip-off isthat there isno humor in thecommunications . ..
at least until the participants are converted. Then, merry-making and humor
are highly desirable as symbols of the new joy the participants have
supposedly "found."
I'm not saying that good does not result from participation in such
gatherings. It can and does. But I contend it is important for people to
know what has happened and to be aware that continual involvement may not
be in their best interest.
Over the years,I've conductedprofessional seminars toteach peopleto
be hypnotists, trainers, and counselors. I've had many of those who conduct
trainings and rallies come to me and say, "I'm here because I know that
what I'm doing works, but I don't know why." After showing them how and
why, many have gotten out of the business or have decided to approach it
differently or in a much more loving and supportive manner.
Many of these trainers havebecome personal friends, and it scaresus
all to have experienced the power of one person with a microphone and a
room full of people. Add a little charisma and you can count on a high
percentage of conversions. The sad truth is that a high percentage of
people want to give away their power--they are true "believers"!
Cult gatheringsor human-potential trainings arean ideal environment
to observe first-hand what is technically called the "Stockholm Syndrome."
This is a situation in which those who are intimidated, controlled, or made
to suffer, begin to love, admire, and even sometimes sexually desire their
controllers or captors.
But let me inject a wordof warning here: If you think youcan attend
such gatherings and not be affected, you are probably wrong. A perfect
example is the case of a woman who went to Haiti on a Guggenheim Fellowship
to study Haitian Voodoo. In her report, she related how the music
eventually induced uncontrollable bodily movement and an altered state of
consciousness. Although she understood the process and thought herself
above it, when she began to feel herself become vulnerable to the music,
she attempted to fight it and turned away. Anger or resistance almost
always assures conversion. A few moments later she was possessed by the
music and began dancing in a trance around the Voodoo meeting house. A
brain phase had been induced by the music and excitement, and she awoke
feeling reborn. The only hope of attending such gatherings without being
affected is to be a Buddha and allow no positive or negative emotions to
surface. Few people are capable of such detachment.
519
Before I go on,let's go backto the six tip-offsto conversion. Iwant
to mention the United States Government and military boot camp. The Marine
Corps talks about breaking men down before "rebuilding" them as new men--as
marines! Well, that is exactly what they do, the same way a cult breaks
its people down and rebuilds them as happy flower sellers on your local
street corner. Every one of the six conversion techniques are used in boot
camp. Considering the needs of the military, I'm not making a judgement as
to whether that is good or bad. IT IS A FACT that the men are effectively
brainwashed. Those who won't submit must be discharged or spend much of
their time in the brig.
Decognition Process
Once the initial conversion is effected, cults, armed services, and
similar groups cannot have cynicism among their members. Members must
respond to commands and do as they are told, otherwise they are dangerous
to the organizational control. This is normally accomplished as a
three-step Decognition Process.
Step One is ALERTNESS REDUCTION: The controllers cause the nervous
system to malfunction, making it difficult to distinguish between fantasy
and reality. This can be accomplished in several ways. POOR DIET is one;
watch out for Brownies and Koolaid. The sugar throws the nervous system
off. More subtle is the "SPIRITUAL DIET" used by many cults. They eat only
vegetables and fruits; without the grounding of grains, nuts, seeds, dairy
products, fish or meat, an individual becomes mentally "spacey." INADEQUATE
SLEEP is another primary way to reduce alertness, especially when combined
with long hours of work or intense physical activity. Also, being bombarded
with intense and unique experiences achieves the same result.
Step Two is PROGRAMMED CONFUSION: You are mentally assaulted while your
alertness is being reduced as in Step One. This is accomplished with a
deluge of new information, lectures, discussion groups, encounters or
one-to-one processing, which usually amounts to the controller bombarding
the individual with questions. During this phase of decognition, reality
and illusion often merge and perverted logic is likely to be accepted.
StepThree is THOUGHT STOPPING: Techniques areused to cause the mind
to go "flat." These are altered-state-of-consciousness techniques that
initially induce calmness by giving the mind something simple to deal with
and focusing awareness. The continued use brings on a feeling of elation
and eventually hallucination. The result is the reduction of thought and
eventually, if used long enough, the cessation of all thought and
withdrawal from everyone and everything except that which the controllers
direct. The takeover is then complete. It is important to be aware that
when members or participants are instructed to use "thought-stopping"
techniques, they are told that they will benefit by so doing: they will
become "better soldiers" or "find enlightenment."
There are threeprimary techniquesused for thoughtstopping. Thefirst
is MARCHING: the thump, thump, thump beat literally generates self-hypnosis
and thus great susceptibility to suggestion.
520
Thesecond thought stopping technique is MEDITATION. If you spend an
hour to an hour and a half a day in meditation, after a few weeks, there is
a great probability that you will not return to full beta consciousness.
You will remain in a fixed state of alpha for as long as you continue to
meditate. I'm not saying this is bad--if you do it yourself. It may be very
beneficial. But it is a fact that you are causing your mind to go flat.
I've worked with meditators on an EEG machine and the results are
conclusive: the more you meditate, the flatter your mind becomes until,
eventually and especially if used to excess or in combination with
decognition, all thought ceases. Some spiritual groups see this as
nirvana--which is bullshit. It is simply a predictable physiological
result. And if heaven on earth is non-thinking and non-involvement, I
really question why we are here.
The third thought-stopping technique is CHANTING, and often chanting in
meditation. "Speaking in tongues" could also be included in this category.
All three-stopping techniques produce an altered state of
consciousness. This may be very good if YOU are controlling the process,
for you also control the input. I personally use at least one self-hypnosis
programming session every day and I know how beneficial it is for me. But
you need to know if you use these techniques to the degree of remaining
continually in alpha that, although you'll be very mellow, you'll also be
more suggestible.
True Believers & Mass Movements
Before ending this section on conversion, I want to talk about the
people who are most susceptible to it and about Mass Movements. I am
convinced that at least a third of the population is what Eric Hoffer calls
"true believers." They are joiners and followers . . . people who want to
give away their power. They look for answers, meaning, and enlightenment
outside themselves.
Hoffer, who wrote THE TRUE BELIEVER, a classic on mass movements, says,
"true believers are not intent on bolstering and advancing a cherished
self, but are those craving to be rid of unwanted self. They are followers,
not because of a desire for self-advancement, but because it can satisfy
their passion for self-renunciation!" Hoffer also says that true believers
"are eternally incomplete and eternally insecure"!
I know this from my own experience. In my years of communicating
concepts and conducting trainings, I have run into them again and again.
All I can do is attempt to show them that the only thing to seek is the
True Self within. Their personal answers are to be found there and there
alone. I communicate that the basics of spirituality are
self-responsibility and self-actualization. But most of the true
believers just tell me that I'm not spiritual and go looking for someone
who will give them the dogma and structure they desire.
Never underestimate the potential danger of these people. They can
easily be molded into fanatics who will gladly work and die for their holy
cause. It is a substitute for their lost faith in themselves and offers
them as a substitute for individual hope. The Moral Majority is made up of
true believers. All cults are composed of true believers. You'll find them
in politics, churches, businesses, and social cause groups. They are the
fanatics in these organizations.
521
Mass Movements will usually havea charismatic leader. The followers
want to convert others to their way of living or impose a new way of
life--if necessary, by legislating laws forcing others to their view, as
evidenced by the activities of the Moral Majority. This means enforcement
by guns or punishment, for that is the bottomline in law enforcement.
A common hatred, enemy, or devil is essential to the success of a mass
movement. The Born-Again Christians have Satan himself, but that isn't
enough--they've added the occult, the New Age thinkers and, lately, all
those who oppose their integration of church and politics, as evidenced in
their political reelection campaigns against those who oppose their views.
In revolutions, the devil is usually the ruling power or aristocracy. Some
human-potential movements are far too clever to ask their graduates to join
anything, thus labeling themselves as a cult--but, if you look closely,
you'll find that their devil is anyone and everyone who hasn't taken their
training.
There are mass movements without devils but they seldom attain major
status. The True Believers are mentally unbalanced or insecure people, or
those without hope or friends. People don't look for allies when they love,
but they do when they hate or become obsessed with a cause. And those who
desire a new life and a new order feel the old ways must be eliminated
before the new order can be built.
Persuasion Techniques
Persuasion isn't technically brainwashing but it is the manipulation of
the human mind by another individual, without the manipulated party being
aware what caused his opinion shift. I only have time to very basically
introduce you to a few of the thousands of techniques in use today, but the
basis of persuasion is always to access your RIGHT BRAIN. The left half of
your brain is analytical and rational. The right side is creative and
imaginative. That is overly simplified but it makes my point. So, the idea
is to distract the left brain and keep it busy. Ideally, the persuader
generates an eyes-open altered state of consciousness, causing you to shift
from beta awareness into alpha; this can be measured on an EEG machine.
First, let me give you an example of distracting the left brain.
Politicians use these powerful techniques all the time; lawyers use many
variations which, I've been told, they call "tightening the noose."
Assume for a moment that you are watching a politician give a speech.
First, he might generate what is called a "YES SET." These are statements
that will cause listeners to agree; they might even unknowingly nod their
heads in agreement. Next come the TRUISMS. These are usually facts that
could be debated but, once the politician has his audience agreeing, the
odds are in the politician's favor that the audience won't stop to think
for themselves, thus continuing to agree. Last comes the SUGGESTION. This
is what the politician wants you to do and, since you have been agreeing
all along, you could be persuaded to accept the suggestion. Now, if you'll
listen closely to my political speech, you'll find that the first three are
the "yes set," the next three are truisms and the last is the suggestion.
522
"Ladies and gentlemen: are you angry abouthigh food prices? Are you
tired of astronomical gas prices? Are you sick of out-of-control inflation?
Well, you know the Other Party allowed 18 percent inflation last year; you
know crime has increased 50 percent nationwide in the last 12 months, and
you know your paycheck hardly covers your expenses any more. Well, the
answer to resolving these problems is to elect me, John Jones, to the U.S.
Senate."
And I think you've heard all that before. But you might also watch for
what are called Imbedded Commands. As an example: On key words, the speaker
would make a gesture with his left hand, which research has shown is more
apt to access your right brain. Today's media-oriented politicians and
spellbinders are often carefully trained by a whole new breed of specialist
who are using every trick in the book--both old and new--to manipulate you
into accepting their candidate.
The concepts and techniques of Neuro-Linguistics are so heavily
protected that I found out the hard way that to even talk about them
publicly or in print results in threatened legal action. Yet
Neuro-Linguistic training is readily available to anyone willing to devote
the time and pay the price. It is some of the most subtle and powerful
manipulation I have yet been exposed to. A good friend who recently
attended a two-week seminar on Neuro-Linguistics found that many of those
she talked to during the breaks were government people.
Another technique that I'm just learning about is unbelievably
slippery; it is called an INTERSPERSAL TECHNIQUE and the idea is to say one
thing with words but plant a subconscious impression of something else in
the minds of the listeners and/or watchers.
Let me give you an example: Assume you are watching a television
commentator make the following statement: SENATOR JOHNSON is assisting
local authorities to clear up the stupid mistakes of companies contributing
to the nuclear waste problems." It sounds like a statement of fact, but, if
the speaker emphasizes the right word, and especially if he makes the
proper hand gestures on the key words, you could be left with the
subconscious impression that Senator Johnson is stupid. That was the
subliminal goal of the statement and the speaker cannot be called to
account for anything.
Persuasion techniques are also frequently used on a much smaller scale
with just as much effectiveness. The insurance salesman knows his pitch is
likely to be much more effective if he can get you to visualize something
in your mind. This is right-brain communication. For instance, he might
pause in his conversation, look slowly around your living room and say,
"Can you just imagine this beautiful home burning to the ground?" Of course
you can! It is one of your unconscious fears and, when he forces you to
visualize it, you are more likely to be manipulated into signing his
insurance policy.
523
The Hare Krishnas, operating in every airport,use what I call SHOCK
AND CONFUSION techniques to distract the left brain and communicate
directly with the right brain. While waiting for a plane, I once watched
one operate for over an hour. He had a technique of almost jumping in front
of someone. Initially, his voice was loud then dropped as he made his
pitch to take a book and contribute money to the cause. Usually, when
people are shocked, they immediately withdraw. In this case they were
shocked by the strange appearance, sudden materialization and loud voice of
the Hare Krishna devotee. In other words, the people went into an alpha
state for security because they didn't want to confront the reality before
them. In alpha, they were highly suggestible so they responded to the
suggestion of taking the book; the moment they took the book, they felt
guilty and responded to the second suggestion: give money. We are all
conditioned that if someone gives us something, we have to give them
something in return--in that case, it was money. While watching this
hustler, I was close enough to notice that many of the people he stopped
exhibited an outward sign of alpha--their eyes were actually dilated.
Subliminal Programming
Subliminals are hidden suggestions that only your subconscious
perceives. They can be audio, hidden behind music, or visual, airbrushed
into a picture, flashed on a screen so fast that you don't consciously see
them, or cleverly incorporated into a picture or design.
Most audio subliminal reprogramming tapes offer verbal suggestions
recorded at a low volume. I question the efficacy of this technique--if
subliminals are not perceptible, they cannot be effective, and subliminals
recorded below the audible threshold are therefore useless. The oldest
audio subliminal technique uses a voice that follows the volume of the
music so subliminals are impossible to detect without a parametric
equalizer. But this technique is patented and, when I wanted to develop my
own line of subliminal audio cassettes, negotiations with the patent holder
proved to be unsatisfactory. My attorney obtained copies of the patents
which I gave to some talented Hollywood sound engineers, asking them to
create a new technique. They found a way to psycho-acoustically modify and
synthesize the suggestions so that they are projected in the same chord and
frequency as the music, thus giving them the effect of being part of the
music. But we found that in using this technique, there is no way to reduce
various frequencies to detect the subliminals. In other words, although the
suggestions are being heard by the subconscious mind, they cannot be
monitored with even the most sophisticated equipment.
If we were able to come up withthis technique as easily as we did,I
can only imagine how sophisticated the technology has become, with
unlimited government or advertising funding. And I shudder to think about
the propaganda and commercial manipulation that we are exposed to on a
daily basis. There is simply no way to know what is behind the music you
hear. It may even be possible to hide a second voice behind the voice to
which you are listening.
Theseries by Wilson Bryan Key, Ph.D., on subliminals in advertising
and political campaigns well documents the misuse in many areas, especially
printed advertising in newspapers, magazines, and posters.
524
The big question about subliminals is: dothey work? And I guarantee
you they do. Not only from the response of those who have used my tapes,
but from the results of such programs as the subliminals behind the music
in department stores. Supposedly, the only message is instructions to not
steal: one East Coast department store chain reported a 37 percent
reduction in thefts in the first nine months of testing.
A 1984 article in the technical newsletter, "Brain-Mind Bulletin,"
states that as much as 99 percent of our cognitive activity may be
"non-conscious," according to the director of the Laboratory for Cognitive
Psychophysiology at the University of Illinois. The lengthy report ends
with the statement, "these findings support the use of subliminal
approaches such as taped suggestions for weight loss and the therapeutic
use of hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming."
Mass Misuse
I could relatemany stories that support subliminal programming, but
I'd rather use my time to make you aware of even more subtle uses of such
programming.
I have personally experienced sitting in a Los Angeles auditorium with
over ten thousand people who were gathered to listen to a current
charismatic figure. Twenty minutes after entering the auditorium, I became
aware that I was going in and out of an altered state. Those accompanying
me experienced the same thing. Since it is our business, we were aware of
what was happening, but those around us were not. By careful observation,
what appeared to be spontaneous demonstrations were, in fact, artful
manipulations. The only way I could figure that the eyes-open trance had
been induced was that a 6- to 7-cycle-per-second vibration was being piped
into the room behind the air conditioner sound. That particular vibration
generates alpha, which would render the audience highly susceptible. Ten to
25 percent of the population is capable of a somnambulistic level of
altered states of consciousness; for these people, the suggestions of the
speaker, if non-threatening, could potentially be accepted as "commands."
Vibrato
This leads to the mention of VIBRATO. Vibrato is the tremulous effect
imparted in some vocal or instrumental music, and the cycle-per-second
range
causes people to go into an altered state of consciousness. At one period
of English history, singers whose voices contained pronounced vibrato were
not allowed to perform publicly because listeners would go into an altered
state and have fantasies, often sexual in nature.
People who attend operaor enjoy listeningto singers like MarioLanza
are familiar with this altered state induced by the performers.
ELFs
Now, let's carry this awareness a little farther. There are also
inaudible ELFs (extra-low frequency waves). These are electromagnetic in
nature. One of the primary uses of ELFs is to communicate with our
submarines. Dr. Andrija Puharich, a highly respected researcher, in an
attempt to warn U.S. officials about Russian use of ELFs, set up an
experiment. Volunteers were wired so their brain waves could be measured on
an EEG. They were sealed in a metal room that could not be penetrated by a
normal signal.
Puharich then beamed ELF waves at the volunteers. ELFs go right through
525
the earth and, of course, right through metal walls. Those inside couldn't
know if the signal was or was not being sent. And Puharich watched the
reactions on the technical equipment: 30 percent of those inside the room
were taken over by the ELF signal in six to ten seconds.
When I say "taken over," I mean that their behavior followed the
changes anticipated at very precise frequencies. Waves below 6 cycles per
second caused the subjects to become very emotionally upset, and even
disrupted bodily functions. At 8.2 cycles, they felt very high . . . an
elevated feeling, as though they had been in masterful meditation, learned
over a period of years. Eleven to 11.3 cycles induced waves of depressed
agitation leading to riotous behavior.
The Neurophone
Dr. PatrickFlanagan is a personalfriend of mine. Inthe early 1960s,
as a teenager, Pat was listed as one of the top scientists in the world by
"Life" magazine. Among his many inventions was a device he called the
Neurophone--an electronic instrument that can successfully program
suggestions directly through contact with the skin. When he attempted to
patent the device, the government demanded that he prove it worked. When he
did, the National Security Agency confiscated the neurophone. It took Pat
two years of legal battle to get his invention back.
In using thedevice, you don't hear or see a thing; it is applied to
the skin, which Pat claims is the source of special senses. The skin
contains more sensors for heat, touch, pain, vibration, and electrical
fields than any other part of the human anatomy.
In one of his recent tests, Pat conducted two identical seminars for a
military audience--one seminar one night and one the next night, because
the size of the room was not large enough to accommodate all of them at one
time. When the first group proved to be very cool and unwilling to
respond, Patrick spent the next day making a special tape to play at the
second seminar. The tape instructed the audience to be extremely warm and
responsive and for their hands to become "tingly." The tape was played
through the neurophone, which was connected to a wire he placed along the
ceiling of the room. There were no speakers, so no sound could be heard,
yet the message was successfully transmitted from that wire directly into
the brains of the audience. They were warm and receptive, their hands
tingled and they responded, according to programming, in other ways that I
cannot mention here.
The more we find out about how human beings work through today's highly
advanced technological research, the more we learn to control human beings.
And what probably scares me the most is that the medium for takeover is
already in place! The television set in your living room and bedroom is
doing a lot more than just entertaining you.
Before I continue, let me point out something else about an altered
state of consciousness. When you go into an altered state, you transfer
into right brain, which results in the internal release of the body's own
opiates: enkephalins and Beta-endorphins, chemically almost identical to
opium. In other words, it feels good . . . and you want to come back for
more.
526
Recent tests byresearcher Herbert Krugman showedthat, while viewers
were watching TV, right-brain activity outnumbered left-brain activity by a
ratio of two to one. Put more simply, the viewers were in an altered state
. . . in trance more often than not. They were getting their Beta-endorphin
"fix."
To measure attention spans, psychophysiologist Thomas Mulholland of the
Veterans Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts, attached young viewers to an
EEG machine that was wired to shut the TV set off whenever the children's
brains produced a majority of alpha waves. Although the children were told
to concentrate, only a few could keep the set on for more than 30 seconds!
Most viewers are already hypnotized. To deepen the trance is easy. One
simple way is to place a blank, black frame every 32 frames in the film
that is being projected. This creates a 45-beat-per-minute pulsation
perceived only by the subconscious mind--the ideal pace to generate deep
hypnosis.
The commercials or suggestions presented following this alpha-inducing
broadcast are much more likely to be accepted by the viewer. The high
percentage of the viewing audience that has somnambulistic-depth ability
could very well accept the suggestions as commands--as long as those
commands did not ask the viewer to do something contrary to his morals,
religion, or self-preservation.
The medium for takeover is here. By the age of 16, children have spent
10,000 to 15,000 hours watching television--that is more time than they
spend n school! In the average home, the TV set is on for six hours and 44
minutes per day--an increase of nine minutes from last year and three times
the average rate of increase during the 1970s.
It obviously isn't getting better . . . we are rapidly moving into an
alpha-level world--very possibly the Orwellian world of "1984"--placid,
glassy-eyed, and responding obediently to instructions.
A research project by Jacob Jacoby, a Purdue University psychologist,
found that of 2,700 people tested, 90 percent misunderstood even such
simple viewing fare as commercials and "Barnaby Jones." Only minutes after
watching, the typical viewer missed 23 to 36 percent of the questions about
what he or she had seen. Of course they did--they were going in and out of
trance! If you go into a deep trance, you must be instructed to
remember--otherwise you automatically forget.
I have just touched the tip of the iceberg. When you start to combine
subliminal messages behind the music, subliminal visuals projected on the
screen, hypnotically produced visual effects, sustained musical beats at a
trance-inducing pace . . . you have extremely effective brainwashing. Every
hour that you spend watching the TV set you become more conditioned. And,
in case you thought there was a law against any of these things, guess
again. There isn't! There are a lot of powerful people who obviously
prefer things exactly the way they are. Maybe they have plans for?
527
A NEO-PAGAN FILMOGRAPHY
An Annotated List
of Recommended Viewing
=======================
(compiled 3/89)
by Mike Nichols
Although this list is a long one, it could easily have been much
longer. In fact, the hard part was deciding which of many good movies had
to be left out, due to limitations of space. So I used a few rules to
guide me. First, I gave preference to movies that had a strong Pagan
message, as opposed to films that are 'merely' entertaining. Thus, a film
like 'Never Cry Wolf', though it has no supernatural elements, made the
list; whereas superbly crafted atmospheric entertainments like 'Gothic' and
'Eyes of Fire' didn't. Second, in dealing with the supernatural, I
concentrated on films that informed, or at least stayed within the realms
of possibility. Hence, I include 'The Haunting', but not 'Poltergeist'.
Inevitably, I will have left out some of your favorites, for which I
apologize in advance. But I had to stop somewhere.
APPRENTICE TO MURDER, 1988, C-94m
D: R.L. Thomas. Donald Sutherland, Chad Lowe, Mia Sara, Knut Husebo,
Rutanya Alsa.
Intriguing fact-based story of a man who was a 'hex-meister' in the
Pennsylvania Dutch tradition. His practice of folk medicine lands him in
trouble with the law, and a final confrontation with a rival sorcerer leads
to a charge of murder. Sutherland is appealing in the lead role, and the
story unfolds mainly through his eyes. Mia Sara does a nice job in a
supporting role. There's a lot of authentic folk magic to lend atmosphere.
THE BELIEVERS, 1987, C-114m
D: John Schlesinger. Martin Sheen, Helen Shaver, Harley Cross, Robert
Loggia, Elizabeth Wilson, Lee Richardson, Harris Yulin, Richard Masur,
Carla Pinza, Jimmy Smits.
Afterthe death ofhis wife, Sheen andhis son moveto New York City,
where they become involved in a grisly series of cultish human sacrifices.
Although the religion of Santeria is unfortunately shown in a negative
light, there is enough authenticity to lend lots of interest. A gripping
thriller.
BELL, BOOK, AND CANDLE, 1958, C-103m
D: Richard Quine. James Stewart, Kim Novak, Jack Lemmon, Ernie Kovaks,
Hermione Gingold.
Yes, I'm well aware that this movie, based on the John Van Druten
play, is responsible for more misinformation about Witchcraft than anything
outside the 'Bewitched' TV series. Still, I hardly know a Pagan who
doesn't love it. For many of us, it was the first time we'd encountered
the idea of Witchcraft alive and well in a modern metropolis. And Kim
Novak is STILL my idea of what a Witch OUGHT to look like. And none of us
will ever forget Kovak's reading of the line 'Witches, boy! Witches!' Or
Stewart's offhand comment that it feels more like Halloween than Christmas.
Lots of fun.
528
BROTHER SUN, SISTER MOON, 1973-Italian-British, C-121m
D: Franco Zeffirelli. Graham Faulkner, Judi Bowker, Leigh Lawson, Alec
Guinness, Valentina Cortese, Kenneth Cranham
For most Pagans, St. Francis of Assisi is usually considered an
honorary Pagan, at the very least. His insistence on finding divinity in
nature is exactly what Paganism is all about. This film biography portrays
his extreme love of and sensitivity to nature with poignant beauty. And
the musical score by Donovan is such a perfect choice that, having heard
it, nothing else would ever do. This is also a visually stunning film, as
those who remember Zefferelli's 'Romeo and Juliet' might expect. If ever
Christianity could be made palatable to the sensibilities of Neo-Pagans, it
would have to be through the eyes of a nature mystic like Francis. The
Catholic Church came close to naming him a heretic but, at the last minute,
the Pope (played by Alec Guinness) sanctioned him. (Old Obi Wan comes
through again!)
BURN, WITCH, BURN!, 1962-British, 90m
D: Sidney Hayers. Janey Blair, Peter Wyngarde, Margaret Johnston, Anthony
Nicholls.
Based on the Fritz Leiber classic 'Conjure Wife' and scripted by
Richard Matheson, this is an interesting view of Witchcraft. Granted, this
has as many misconceptions as 'Bell, Book, and Candle', yet the premise is
intriguing: that ALL women are secretly Witches, and ALL men don't know
about it. This is mainly about one woman's use of magic to advance the
career of her schoolteacher husband.
DARBY O'GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE, 1959, C-93m
D: Robert Stevenson. Albert Sharpe, Janet Munro, Sean Connery, Jimmy
O'Dea, Kieron Moore, Estelle Winwood.
Simply the best fantasy ever filmed. No kidding. This is a PERFECT
little movie, and (along with 'The Quiet Man') the ultimate St. Patrick's
Day film. Sharpe is sensational as Darby O'Gill, who likes to sit in the
pub telling stories about his adventures with the King of the Leprechauns.
Unbeknownst to everyone, they are TRUE stories! Every tidbit of Irish
folklore, from banshees to the crock of gold to the costa bower (the death
coach) is worked into the plot. The music and songs are great. So is the
cast, many of whom were brought over from the Abbey Theater in Dublin!
Sean Connery makes his screen debut, in a SINGING role! The subsequent
untimely death of Janet Munro robbed the screen of one of its brightest
actresses. (Her character's combination of willfulness and femininity is a
textbook study. Compared to her, Princess Leia's character is not
'strong-willed' -- it's just snotty!) The special effects are miraculous
for 1959! When Darby walks into King Brian's throne room, we walks THROUGH
a crowd of Leprechauns, and I defy anyone to find a matte line! In fact,
the special effects are so good throughout, that you FORGET that they're
special effects, and end up deciding that they must have rounded up some
real Leprechauns from somewhere.
529
THE DARK CRYSTAL, 1983-British, C-94m
D: Jim Henson and Frank Oz. Performed by Jim Henson, Kathryn Mullen, Frank
Oz, Dave Goelz, Brian Muehl, Jean Pierre Amiel, Kiran Shaw.
The creators of the Muppets come up with an entire fantasy world,
where even the flora and fauna are original. And this world is in grave
peril unless the missing shard of the Dark Crystal can be found and
restored to it. This is a hero-quest in the classic mold, with art
stylings by Brian Froud. Although wonderfully imaginative and
entertaining, it has a very strong message of mysticism, all about
universal balance and the synthesis of opposites. (One wonders if the
entire quartz crystal fad of the late 1980's had its origins here!)
DON'T LOOK NOW, 1973-British, C-110m
D: Nicolas Roeg. Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland, Hilary Mason, Clelia
Matania, Massimo Serato.
Based ona so-so occultthriller by Daphnedu Maurier, thisbecomes a
brilliant film in the hands of Italian director Nicolas Roeg (famed for
'The Man Who Fell to Earth). Shortly after their daughter has drowned,
Sutherland (who restores mosaics in old churches) and his wife go to Venice
where they meet two sisters who are spiritualists. They begin to receive
messages from the daughter, who keeps warning Sutherland to leave Venice
because he is in mortal danger. If ever a film captured the real feeling
of how psychic ability operates, this is it. The use of subjective
editing, and the symbolic use (and total control of!) color throughout the
film is masterful. (This film also contains one of the most stylish love
scenes ever filmed.) Squeamish people need to be warned about the violent
ending, however.
THE DUNWICH HORROR, 1970, C-90m
D: Daniel Haller. Sandra Dee, Dean Stockwell, Ed Begley, Sam Jaffe, Lloyd
Bochner, Joanna Moore, Talia Coppolia (Shire).
Nice adaptation of an H. P.Lovecraft story, with a wonderfulcast.
Dean
Stockwell is the quintessential ritual magician, both mysterious and
compelling. He steals the original 'Necronomicon' from a library in order
to 'bring back the Old Ones', a race of powerful but dark beings that
inhabited the earth before humans. Sam Jaffe is wonderful as his crazed
grandfather. (What happened to the father is part of the mystery!) And
Sandra Dee is perfect as the innocent virgin chosen to be the unwilling
host mother for the rebirth of these demons. (Some versions of the film
cut the last scene short, which shows a developing fetus superimposed over
Dee's abdomen. 'Nuff said.) By the way, no film has ever shown the raw
power of otherworldly beings as well as this. No 'latex lovelies' here.
Just pure, unadulterated elemental force. Nice job!
THE EMERALD FOREST, 1985, C-113m
D: John Boorman. Powers Boothe, Meg Foster, Charley Boorman, Dira Pass.
A look atour ownculture through theeyes of theaboriginal tribesof
the Amazon. (They call us the 'termite people', because of the
deforestation and industrial development we have brought to their
homeland.) The director's son, Charley, is totally convincing as a young
boy raised by aborigines. Great music by Junior Homrich.
530
THE ENTITY, 1983, C-115m
D: Sidney J. Furie. Barbara Hershey, Ron Silver, Jacqueline Brooks, David
Lablosa, George Coe, Margaret Blye.
The trulyfrightening thing about thismovie is that it'sbased on a
true story, about a woman who is repeatedly violently raped by an invisible
presence. Initially, she seeks the help of a psychologist, who is a strict
behaviorist and thinks that it is all 'in her mind'. It is not until a
chance encounter with a team of parapsychologist from the local university
that she finally finds people who understand her problem. One of the
film's great strengths is its portrayal of the professional rivalry that
develops between the psychologist (who has begun taking a personal
interest) and the parapsychologists, who are interested in investigating
the phenomena. The final scene in the gymnasium is the only part of the
film based on speculation only. At last report, the case was still active.
EXCALIBUR, 1981-British, C-140m
D: John Boorman. Nicol Williamson, Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nicholas
Clay, Cherie Lunghi, Corin Redgrave, Paul Geoffrey.
A stylish adaptationof ThomasMalory's 'Le MorteD'Arthur'. Boorman
knew exactly what he was doing in combining certain key characters and
keeping the spirit of the legends. The Grail Quest is especially well
handled. Williamson's Merlin and Mirren's Morgana are both brilliant
performances. Great music. Try to see this one on the big screen.
HARVEY, 1950, 104m
D: Henry Koster. James Stewart, Josephine Hull, Peggy Dow, Charles Drake,
Cecil Kellaway, Victoria Horne, Jesse White, Wallace Ford, Ida Moore.
Imagine a movie that chooses as its main theme a Welsh animal spirit
called a pooka (or 'pwcca' in Welsh)! That would be improbable enough by
today's standards. But the fact that it happened in a 1940's Pulitzer
Prize-winning play and subsequent movie boggles the mind! The pooka in
question is a 6-foot invisible rabbit named Harvey, who manifests himself
only to a gentle tippler named Elwood P. Dowd, played to perfection by
Stewart. Jesse White (the lonely Maytag repairman) made his film debut
here. Few movies are as much fun as this.
THE HAUNTING, 1963, 112m
D: Robert Wise. Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn,
Lois Maxwell, Fay Compton
Based on ShirleyJackson's masterpiece 'TheHaunting of HillHouse',
this is probably the ultimate ghost movie. A parapsychologist and a team
of student assistants investigate a haunted house. Based on the premise
that no ghost ever hurts anyone physically; the damage is always done by
the victim to himself, psychologically. Julie Harris is marvelous.
INHERIT THE WIND, 1960, 127m
D: Stanley Kramer. Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, Gene Kelly, Florence
Eldridge, Dick York, Harry Morgan, Donna Anderson, Elliot Reid, Claude
Akins, Noah Beery, Jr., Norman Fell.
This should be required viewing for every Pagan. For many of us,
there came a time when our own ideologies simply collided head-on with
fundamental Christian faith, and we knew we could no longer accept it.
Never has a movie embodied this theme so well. Based on the play by Jerome
Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, it deals with the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925
in Tennessee, where a high school teacher was arrested for teaching
Darwin's Theory of Evolution. The debate that ensued was between two of
the most brilliant minds of their day, the great trial lawyer Clarence
Darrow for the defense, and two-time Presidential candidate William
Jennings Bryan for the prosecution. Kelly's character is based on
acid-tongued columnist H. L. Mencken. This is riveting, from first to
last.
531
JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL, 1973, C-120m
D: Hal Bartlett. Many seagulls.
Although the film is flawed and drags a little toward the end, it is
nevertheless well worth seeing. The photography is beautiful, and Neil
Diamond's score (including 'Skybird') is marvelous. It is, of course,
based on Richard Bach's marvelous tale of a little seagull that refuses to
fit in with his flock, preferring to follow a higher, more mystical,
calling. This is yet another one you should try to see on the big screen.
LADYHAWKE, 1985, C-124m
D: Richard Donner. Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Leo
McKern, John Wood, Ken Hutchison, Alfred Molina.
Whoever decidedon themusic for thisfilm should beshot! Think what
a nice soundtrack by Clannad would have been like. That reservation aside,
this is a great medieval fantasy concerning two lovers who have been
separated by a curse, and a young thief who becomes their ally, an unusual
but charming role for Matthew Broderick. (If anyone ever gets around to
filming Katherine Kurtz's 'Deryni' books, this is the team that ought to do
it.)
THE LAST UNICORN, 1982, C-84m
D: Rankin & Bass. Voices of Mia Farrow, Alan Arkin, Jeff Bridges, Tammy
Grimes, Robert Klein, Angela Lansbury, Christopher Lee.
Based on theincomparable fantasy novel by PeterS. Beagle, this is
very adult animation. And because Beagle himself wrote the screenplay,
this film contains spiritual one-liners that hit you right in the gut.
Example: 'Never run from anything immortal. It attracts their attention.'
Though this is NOT classic Disney animation (in fact, it looks like limited
animation), the voice-work, screenplay, and art stylings are all so good,
you're inclined to overlook it. Angela Lansbury's character voice for
Mommy Fortuna is marvelous. And there's a lovely lyrical score by the
group America.
THE LAST WAVE, 1977-Australian, C-106m
D: Peter Weir. Richard Chamberlain, Olivia Hamnett, (David) Gulpilil,
Frederick Parslow, Vivean Gray, Nanjiwarra Amagula.
Chamberlainplays anAustralian lawyerdefending anaborigine accused
of a murder that was actually done by magic. This is a rare and wonderful
glimpse into the tribal religion of the native Australians, their myths,
and their belief in the Dream Time. Peter Weir (famed for 'Picnic at
Hanging Rock') directs this atmospheric thriller.
LEGEND, 1985-British, C-89m
D: Ridley Scott. Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, David Bennent, Alice
Playten, Billy Barty.
Oneof the mostvisually luscious filmsever created. Every frame is
gorgeous. The plot is nearly archetypal, with evil (Curry) attempting to
seduce innocence (Sara). Though it's hard to accept Cruise as the hero of
this Grimm's-like fairy tale, Curry and Sara turn in good performances.
The European version runs 20 minutes longer and retains the original (and,
in my opinion, superior) musical score by Jerry Goldsmith. The American
score is by Tangerine Dream.
532
THE LORD OF THE RINGS, 1978, C-133m
D: Ralph Bakshi. Voices of Christopher Guard, William Squire, John Hurt,
Michael Sholes, Dominic Guard.
This ambitious but flawed animated feature covers half of J.R.R.
Tolkien's fantasy trilogy, ending much too abruptly. But for all the
criticism usually heaped upon this film, there ARE moments of absolute
genius. Such as the Dark Riders attempting to kill Frodo and friends in
their beds at the Prancing Pony Inn. Or Gandalf and Frodo's moonlit walk
through the Shire. Or the first time Frodo puts on the ring. These
moments alone make the movie well worth seeing.
NEVER CRY WOLF, 1983, C-105m
D: Carroll Ballard. Charles Martin Smith, Brian Dennehy, Zachary
Ittimangnaq, Samson Jorah.
A brilliant performance by Smith (based on author Farley Mowat) as a
young man sent to study wolves in the Arctic. Again, we are treated to the
insights of the native culture (the Innuit), and are shown how it has been
debased through contact with our own greedy culture. This film contains
some of the most spectacular nature photography ever put on film. Ballard
was chief nature photographer for Disney Studios for years. Try to see
this one on the big screen.
NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE, 1979-West German, C-107m
D: Werner Herzog. Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz, Roland Topor.
Forvampire lovers, this film isthe creme de lacreme. Werner Herzog
is a leader of modern German Expressionist cinema, and here he is operating
at the top of his form. The spooky atmosphere is so thick you could peel
it off the screen in layers. (Try to see this one in the theater.) The
creepiness of Kinski's Dracula is equaled only by the classic beauty of
Adjani's Lucy. This is the perfect film for Halloween night. The German
language version with English subtitles is far superior to the English
version, and slightly longer. (The SOUND of the German dialogue actually
fits the mood of the film better.)
ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER, 1970, C-129m
D: Vincente Minnelli. Barbra Streisand, Yves Montand, Bob Newhart, Larry
Blyden, Simon Oakland, Jack Nicholson. Alan Lerner & Burton Lane score.
Probablyinspired by the case of BrideyMurphy, this musical is all
about hypnosis, past life regression, ESP, reincarnation, and other 'New
Age' topics (though 20 years too early). (One wonders how Shirley MacLaine
missed starring in this. Yet, one is thankful for small favors.)
Streisand is wonderful, especially in the lavish flashback sequences.
Montand should have been replaced. Still, the plot's surprising turns are
well within the realm of supernatural possibility.
533
THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW, 1988, C-98m
D: Wes Craven. Bill Pullman, Cathy Tyson, Zakes Mokae, Paul Winfield,
Brent Jennings, Theresa Merritt, Michael Gough.
Directed by Wes Craven (famed for his 'Nightmare on Elm Street'
series), this is the true story of Wade Davis, an ethnobotanist who is sent
to Haiti to bring back the secret of the so-called Zombie drug,
tetrodotoxin. But the local practitioners of 'Voodoo' don't yield their
secrets too easily and, before it's all over, Davis finds himself a victim
of the drug -- which gives Craven carte blanche for the wonderful special
effects he's famous for. Like 'The Believers', this film unfortunately
shows the native religion (Voudoun) primarily in a negative light. Still,
at times it manages to capture its beauty, mystery and innocence,
especially in the festival scenes when the entire village spends the night
asleep in a candle-lighted forest.
7 FACES OF DR. LAO, 1964, C-100m
D: George Pal. Tony Randall, Barbara Eden, Arthur O'Connell, John Ericson,
Kevin Tate, Argentina Brunetti, Noah Beery, Jr., Minerva Urecal, John
Qualen, Lee Patrick, Royal Dano.
For people who think that decent fantasy films are a recent
development, this movie is going to come as a delightful surprise. The
special effects and gentle magic of director George Pal was the perfect
means of bringing the Charles Finney classic 'The Circus of Dr. Lao' to the
screen. Randall, in a tour de force performance of six roles, is the
mysterious Chinese guru, Dr. Lao, whose travelling circus changes the
course of history for a small Western town. For the better. A lovely and
funny film with a spiritual dimension that would appeal to every Pagan.
Nice musical score by Leigh Harline combines Western and Oriental music.
SILENT RUNNING, 1971, C-89m
D: Douglas Trumbull. Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin, Jesse Vint.
Should be subtitled 'Druidsin Spaaaaace!!!' Aboard thedeep space
ship Valley Forge, the very talented Bruce Dern (in his most likable film
role ever) battles to save the last vestiges of the Earth's forests.
Special effects by the team that created '2001'. And a brilliant musical
score by Peter Schickele (whose better-known comic persona is P.D.Q. Bach),
sung by Joan Baez.
SLEEPING BEAUTY, 1959, C-75m
D: Clyde Geronimi. Voices of Mary Costa, Bill Shirley, Elinor Audley,
Verna Felton, Barbara Jo Allen, Barbara Luddy.
The all-time masterpiece of the animator's art, this is the most
lavish and most expensive (by contemporary standards) animated feature ever
done by Disney studios. The uninitiated may babble about 'Fantasia', but
the true cognoscente of animation know that THIS is the apogee of the art
form. From the lush color stylings (heavy use of greens and purples), to
the elegantly stylized backgrounds, to the figure of Maleficent (designed
by Marc Davis), to a fire-breathing dragon that wasn't equaled until
'Dragonslayer', this film is superb. Voice work by Audley and Felton is
outstanding. The film should also serve as a textbook example of how to
adapt a classical score (Tchaikovsky's 'Sleeping Beauty Ballet') to a movie
soundtrack. Never has it been done better. See it. One last
consideration: this was filmed in the extra-wide-screen Technerama process,
and naturally loses a lot when transferred to video. Try to see this in a
theater. One with a BIG screen and a state-of-the-art sound system. You
will be amazed.
534
SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES, 1983, C-94m
D: Jack Clayton. Jason Robards, Jonathan Pryce, Diane Ladd, Pam Grier,
Royal Dano, Shawn Carson, Vidal Peterson, Mary Grace Canfield, James Stacy,
narrated by Arthur Hill.
RayBradbu | | |
