Gestures, Sounds, Smells Pt.2
Acoustics – the world of sounds – is, in general, a crucial symbolic system. Its role in influencing the unconscious sphere, and consequently, in manipulating consciousness, is very significant…
Music has long been used to rally people for battle, induce relaxation, and create lyrical or sentimental moods.
Certain musical (rhythmic) phrases have the power to influence our reflexes.
Shamans, for example, can induce trance-like states with the beats of a drum, while modern forms of mass music, such as rock concerts and raves, can turn a crowd into an uncontrollable or, conversely, skillfully controlled mass.
At the same time, there are known methods of strong psychological impact on prisoners through music. This includes both its volume (acoustic impact) and its rhythm, frequency of repetition, and inappropriateness of content for the inmate's culture.
This practice gained widespread attention after scandals involving the torture of Iraqis at Abu Ghraib and in Guantanamo.
More often, musical influence is applied for a more peaceful manipulation of consciousness. Cheerful Christmas melodies stimulate consumer demand in shopping centers; lively and nostalgic tunes set the mood for the back-to-school season on September 1st. In general, a special musical program has long been developed for each national holiday.
Music has historically stirred people for battle, provided relaxation, and set lyrical or sentimental moods.
Silence, especially when sudden, strongly affects the human unconscious. The news metaphor "radio silence" is often used to add even more tragedy to already tragic events.
For a long time, the significance of scents disappeared from the purview of consciousness manipulation researchers. Despite this, the impact of various aromas on people has been known since ancient times. Herbs thrown into the fire by witches and shamans, scents of food and living spaces attracting travelers home, specially crafted scents used by ladies to seduce gentlemen—the role of smells in influencing people is richly diverse.
The influence of scents on consciousness is actively used in various sales strategies.
Ни для кого не является секретом, что запах свежей выпечки из пекарен, расположенных в супермаркетах, увеличивает продажи и остальных продуктов.
It's no secret that the smell of freshly baked goods in supermarkets increases sales of all other products. Writer and screenwriter Lilia Kim recalls from her impoverished youth working as a realtor, where she deliberately brought a coffee grinder to property viewings and ground coffee to make the residences more appealing. The scent of freshly ground coffee, at a subconscious level, evokes feelings of comfort and joy.
The impact of scents on the human unconscious is deeply rooted in language. Through olfactory metaphors, people often express things and connections that they intuitively understand but cannot rationally or logically explain. Expressions like "smells fried" or "scent of luxury" illustrate this phenomenon.
Both smells and words about them powerfully influence the human unconscious, triggering chains of imagination and images. This further confirms that successful manipulation of consciousness is always complex. It's not possible to activate just one mechanism and expect a specific result. By engaging one mechanism, manipulators immediately set off several more, affecting logical thinking, disrupting cause-and-effect relationships, creating false associations and stereotypes, inducing emotions, and even psychosis.
More on this to come...
