Subliminal Messaging
The messages just below the conscious level
I have worked in marketing for over a decade so I know how this goes. Let’s take smoking for example.
Tobacco companies spend millions of dollars on ads that tell you not to smoke. Does that make any sense?
The same companies then make smoking seem really cool in movies. They place 'no smoking' banners at the eye level of teens and the result? More and more cigarettes are sold every year… why? Subliminal messaging.
What is subliminal messaging?
From the top of my head, a subliminal message is one that targets the subconscious mind while the conscious is completely unaware. The result of this type of message is that the recipient acts a certain way without knowing why. This is how the corporations have been surviving. But this is not about hating on the corporations. It is to make us aware — and that’s kinda the point with all I write.
How the subconscious works
The subconscious mind deals with feelings and associations. If you see a person smoking a cigarette in a movie, the fact that you love the character will make your subconscious mind open to the messages passed through him or her. If the person looks happy, your subconscious mind associates happiness with smoking…even though you consciously don’t take note.
If you see that black people dressed in durags and hoodies usually get in trouble in movies, your subconscious makes that association, and the next time you see a black person in a hoodie, you automatically think he or she is trouble. There! Police brutality explained — because these guys catch bad guys. And when they are being trained, what pictures are they shown when describing a criminal? you guessed it, black men. It’s nothing personal. It’s just how the mind works. What’s personal is that there could be someone who could probably want us to think a certain way and as such, doctor these messages to bring this altered perception to reality. But that’s beside the point.
Subliminal messages are weird. They relay the 'intent' of the creator to the viewer without letting the viewer’s conscious mind in on the communication. Does this make sense? I think I’m actually enjoying writing this — let’s continue.
A personal example
I hate cockroaches. They ignite my ‘inner killer’ and this is strange because I value all life. I turned vegan because the idea of killing for food got to me. I do my best to stay away from killing — but that doesn’t flow towards cockroaches. Why? I had to go deep into my subconscious mind to find out why I was so violent towards this particular creature despite their wonderous nature…and I found it.
In the bible, there was a man called Job and this man found a way to catch Leprosy. Leprosy was such a terrible disease that anyone who caught it had to be isolated. And I remember being told as a child that cockroaches could give a person Leprosy. There it was — the source of my hate! And I didn’t even remember it. To add to that, at different times, I had seen in places that getting rid of cockroaches could reduce the chances of catching some very nasty diseases. No one asked me to become a cold-blooded cockroach killer but I now associated them with lots of diseases (especially Leprosy) and the rest was up to my mind.
Subliminals aren’t particularly good or bad
As we have seen, subliminal messages are passed directly to the subconscious mind so there is really not an argument of good or evil, it’s an argument of ethical and non-ethical use.
I have seen fathers instill confidence and other great virtues in their children using subliminal messaging. I have seen people turn away from drug abuse because of effective subliminal messaging. I have also seen the world heading to sh*t — pardon my french.
I can’t stop you from seeing movies or listening to songs or even leaving your house so you’d be safer, but I can show you a way to guard your subconscious from being easily influenced…and I just did.
Conclusion
We were programmed with a non-conscious guarding system and all it takes to activate it is a warning of the danger ahead. By telling you about subliminal messaging, you have received that warning. By letting you know that subliminal messaging occurs in movies, mainstream media, and product ads, you have become aware and that system is activated. The results are that you will see the ads but are less likely to take the required next step. You have become subconsciously more conscious — does that make sense?
Do more research into the concept of subliminal messages and see where and how they have been in movies and ads for years now. It’s time to take your attention and behaviour back.
Thank me later
