This movie is very interesting. If you stop and watch it, it will not be boring at all. People always say that movies are not as good as books, but images have the charm of images and are more vividly presented. Through sound, images, editing, and even atmosphere, to highlight one thing, this is the unique advantage of images, and words do not. If this film is presented in the form of a book, it should be a boring academic work, but the film captures the essence of this work and presents it vividly in front of the world, so that more people can understand it and understand it. In the 1960s, the obedience experiment of the famous American social psychologist Stanley Migram (Peter Sarsgaard) and his theory - human nature has a very serious conformity. People's consciousness is often more affected by the environment, making decisions that are contrary to their own will. And this theory, in front of the visual action, more clearly and significantly exposed its hidden terrible power, making the audience shudder. The unique advantages of imaging can be seen.
The cause is inspired by the brutal killings in the concentration camps of World War II. Professor Migram wants to explore why people collectively act in this way. Most of these people are not evil people. On the contrary, they are familiar people around people, family members, neighbors, shoemakers on street corners, etc. Wait, some are gentle and kind, some are warm and helpful. The experiment is divided into two groups, one is the discipliner and the other is the recognizer. The discipliner must punish the recognizer for every wrong answer - electric shock, and the voltage is gradually increased, and the experiment is not allowed to stop halfway. In the process, there is a wall between the discipliner and the knower, so the discipliner can only hear the cries of the knower but cannot see the actual situation. In fact, the recognizer was not actually shocked, and the screams were pre-recorded. This is also the reason why this experiment has been criticized in the future. As a result of the experiment, more than 60% of the discipliners gave electric shocks that soared to 450 volts, far exceeding the human limit. Although each of them hesitated and struggled, in the end they all obeyed the order of the experiment organizer and did not terminate the experiment halfway.
No one has ever done such an experiment, and no one has ever dared to do such an experiment. The results are shocking, and this method violates taboos. But it turns out that apart from being full of anger because of being deceived, these correctionsmen did not leave a shadow on the psychology of shocking others. Then there were three conformity experiments, Axi’s group pressure experiment, elevator conformity, and looking up to the sky conformity. The reasons behind the massacre in the concentration camps of that year gradually became clear, and it was also chilling.
Conformity is the nature of human beings. I think it is probably because, from apes to humans, they have always lived in groups. If it is a tiger, this may not be the case. The crowd can be seen everywhere, consciously or unconsciously, and it happens almost every moment, from a small daily act to a world-wide vicious event such as the massacre in a concentration camp. As you've seen, conformity isn't just bad, it's just a normal nature. In fact, nothing is absolutely bad, but under certain circumstances, the evil influences deep inside it will explode exponentially. Why is there a concentration camp incident? Why do Germans living around concentration camps, and many people all over the world, know that this inhumane behavior exists, but do not stop it? Perhaps weakness and lack of goodness are not the main reason, conformity is the dominant factor. When a group of people look at the sky, why do you stop to look up together, or even take pictures and share them in the circle of friends? When everyone else in the elevator is standing with their backs to the exit, why do you turn around when you are standing facing the exit? Or, to ask, is the discomfort of going against the crowd so important to you? The answer is, yes. This discomfort in many cases makes us consciously or unintentionally give up our will and follow the crowd because it makes us feel safe. The most important thing about social animals is a sense of security. Even if human beings have intelligence, climb to the top of the food chain and dominate the earth, they are still an animal in essence.
The shots of everyone looking up at the unremarkable sky, the people standing facing the exit in the elevator slowly turning around, embarrassed and uncomfortable, and even watching the audience laughing constantly during the process, all shocked the audience. The tone of the film is solemn and serious, like a work of activity. Professor Migram speaks to the audience slowly from time to time outside the event, which makes people feel like a Harvard open class. This commentary makes the expression of the image clearer, and it can be regarded as another form of text. Professor Migram meets Professor Ashe, and the four sit down to talk, against a backdrop of grey painted cityscapes. This drama-like form enhances the seriousness of the film, and the roughness and absurdity in it also mocks the many scholars who have criticized Migram's obedience experiment. Professor Ashe is the representative of these scholars, representing their arrogance and authority. There is a history here. Professor Migram was an assistant to Professor Ashe earlier, and was squeezed by Professor Ashe and despised by the authoritative academic school. The bureaucracy of the academic school forced Professor Migram to give up many choices. More interference due to obedience experiments. The so-called healers do not heal themselves. Professor Migram has never resisted these injustices. He just confirmed his theory of conformity with his actual actions.
So are we going to follow the crowd? Human nature is difficult to change, and the ability of an individual is very small. It doesn't matter whether you follow the crowd or not in some innocuous little things. But when it comes to matters of personal well-being and social justice, such as choosing a career, choosing a mate, abiding by professional ethics, and massacres in war, conformity can sometimes have disastrous consequences. Many people complain that there is no freedom. However, freedom needs to be fought for, and independent thinking is the first step. If you are unwilling to bear the risks and suffering caused by decisions made by independent thinking, what is freedom?
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