Unterschwelliger Reiz

2009-11-04T23:22:06Z

69.169.152.49: /* Instances */ removed uncited - the Atom bomb was not invented yet when Metropolis came out

{{Hidden messages}}

A '''subliminal message''' is a signal or message embedded in another medium, designed to pass below the normal limits of the human [[mind]]'s perception. These messages are unrecognizable by the [[conscious]] mind, but in certain situations can affect the [[subconscious]] mind and can negatively or positively influence subsequent later thoughts, behaviors, actions, attitudes, belief systems and value systems. The term ''subliminal'' means "beneath a [[limen]]" ([[sensory threshold]]). This is from the Latin words ''sub'', meaning under, and ''limen'', meaning threshold.

The two most famous types of alleged subliminal messages are:

*Spoken messages which are recorded backward onto a track that is meant to be played forward (called [[backmasking]])
*Written messages which are quickly flashed during videos (sometimes called '''25th frame''')

While there is some empirical evidence supporting limited effectiveness of the flashed messages<ref name="Karremans2006"/><ref name = bizcovering/>, subliminal influence of backmasking is not supported by scientific experiments.<ref name = Robinson/><ref>[http://www.csicop.org/si/show/demon-haunted_sentence_a_skeptical_analysis_of_reverse_speech1/ The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry: A Skeptical Analysis of Reverse Speech]</ref>

== Origin ==
The director of Yale Psychology laboratory Ph.D. [[E. W. Scripture]] published ''[[The New Psychology]]'' in 1897 (The Walter Scott Ltd, London), which described the basic principles of subliminal messages.<ref name="straightdope">{{Citation|title=The Straight Dope: Does subliminal advertising work?|publisher=[[The Straight Dope]]|url=http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_187.html|accessdate=2006-08-11}}</ref>

In 1900, Knight Dunlap, an American professor of [[psychology]], flashed an "imperceptible shadow" to subjects while showing them a [[Müller-Lyer illusion]] containing two lines with pointed arrows at both ends which create an [[illusion]] of different lengths. Dunlap claimed that the shadow influenced his subjects subliminally in their judgment of the lengths of the lines.

Although these results were not verified in a scientific study, American psychologist [[Harry Levi Hollingworth]] reported in an advertising [[textbook]] that such subliminal messages could be used by advertisers.<ref name="persuasion">{{Citation|work=[[Skeptical Inquirer]]|date=Spring 1992|publisher=[[Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal]]|title=The Cargo-Cult Science of Subliminal Persuasion|pages=260-272|last=Pratkanis|first=Anthony R.|url=http://www.csicop.org/si/9204/subliminal-persuasion.html|accessdate=2006-08-11}}</ref>

== Further developments ==
During World War II, the [[tachistoscope]], an instrument which projects pictures for an extremely brief period, was used to train soldiers to recognize enemy airplanes.<ref name="straightdope" /> Today the tachistoscope is used to increase reading speed or to test sight.<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=tachistoscope tachistoscope - Definitions from Dictionary.com]</ref>

In 1957, market researcher [[James Vicary]] claimed that quickly flashing messages on a movie screen, in [[Fort Lee, New Jersey]], had influenced people to purchase more food and drinks. Vicary coined the term ''subliminal advertising'' and formed the Subliminal Projection Company based on a six-week test. Vicary claimed that during the presentation of the movie [[Picnic (film)|Picnic]] he used a tachistoscope to project the words "Drink [[Coca-Cola]]" and "Hungry? Eat popcorn" for 1/3000 of a second at five-second intervals. Vicary asserted that during the test, sales of popcorn and Coke in that New Jersey theater increased 57.8 percent and 18.1 percent respectively.<ref name="straightdope" /><ref name="snopes">{{Citation|title=Urban Legends Reference Pages: Business (Subliminal Advertising)|publisher=The [[Urban Legends Reference Pages]]|url=http://www.snopes.com/business/hidden/popcorn.asp|accessdate=2006-08-11}}</ref>

However, in 1962 Vicary admitted to lying about the experiment and falsifying the results, the story itself being a marketing ploy.<ref>Boese, Alex (2002). ''The Museum of Hoaxes: A Collection of Pranks, Stunts, Deceptions, and Other Wonderful Stories Contrived for the Public from the Middle Ages to the New Millennium'', [[E. P. Dutton]], ISBN 0-525-94678-0. pages. 137-38.</ref><ref>The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry: [http://www.csicop.org/si/show/cargo-cult_science_of_subliminal_persuasion/ The Cargo-Cult Science of Subliminal Persuasion] by Anthony R. Pratkanis</ref> An identical experiment conducted by [[Dr. Henry Link]] showed no increase in cola or popcorn sales.<ref name="snopes"/> A trip to Fort Lee, where the first experiment was alleged to have taken place, would have shown straight away that the small cinema there couldn't possibly have had 45,699 visitors through its doors in the space of 6 weeks. This has led people to believe that Vicary actually did not conduct his experiment at all.<ref name="snopes"/>

However, before Vicary's confession, his claims were promoted in [[Vance Packard]]'s book ''The Hidden Persuaders'',<ref name="lantos">{{Citation |last=Lantos |first=Geoffrey P. |title=The Absolute Threshold Level and Subliminal Messages |publisher=[[Stonehill College]] |url=http://faculty.stonehill.edu/glantos/Lantos1/PDF_Folder/BA344_PDF/Exercise%2046.pdf|format=[[PDF]] |accessdate=2007-03-01}}</ref> and led to a public outcry, and to many [[conspiracy theories]] of governments and cults using the technique to their advantage<ref name=popcorn>{{Citation |title=Subliminal messages in movies and media |url=http://www.chokingonpopcorn.com/popcorn/?p=391 |accessdate=2008-05-21}}{{citation needed|date=March 2007}}</ref>. The practice of subliminal advertising was subsequently banned in the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Australia]],<ref name="persuasion" /> and by American networks and the [[National Association of Broadcasters]] in 1958.<ref name="snopes" />

But in 1958, Vicary conducted a television test in which he flashed the message "telephone now" hundreds of times during a [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] program, and found no noticeable increase in telephone calls.<ref name="straightdope" />

In 1973, commercials in the [[United States]] and [[Canada]] for the game ''[[Husker Du? (game)|Hūsker Dū?]]'' flashed the message "Get it".<ref name="lantos" /> During the same year, [[Wilson Bryan Key]]'s book ''[[Wilson Bryan Key#Bibliography|Subliminal Seduction]]'' claimed that subliminal techniques were widely used in advertising.<ref name="snopes" /> Public concern was sufficient to cause the [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]] to hold hearings in 1974. The hearings resulted in an FCC policy statement stating that subliminal advertising was "contrary to the public interest" and "intended to be deceptive".<ref name="snopes" /> Subliminal advertising was also banned in Canada following the broadcasting of Hūsker Dū? ads there.<ref name="straightdope" />

A study conducted by the [[United Nations]] concluded that "the cultural implications of subliminal indoctrination is a major threat to human rights throughout the world."<ref>{{Citation |last= Hammarskjol |first=Dag |title= 31st Session, 7 October 1974, E/Cn.4/1142/Add 2. |publisher=United Nations Human Rights Commission |year=1974}}</ref>

In 1985, Dr. Joe Stuessy testified to the [[United States Senate]] at the [[Parents Music Resource Center]] hearings that:
<blockquote>
The message of a piece of [[heavy metal music]] may also be covert or subliminal. Sometimes subaudible tracks are mixed in underneath other, louder tracks. These are heard by the subconscious but not the conscious mind. Sometimes the messages are audible but are backwards, called [[backmasking]]. There is disagreement among experts regarding the effectiveness of subliminals. We need more research on that.<ref>U.S. Senate, page 118.</ref>
</blockquote>
Stuessy's written testimony stated that:
<blockquote>
Some messages are presented to the listener backwards. While listening to a normal forward message (usually nonsensical), one is simultaneously being treated to a back-wards message. Some experts believe that while the conscious mind is trying to absorb the forward lyric, the subconscious is working overtime to decipher the backwards message.<ref>U.S. Senate, page 125.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Effectiveness ==
=== Visual ===
Used in advertising to create familiarity with new products, subliminal messages make familiarity into a preference for the new products. [[Johan Karremans]] suggests that subliminal messages have an effect when the messages are goal-relevant.<ref name="Karremans2006">{{Citation |last=Karremans |first=Johan C. |last2=Stroebe |first2=Wolfgang |last3=Claus |first3=Jasper |year=2006 |title=Beyond Vicary’s fantasies: The impact of subliminal priming and brand choicestar |journal=Journal of Experimental Social Psychology |volume=42 |issue=6 |pages=792–798 |url= |doi=10.1016/j.jesp.2005.12.002 }}</ref> Karremans did a study assessing whether subliminal priming of a brand name of a drink would affect a person’s choice of drink, and whether this effect is caused by the individual’s feelings of being thirsty.

His study sought to ascertain whether or not subliminally priming or preparing the participant with text or an image without being aware of it would make the partaker more familiar with the product. Half of his participants were subliminally primed with [[Lipton]] Ice ("Lipton Ice" was repeatedly flashed on a computer screen for 24 milliseconds), while the other half was primed with a control that did not consist of a brand. In his study he found that subliminally priming a brand name of a drink (Lipton Ice) made those who were thirsty want the Lipton Ice. Those who were not thirsty, however, were not influenced by the subliminal message since their goal was not to quench their thirst.<ref name="Karremans2006" />

Subconscious stimulus by single words is well known to be modestly effective in changing human behavior or emotions. This is evident by a pictorial advertisement that portrays four different types of rum. The phrase "U Buy" was embedded somewhere, backwards in the picture. A study (Key, 1973)<ref>{{citation |last=Key |first=W. B. |title=Subliminal seduction: Ad media's manipulation of a not so innocent America |year=1973 |publisher=Prentice-Hall |location=Englewood Cliffs, NJ |isbn=0138590907 }}</ref> was done to test the effectiveness of the alcohol ad. Before the study, participants were able to try to identify any hidden message in the ad, none found any. In the end, the study showed 80% of the subjects unconsciously perceived the backward message, meaning they showed a preference for that particular rum.
Though many things can be perceived from subliminal messages, only a couple words or a single image of unconscious signals can be internalized. As only a word or image can be effectively perceived, the simpler features of that image or word will cause a change in behavior (i.e., beef is related to hunger). This was demonstrated by Byrne in 1959. The word "[[beef]]" was flashed for several, five millisecond intervals during a sixteen-minute movie to experimental subjects, while nothing was flashed to controlled subjects. Neither the experimental nor controlled subjects reported for a higher preference for beef sandwiches when given a list of five different foods, but the experimental subjects did rate themselves as hungrier than the controlled subjects when given a survey.<ref>{{Citation |last=Byrne |first=D. |authorlink= |year=1959 |title=The effect of a subliminal food stimulus on verbal responses |journal=Journal of Applied Psychology |volume=43 |issue=4 |pages=249–251 |url= |issn= |doi=10.1037/h0043194 }}</ref> If the subjects were flashed a whole sentence, the words would not be perceived and no effect would be expected.

In 2007, to mark the 50th anniversary of James Vicary's original experiment, it was recreated at the International Brand Marketing Conference MARKA 2007.<ref>{{Citation |date= |title=Marka conference.com |url=http://www.markaconference.com/lang_id2/index.html |format= {{dead link|date=August 2009}} }}</ref> As part of the "Hypnosis, subconscious triggers and branding" presentation 1,400 delegates watched part the opening credits of the film PICNIC that was used in the original experiment. They were exposed to 30 subliminal cuts over a 90 second period. When asked to choose one of two brands 81% of the delegates picked the brand suggested by the subliminal cuts.<ref name = bizcovering>[http://bizcovering.com/marketing-and-advertising/hypnosis-in-advertising/ bizcovering.com: Hypnosis in Advertising]</ref>

Studies in 2004 and 2006 showed that subliminal exposure to images of frightened faces or faces of people from another race will increase the activity of the [[amygdala]] in the brain and also increase [[Galvanic skin response|skin conductance]].<ref>{{Citation
| volume = 27
| issue = 8
| pages = 652–661
| last = Williams
| first = Leanne M.
| coauthors = Belinda J. Liddell, Andrew H. Kemp, Richard A. Bryant, Russell A. Meares, Anthony S. Peduto, Evian Gordon
| title = Amygdala-prefrontal dissociation of subliminal and supraliminal fear
| journal = Human Brain Mapping
| accessdate = 2008-01-16
| year = 2006
| doi = 10.1002/hbm.20208
}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last= |first= |date=14 December 2004 |title=Brain Activity Reflects Complexity Of Responses To Other-race Faces |newspaper=Science Daily |url=http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/12/041208231237.htm }}</ref>

In 2007, it was shown that subliminal exposure to the [[Israeli flag]] had a moderating effect on the political opinions and voting behaviors of Israeli volunteers. This effect was not present when a jumbled picture of the flag was subliminally shown.<ref>{{Citation |last=Hassin |first=Ran R. |last2=Ferguson |first2=Melissa J. |last3=Shidlovski |first3=Daniella |last4=Gross |first4=Tamar |year=2007 |title=Subliminal exposure to national flags affects political thought and behavior |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|PNAS]] |volume=104 |issue=50 |pages=19757–19761 |url= |doi=10.1073/pnas.0704679104 |pmid=18056813 }}</ref>

=== Audio ===
[[Image:Sox Satanic Subliminals.png|thumb|right|200px|The [[manpage]] for the popular sound program [[SoX]] pokes fun at subliminal messages. The description of the "reverse" option says "Included for finding satanic subliminals."]]
[[Backmasking]], an audio technique in which sounds are recorded backwards onto a track that is meant to be played forwards, produces messages that sound like gibberish to the conscious mind. [[Gary Greenwald]], a [[Fundamentalist Christianity|fundamentalist Christian]] preacher, claims that these messages can be heard subliminally, and can induce listeners towards, in the case of [[rock music]], sex and [[Drug abuse|drug use]].<ref name = Robinson>{{Citation|title=Psychological Sketches|editors=John R. Vokey and Scott W. Allen|edition=6th|year=2002|publisher=Psyence Ink|location=Lethbridge, Alberta|chapter=Subliminal Messages|pages=223–246|last=Vokey|first=John R.|url=http://people.uleth.ca/~vokey/pdf/Submess.pdf|format=PDF|accessdate=2006-07-05}}</ref> However, this is not generally accepted as fact.<ref>{{Citation|title=Backmasking on records: Real, or hoax?|last=Robinson|first=B.A.|url=http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_cul5.htm|accessdate=2006-07-04}}</ref>

Following the 1950s subliminal message panic, many businesses have sprung up purporting to offer helpful subliminal audio tapes that supposedly improve the health of the listener. However, there is no evidence for the claimed effects of such tapes.<ref>{{Citation|work=[[Skeptical Inquirer]]|date=Spring 1992|publisher=[[Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal]]|title=Subliminal Perception: Facts and Fallacies|pages=273-81|last=Moore|first=Timothy E.|url=http://www.csicop.org/si/9204/subliminal-perception.html|accessdate=2006-08-11}}</ref>

The most extensive study of therapeutic effectiveness of subliminal audiotapes was conducted to see if the self-esteem audiotapes would raise self-esteem. 237 volunteers were provided with tapes of three manufacturers and completed post tests after one month of use. The study showed clearly that subliminal audiotapes made to boost self-esteem did not produce effects associated with subliminal content within one month’s use.<ref> Eskenazi, J., & Greenwald, A.G., Pratkanis, A.R. (1990). What you expect is what you believe (but not necessarily what you get): On the ineffectiveness of subliminal self-help audiotapes. Unpublished manuscript. University of California. Santa Cruz.</ref>

== Instances ==
In [[1978]], [[Wichita, Kansas]] TV station [[KAKE-TV]] received special permission from the police to place a subliminal message in a report on the [[BTK Killer]] (Bind, Torture, Kill) in an effort to get him to turn himself in. The subliminal message included the text "Now call the chief," as well as a pair of glasses. The glasses were included because when BTK murdered Nancy Fox, there was a pair of glasses lying upside down on her dresser; police felt that seeing the glasses might stir up remorse in the killer. The attempt was unsuccessful, and police reported no increased volume of calls afterward.<ref>[http://www.kake.com/home/headlines/1251737.html BTK Back]</ref>

During the [[2000 U.S. presidential campaign]], a [[television]] ad [[advertising campaign|campaigning]] for [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] candidate [[George W. Bush]] showed words (and parts thereof) scaling from the foreground to the background on a television screen. When the word <tt>[[Bureaucrat|BUREAUCRATS]]</tt> flashed on the screen, one frame showed only the last part, <tt>[[Rat|RATS]]</tt>.<ref>Crowley, Candy. "[http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/09/12/bush.ad/ Bush says 'RATS' ad not meant as subliminal message]" CNN.com, 2000-9-12. Retrieved on [[December 16]], [[2006]]</ref><ref>[http://www.bushwatch.com/rats.htm Smoking Pistols: George "Rat Ad" Bush and the Subliminal Kid]</ref> The FCC looked into the matter,<ref>[http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Furchtgott_Roth/2000/sphfr011.html 9/19/00 Speech by Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth: The FCC's Investigation of "Subliminal Techniques:"]</ref> but no penalties were ever assessed in the case.{{citation needed|date=March 2007}}

In the British [[alternative comedy]] show ''[[The Young Ones (TV series)|The Young Ones]]'', a number of subliminal images were present in the original and most repeated broadcasts of the second series. Images included a gull coming into land, a tree frog jumping through the air, a man [[gurn]]ing{{Vague|gurning? what is that?|date=February 2009}}, and the end credits of the movie ''[[Carry On Cowboy]]''. {{citation needed|date=February 2007}} These were included to mock the then-occurring matter of subliminal messages in television. Although they may fall foul of the FCC guidelines, these images ''do'' appear in the U.S. boxset DVD ''Every Stoopid Episode''.{{citation needed|date=September 2009}}

[[Chris Morris (satirist)|Chris Morris]] famously used subliminal messages to display a half-frame of the last episode of [[Brass Eye]], stating "Grade is a cunt" in reference to [[Michael Grade]], the [[Channel 4]] executive responsible for the heavy editing of Morris's show <ref>[[Brasseye|Brasseye Wiki]]</ref>.{{citation needed|date=September 2009}}

[[Shaun Micallef]]'s Australian 'Micallef P(r)ogram(me)' shows contained strange subliminal messages that can be seen on the DVDs. As they are of random, humorous statements, questions, etc, they are not regarded as advertising. They were usually images of politicians, as is the case with his more recent [[Newstopia]].{{citation needed|date=September 2009}}

In Warner Brothers' 1943 animated film "Wise Quacking Duck", Daffy Duck spins a statue which is holding a shield. For one frame the words "BUY BONDS" are visible on the shield.{{citation needed|date=September 2009}}

The [[December 16]], [[1973]] episode of ''[[Columbo (TV series)|Columbo]]'' titled "Double Exposure", is based on subliminal messaging: it is used by the murderer, Dr. Bart Keppler, a motivational research specialist, played by [[Robert Culp]], to lure his victim out of his seat during the viewing of a promotional film and by Lt. Columbo to bring Keppler back to the crime scene and incriminate him. Lt. Columbo is shown how subliminal cuts work in a scene mirroring [[James Vicary]]'s experiment.<ref>[http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=130155 Error - - New York Times]</ref><ref>[http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byform/mailing-lists/amia-l/2005/12/msg00182.html Re: [AMIA-L] Reply: "Sherlock Jr."]</ref>

The horror film [[the Exorcist]] is well-known for its frightening yet effective use of subliminal images throughout the film, depicting a white-faced demon named [[Captain Howdy]]. This image is shown in the character Father Karras's nightmare, where it flashes across the screen for a few seconds before fading away.{{citation needed|date=September 2009}}

A [[McDonald's]] logo appeared for one frame during the [[Food Network]]'s ''[[Iron Chef America]]'' series on [[2007-01-27]], leading to claims that this was an instance of subliminal advertising. The Food Network replied that it was simply a glitch.<ref>{{Citation |title=It was a glitch, not a subliminal ad, for McDonald's on Food Network |publisher=''[[Canadian Press]]'' |date=[[2007-01-25]] |url=http://www.cbc.ca/cp/media/070125/X01259AU.html |accessdate=2007-03-11}}</ref>

In Formula One racing, the paint scheme of many cars would carry messages intended to look as if they were of banned tobacco products in many Grands Prix where [[tobacco advertising]] was banned, though many of these were jokes on the part of the teams (for example, [[Jordan Grand Prix]] ran [[Benson and Hedges]] sponsorship as "Bitten and Hisses" with a snake-skin design on their cars). A similar procedure was used by NASCAR driver [[Jeff Burton]] after the [[AT&T Mobility]] advertising was banned by a court order in 2007, and by Penske Championship Racing in NASCAR (where Cellco Partnership is prohibited) and the IRL (Marlboro). In both instances, a distinctive design where the banned company's identity (the Verizon "V" and the Marlboro chevron) were integrated into the car's design.{{citation needed|date=September 2009}}

On [[November 7]], [[2007]], [[Network Ten]] [[Australia]]'s broadcast of the [[Australian Recording Industry Association|ARIA]] Awards was called out for using subliminal advertising in an exposé by the [[Media Watch (TV program)|Media Watch]] program on the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).<ref>[http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-AU&brand=ninemsn&vid=8f347951-dbf5-48eb-9a24-7c35870c6552 Subliminal advertising. - ninemsn Video]</ref>

In June-July [[2007]], [[Sprite (soft drink)|Sprite]] used a type of obvious subliminal message, involving yellow (lemon) and green (lime) objects such as cars. The objects would then be shown inconspicuously in the same setting, while showing the word "lymon" (combining the words lime and lemon) on screen for a second at a time. They called this "Sub'''lymon'''al Advertising."<ref>[[The Coca-Cola Company]] press center: [http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/presscenter/nr_20060518_americas_sprite_redefines.html Sprite redifines itself]</ref> The previous year, Sprite used a similar advertising campaign, but this time it was tied in to ''[[Lost Experience]]'', an [[alternate reality game]].{{citation needed|date=September 2009}}

In Sunshine [[2007]], three pictures of the crew are shown subliminally during part of the film. {{citation needed|date=September 2009}}

In ''[[Brainiac: Science Abuse]]'', there is an experiment carried out to see if viewers would react to subliminal messages. One was shown during an experiment to discover which substance provides the best skid; the message appeared when a brainiac hit a bale of hay. The second message appeared across a T-Shirt of a brainiac saying 'Call your mum', and the third said 'scratch your nose' when a sound wave hit the Brainiac logo. At the end of the show, people were shown in a theatre watching that episode. The test showed that the messages barely impacted the audience. The subliminal content in this episode was legal, as its presence was announced at the beginning and end of the episode.{{citation needed|date=September 2009}}

In Week 11 of ''[[The Apprentice: Martha Stewart]]'' in which candidates have to create an ad for the Delta's former low-cost commercial airlines [[Song (airline)|Song]], the team Matchstick used a 1/48th of a frame image at the bottom-right corner with the Song Airlines logo.{{citation needed|date=September 2009}}

In the film ''[[Cloverfield]]'', three subliminal pictures can be seen during various parts of the film, when the camera footage distorts. The photos are actually frames from classic monster films. The images are shown one at a time: the first, from ''[[Them!]]'', appears when the group play the footage back, the second, from ''[[The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms]]'', appears when they close the door on the 'parasites' and the third, from ''[[King Kong (1933 film)|King Kong]]'' appears when the helicopter crashes.{{citation needed|date=September 2009}}

== Allegations ==
Campaigners have suggested subliminal messages appear in music. In 1985, two young men - James Vance and Raymond Belknap, attempted suicide. At the time of the shootings, Belknap died instantly. Vance was severely injured and survived. Their families were convinced it was because of a British rock band, [[Judas Priest#Subliminal message trial|Judas Priest]]. The families claimed subliminal messages told listeners to "do it" in the song "''Better by You, Better Than Me''". The case was taken to court and the families sought more than US$6 million in damages. The judge, Jerry Carr Whitehead said that freedom of speech protections would not apply to subliminal messages. He said he was not convinced the hidden messages actually existed on the album, but left the argument to attorneys<ref>http://www.totse.com/en/ego/can_you_dance_to_it/jud-prst.html</ref>. The suit was eventually dismissed. In turn, he ruled it probably would not have been perceived without the "power of suggestion" or the young men would not have done it unless they really intended to.<ref>Vance, J., et al. v. Judas Priest et al., No. 86-5844, 2nd Dist. Ct. Nev. (August 24, 1990)</ref>

Another well known incident with subliminal message happened a few months after Judas Priest's acquittal, Michael Waller, the son of a Georgia minister, shot himself in the head while supposedly listening to Ozzy Osbourne's song Suicide Solution (despite the fact that the song Suicide Solution was not on the record [Ozzy Osbourne's Speak Of The Devil] found playing in his room when his suicide was discovered). His parents claimed that subliminal messages may have influenced his actions. The judge in that trial granted the summary judgment because the plaintiffs could not show that there was any subliminal material on the record. He noted, however, that if the plaintiffs had shown that subliminal content was present, the messages would not have received protection under the First Amendment because subliminal messages are, in principle, false, misleading or extremely limited in their social value (Waller v. Osbourne 1991). Justice Whitehead's ruling in the Judas Priest trial was cited to support his position<ref>http://www.csicop.org/si/9611/judas_priest.html</ref>.

In February 2007, it was discovered that 87 [[Konami]] slot machines in Ontario ([[Ontario Lottery and Gaming|OLG]]) casinos displayed a brief winning hand image before the game would begin. Government officials worried that the image subliminally persuaded gamblers to continue gambling; the company claimed that the image was a coding error. The machines were removed pending a fix by Konami.<ref>[http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9012094 Agency asks slot-machine maker to halt subliminal messages]</ref>

== Fictional references ==
{{trivia|date=October 2009}}
While their ultimate efficacy is somewhat controversial, subliminal messages have a long history in television shows, movies, and novels.

Governments are often depicted as employing subliminal messages in propaganda:

*The novel "FREEZE FRAME" by B. David Warner depicts the election of a corrupt president candidate using subliminal advertising to sway the votes in his favor.

*The movie ''[[Josie and the Pussycats (film)|Josie and the Pussycats]]'' described a long lasting plot whereby the U.S. government was controlling [[trends]] by inserting subliminal messages in [[popular music]]. Furthermore, towards the end of the film, a government agent shuts down the operation, saying that subliminal advertising works better in films. The words "Josie and the Pussycats is the best movie ever" are then spoken rapidly in [[voice-over]] and displayed quickly on screen, with the words "Join the Army" in smaller letters below it.

*In the 2005 science fiction movie ''[[Serenity (film)|Serenity]]'', the Alliance uses subliminal messages broadly disseminated in commercials and other video to cause River Tam to go berserk. It only works on River because she was subjected to Alliance training and conditioning.

Many references deal specifically with the military:

*[[New Kids on the Blecch|An episode]] of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' involved Bart and his friends joining a boy band, the Party Posse. While watching a video for the Party Posse, Lisa notices the phrase "Yvan Eht Nioj" being repeated continuously by belly-dancers. She plays the video in reverse and finds that it means "Join the Navy". Also, an [[Uncle Sam]] "I Want You" poster can be seen in the video frame by frame. The joke was that the United States sends subliminal messages in order to recruit people. In addition, the art of "superliminal messages" was demonstrated to Lisa; a Navy representative leans out a window, sees [[Lenny Leonard]] and [[Carl Carlson]], and shouts "Hey you! Join the Navy!"

*In an episode of ''[[Malcolm in the Middle]]'' titled "Reese joins the Army (2)", one of the [[Drill instructor|drill sergeants]] comments about the other's restored confidence in the Army ("I guess the subliminal advertising's working after all.") his fellow drill sergeant then matter-of-factly states "the army doesn't use subliminal ads" and then the pair slowly turn and look at each other.

*Not too different from the joke in ''The Simpsons'' episode mentioned above, this episode was a joking reference to the low military recruiting numbers in [[2004]] suggesting that the [[Military of the United States|U.S. military]] uses such things in a tactic of desperation.

*In an episode of ''[[Babylon 5]]'', during a scene which represents a public service announcement for [[Psi Corps]], the words "TRUST THE CORPS" and "THE CORPS IS YOUR FRIEND" appear on screen for four frames. J. Michael Straczynski wanted the audience to recognize the subliminal message; "I had my staff find out what constitutes subliminal material--and it's two frames per second, which is illegal, you can't do things at that speed--so I went four frames per second".<ref>{{Citation |last=Killick |first=Jane |title=Babylon 5: The Coming of Shadows |publisher=The Ballantine Publishing Group |year=1997 |pages=131}}</ref>

*An early episode of the ''[[X-Files]]'' deals with a small town plagued by killings where the perpetrators are influenced by messages appearing on ATMs and other electronic devices. Mulder refers to the use of subliminal messages in several instances.

*The ''[[Family Guy]]'' episode ''[[Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington]]'' jokes about subliminal messages for smoking in television. It shows an old black and white TV show whose dialogue is repeatedly interrupted by a suited man stating "Smoke" and later "Are you smoking yet?" in a monotone voice. Later in the episode, when Peter is arguing with his bosses about smoking, the same man interrupts while saying "Smoke."

The advertising element is mocked in [[Terry Pratchett]]'s [[Discworld]] novel [[Moving Pictures (novel)|Moving Pictures]], when, to please a [[sponsor (commercial)|sponsor]], a movie producer inserts a still image lasting several minutes of a serving of [[spare ribs]]. The producer reasoned that if showing just a few frames would have a positive impact, showing it for several minutes would have a huge effect.

Subliminal psychological influence is also referenced frequently by the British [[mentalist]] [[Derren Brown]] who alleges their use as the basis of many of his effects. Often, these claims are just decoys to divert attention from the real workings of his effects<ref name="ssingh">{{citation |title= I'll bet £1,000 that Derren can't read my mind |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtml?xml=/connected/2003/06/10/ecfmagic.xml |date=[[June 10]], [[2003]] |periodical=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |accessdate=2008-03-12 |last=Singh |first=Simon }}</ref>.

In the episode "With Fans Like These..." of the animated TV show [[Kappa Mikey]], Lily and Gonard threaten Guano made the public do their bidding by using subliminal messages in a fish stick commercial.

The television show [[Chuck (TV series)|Chuck]] has a plot which is based around subliminal encoding. The main character receives an e-mail in which thousands and thousands of pictures flash right before his eyes, resulting in an ability to 'mind flash' on certain things, for example a ring or a picture of someone.

In an episode of ''[[The IT Crowd]]'', Douglas attempts to seduce Jen by putting a quick flash of his photo into a presentation.

[[Sue Townsend]]'s 1992 novel/play ''[[The Queen and I]]'' is based on an [[Parallel_universe_(fiction)|alternate reality]] in which a [[leftist]] government takes power in the UK by the use of subliminal messages via television.

The entire plot of Thomas Stratton's "Man From U. N. C. L. E. #12: The Mind-Twisters Affair" is based upon the idea of subliminal messages.

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
*{{citation |last=Boese |first=Alex |title=Hippo Eats Dwarf: A Field Guide to Hoaxes and Other B.S. |year=2006 |publisher=Harcourt |location=Orlando |isbn=0156030837 |pages=193–195 |url= }}
*{{citation |last=Dixon |first=Norman F. |title=Subliminal Perception: The nature of a controversy |year=1971 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |location=New York |isbn=0070941475 |pages= |url= }}
*{{Citation |last=Greeenwald |first=Anthony W. |authorlink= |year=1992 |title=New Look 3: Unconscious Cognition Reclaimed |journal=American Psychologist |volume=47 |issue=6 |pages=766–779 |url= |doi=10.1037/0003-066X.47.6.766 }}
*{{Citation |last=Holender |first=D. |year=1986 |title=Semantic activation without conscious identification in dichotic listening, parafoveal vision, and visual masking: A survey and appraisal |journal=Behavioral and Brain Sciences |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=1–23 |url= |issn= }}
*{{Citation |last=Merikle |first=P. M. |last2=Daneman |first2=M. |year=1998 |title=Psychological Investigations of Unconscious Perception |journal=[[Journal of Consciousness Studies]] |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=5–18 |url= |issn= }}
*{{Citation |last=Watanabe |first=Takeo |last2=Sasaki |first2=José E. |last3=Nanez |first3=Yuka |year=2001 |title=Perceptual learning without perception |journal=Nature |volume=413 |issue=6858 |pages=844–848 |url= |doi=10.1038/35101601 }}
*{{Citation |last=Seitz |first=Aaron R. |last2=Watanabe |first2=Takeo |year=2003 |title=Is subliminal learning really passive? |journal=Nature |volume=422 |issue=6927 |page=36 |url= |doi=10.1038/422036a }}
*{{Citation |author=United States Senate, Ninety-ninth Congress, First Session on Contents of Music and the Lyrics of Records |date=September 19, 1985 |title=Record Labeling: Hearing before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |location=Washington, DC |url=http://www.joesapt.net/superlink/shrg99-529/ }}

== External links ==
*[http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/archives/22/subliminal-advertising.html Subliminal Seduction: How Did the Uproar over Subliminal Advertising Affect the Advertising Industry?]
*[http://www.csicop.org/si/9611/judas_priest.html Scientific Consensus and Expert Testimony: Lessons from the Judas Priest Trial]
*[http://www.subliminalsales.com Examples of subliminal messages encoded in music]
[[Category:Consciousness studies]]
[[Category:Perception]]
[[Category:Popular psychology]]
[[Category:Advertising techniques]]
[[Category:Propaganda techniques]]
[[Category:Human communication]]
[[Category:Urban legends]]
[[Category:Mind control]]

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