Subliminal Messages

In an episode of The Simpsons, a recruiter for the Navy says they are using a three-pronged attack to get people to join. The three ways are: Subliminal, Liminal and Super-Liminal. Obviously this is just the writers being silly.

However, I came across a YouTube video that claimed there were all sorts of subliminal messages in modern media, including Disney movies. I won’t link the video, because frankly, the guy was bonkers. Granted, I’m sure some of his claims held merit, but he went so far the other way, he was seeing things that were more than just a stretch.

If you aren’t familiar with subliminal messages, let me explain. They are words, images, or sounds that are hidden that supposedly your mind can process on some level without you realizing it--but it can influence you. I’m not going to debate the validity of the claim. However, my goal is to add another aspect to the discussion.

One of the most common examples of subliminal messages in a Disney movie comes from The Lion King. See if you can spot it:




Let’s just say for the sake of argument that this was intentional. My question would be “why?” Was it just a disgruntled artist trying to pull a fast one on the Disney company? Was it some sort of evil master plan by Disney? Or was it just a coincidence?

If it was intentional, what was to be gained from it? Sex isn’t inherently evil. (Spoiler alert! It’s how babies are made.) Even if this message planted the seed of everyone who saw it to have sex, what would either the artist or the Disney company gain from it?

To show an example of how extreme people can get when it comes to looking for subliminal messages, here’s another example:



Really?

But, it doesn’t end there. This example is truly unbelievable:

Need more proof that you can find anything if you look hard enough? How about this:

Yeah, the number “666” is all evil and that. I better double check my signature for subliminal words like, “Spam is tasty” or “Call your mother”.

I’ll finish with two examples.

People will buy things without the prompting of hidden messages. The sun won’t explode. It follows, free will lets you make good choices. You can see better without critically looking.

Here is the cover of my book, The Hidden Sun. See if you can find the subliminal message:



So what is the second example? I already wrote it. Didn’t see it? Look at every third word in this paragraph.

People will buy things without the prompting of hidden messages. The sun won’t explode. It follows, free will lets you make good choices. You can see better without critically looking.

Now if sales of The Hidden Sun triple after this post, maybe there is something to this whole subliminal notion.