Introduction Mind control in history Mind control in advertising “The Wave” “V For Vendetta” “Nineteen Eighty-Four”

Introduction Mind control is known as brainwashing, mind abuse, thought control or thought reform. It’s a manipulative method to persuade other people to do what the manipulator wants. This term recalls psychological tactics to control the individual’s sense. Theories of brainwashing and mind control were originally generated by totalitarian regimes. This exploitation is reported today by films, advertising or by men themselves.

Mind control in History In history actions of mind control have often taken place to convince people to take part in a cause rather than in another. In the Soviet fields the prisoners were made brain- washing to provoke in them feelings of hostility towards Fascism and to convince them of the rightness of Communism, and so did the Nazis. In a time of great crisis in the Germany of the Thirties Hitler conquered people’s minds with his great promises. His monopoly caused a sense of disarmament because of the lack of other reference points.

Mind control in Advertising Tv has really led to the cultural massification of the whole world, imposing not evidently models of life, of behaviour and of thought; especially in our times, Tv strongly conditions the watcher at a psychic level,so that he/she tries in any way to adapt him/herself to the rules given by television. Why do we give television the manipulative function? Because Tv affects negatively the mind of people so that they “obey” completely to the transmitted models, and those who don’t respect them, are considered “different”.

The Wave The Wave is a film by Dennis Gansel. The film deals with the difficult issue of young people today and their relationship with the past. One day a teacher of a school in Germany asks his students if a totalitarian society could be re-established despite the past of the nation itself. Students initially say no. The professor, in order to make them understand that they are wrong, begins to impose rules such as white shirts for all, a greeting that can distinguish their group from the others, and to give a distinctive name to this movement: “the wave”. All these things degenerate when the members of the movement “the wave” feel superior to those that are not part of their group. The end of the film makes us understand how easy it is to manipulate the minds of the most vulnerable children leading to tragic conclusions.

V For Vendetta The movie takes place in an imaginary Great Britain in the future, ruled by a totalitarian regime, where a mysterious masked man, Mr. V, declares war to the Establishment. An anarchist radical, eager to bring freedom and justice in a country where authoritarianism and intolerance now apply to anyone who doesn’t adhere to the system. In the name of freedom, V will convince the young and beautiful Evey, whose life he saves at the beginning of the story, to fight by his side. Striking is the final image in which V blows up the British Parliament: it makes the audience feel involved in the new freedom attained. V for Vendetta allows us to reflect on how precious freedom is, as it is beautiful to be able to express one’s own thought, even if you may disagree with the dominant opinion.

Nineteen Eighty-Four Nineteen Eighty-Four (sometimes written 1984), by George Orwell, was written in It is a dystopian novel about totalitarianism, an oligarchical collectivist society. In the Ministry of Truth, protagonist Winston Smith is a civil servant responsible for perpetuating the Party's propaganda. His disillusion leads him into rebellion against Big Brother, which leads to his arrest, torture, and conversion. Today Big Brother is a frequently watched TV show in which a group of ordinary people are scrutinised by viewers. The strangest thing is that even the losers in this show become celebrities because of the audience’s dependance on tv models, even if Orwell wanted to give us some teachings about mind control and brainwashing.