Subliminal images
Have you ever heard of "subliminal images"?
In the late 1950s, James Vicary, an American advertiser, claimed that the presence of subliminal messages stating "Drink Coca Cola Eat Pop corn" in Joshua Logan's film Picnic massively increased the consumption of these products by viewers.
At the time, the press, advertisers, and the general public saw it as proof of the manipulative power of subliminal images: the use of this process was banned in 1958 in the United States, Australia, and England.
At the same time, interest in the subliminal was rekindled. Several scientific teams, to get to the bottom of it, tried to reproduce Vicary's experiment... but without success!
In 1962, the advertiser then admitted to having fabricated this rumor for promotional purposes. Too late: the myth was born, even if the effectiveness of subliminal images is still debated.
Today, we still speak of subliminal exposure when "information is presented in such a way that it is processed by our perceptual and cognitive system, without it being conscious, even if we focus our attention to detect it."
I remember a very good episode of the TV series Columbo, filmed in 1973 (episode 4 of season 3, titled Mind Over Mayhem) in which the murderer uses subliminal images to assassinate his victim, and is finally trapped by the famous inspector using the same method!
Subliminal photos were therefore at the heart of this case, both in the crime and its resolution, and it was the first time I heard of this process, which I must admit fascinated me!
The series explained that a subliminal message is a message that reaches our senses but does not reach our consciousness. Only our unconscious can see and store it.
For example, in a film, if an image is inserted during editing, the viewer will notice nothing because the film scrolls too quickly.
The insertion of subliminal images into a film, video, or advertisement of 24 frames per second therefore amounts to adding a 25th frame which, at normal projection speed, will appear on the screen for only a few milliseconds, too short for the human eye to detect it.
But the brain can react. It has been proven that subliminal content (images, but also texts) produces effects on brain activity and is capable, to a certain extent, of influencing our emotions and our choices.
Laboratory experiments show that it is possible for faces or objects presented subliminally and repeatedly to reinforce a positive or negative attitude towards them. This impact is subtle, however, and cannot suddenly make us like or dislike someone, or make us want to consume a product we don't appreciate.
At most, the choice of a drink can be guided for a short time if we had a prior desire to drink.
In other words, the longer a decision is made based on long reflection, such as buying a home, the less room there is for automatic behaviors associated with the use of the subliminal.
In reality, what I found fascinating about these subliminal images was not so much the power to increase product sales or rig an election, nor the desire to make someone act against their will, but rather to let them persuade themselves of an idea.
Thus, the question we can ask ourselves in magic is how to let a spectator persuade themselves of the existence of an element or the veracity of an idea, without having to do anything?
For example, how do we make them assume that our deck of cards has red backs?
Often our reflex is to have them examine it conscientiously, even if it means performing a deck switch afterwards.
Why not, that's a possibility, but certainly not by telling them "Look, the cards are all different from each other, their backs are not marked, they are not beveled, they all have red backs, etc."
Firstly, because that implies to the spectator that it can be faked and, above all, that their ignorance in the matter might prevent them from detecting it.
Perhaps then we should show with a Hindu shuffle that all the backs are blue (to hide that they are red): but do we usually show a deck when it actually has red backs?
Wouldn't it be more interesting to simply show a red case, naturally take out the deck flashing a red back, and focus on the faces (under the pretext of your choice), without saying anything specific about the deck of cards?
To turn this deck face up and peel the cards face up, even if it means shuffling the cards face up, flashing a back from time to time by placing the deck face down on the table.
Why would you want the audience to think for a second that the backs of the other cards might be a different color?
Thus, it is our gestures, our attitude that will create the subliminal image: the deck IS red!
You are undoubtedly familiar with the following tricks: "The Chameleon Card" or "My Printer Friend" by Dominique Duvivier, which are largely based on this principle.
Indeed, one feels in his work that he has worked enormously on this idea (if you have already seen his shows, you must have realized how true and effective it is!), and we are lucky that he has addressed this subject extensively in his articles, interviews, conferences, discussions, podcasts, etc. I can only encourage you to delve into it if the subject interests you.
Finally, know that a subliminal image can also be auditory. For example, if you place four cards face down on the table and briefly turn two face up, naming them, and then name the third without showing it to the audience (only you see it), the spectators will remember having seen that card.
Now it's your turn: how can you lead your audience to assume something they will believe to be real (a phrase, a gesture, an attitude, a sound, an smell, etc.), that is, to let them convince themselves!
Finally, even if you don't use this "subliminal technology," why not use it in your scenario, explaining to the audience what it is, before revealing a prediction, for example!