No More Loud Chewers at the Movies!

A Swedish film festival is experimenting with hypnosis, using this technique on spectators and registering their behavior throughout the screening. The results have been quite interesting: spectators are less distracted, and there are fewer background noises and interruptions. Could this mean the end of loud chewers at the movies?This Slogging thread by Mónica Freitas, Sara Pinto and Abeer occurred in slogging's official #pop-culture channel, and has been edited for readability.

Hypnosis at the movies?

"The largest film festival in Scandinavia is offering its spectators the opportunity to attend screenings under the influence of hypnosis.

Audience members spend 20 minutes in Gothenburg Film Festival's "hypnotic cinema" before observing a screening of 'Land of Dreams' by the Iranian-American director Shirin Neshat.

The session takes place under the supervision of hypnotist Fredrik Praesto, and sensations ranging from heightened concentration to a state of stupor have been reported."

A Swedish film festival is experimenting with hypnosis. They're using this technique on spectators and registering their behavior throughout the screening. The results have been quite interesting: spectators are less distracted, and there are fewer background noises and interruptions.Could this be the future of movie theater culture? What do you think? Would you ever try this?Mónica Freitas, I would be willing to try it. It seems like it can enhance the experience of going to the theaters. To be honest, at first, this sounds a bit scary. I always think of hypnosis as something that takes my control over things away. But the fact that some describe it as a " pleasant state of mind" calms me.Mónica Freitas, would you try it?Sara Pinto, I was always curious about if I'd be susceptible to hypnosis. It seems such a weird thing but also so intriguing. I think I'd let them try it on me just to see what would happen, haha.Sara Pinto, I wonder what the whole experience of watching a movie while your mind is under control feels like. If they compelled me not to be afraid of scary movies, that would improve my experience for sure 😂Sara Pinto, what move would you like to see under hypnosis? If you could pick any movie.Mónica Freitas, they've been doing it in psychology as well, so I'm assuming it can bring quite the benefits!Mónica Freitas, what if they compel you to be extra scared? It sounds good and bad at the same time, haha, but since the whole point is to cause that emotion, I think it could be interesting.Mónica Freitas, hmm, I would want one that can be sensorial. I think those would be the ones that can be worth it. I'm gonna be really boring and say Harry Potter, just because I know there would be flying and falling and so on, so if they could hypnotize me to the point I think I'm also doing it, I think it would be cool.Sara Pinto, I don't need that kind of trauma 😂Sara Pinto, maybe they'd have to put you in a 4D movie and just enhance the experience. But that would be awesome! I'd love to experience this in an Avatar episode!Mónica Freitas, yes! That would be pretty cool too. I wonder if we'll see this technique expand.Sara Pinto, my guess is that this study is a test to see if this is a practice worth pursuing. I don't see it being implemented everywhere though. The Nordic countries are certainly more experimental 😂Mónica Freitas,it's a long shot, but I think we need some innovation. Maybe they can experiment some more and see if anything sticks, haha!Sara Pinto, I'd sign up for it 😂Mónica Freitas, hmmm, I’m not sure how effective the hypnosis would actually be. I might be interested in trying it if they disclose what hypnotic suggestions they’ll use but I wonder if that’ll reduce the effectiveness of the hypnosis 🤔Abeer, same, I've always been a bit skeptical about hypnosis but, supposing it works, if the main suggestions passed on are to reduce distractions and mental clutter so you can properly enjoy a movie, that can be interesting. I would love to find out how they conducted this: did they have to hypnotize one person at a time? Were there people that weren't susceptible to hypnosis? How did they feel afterward?Mónica Freitas, same, that would be really interesting information. Dang, that was a missed opportunity!Abeer, I'm hoping this is an experience they'll repeat later with more data. If this ever comes to Portugal, I'll be the first in line to try it out 😂