Musical Hypnosis: Sound and Selfhood from Mesmerism to Brainwashing
Social History of Medicine October 5, 2011 DOI: 10.1093/shm/hkr143 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 42 |
| Key points | Argues that Western discourse has repeatedly framed music as a hypnotic or 'brainwashing' force that undermines self-control, from Mesmer's glass armonica to Cold War brainwashing panics and fears of subliminal messages in heavy metal. Contends that automatic response and conditioned reflex concepts supported a physiological psychology model of a self vulnerable to external musical stimuli, and links these concerns to the politics of the self and sexuality. |
Abstract
Music has long been associated with trance states, but very little has been written about the modern western discussion of music as a form of hypnosis or 'brainwashing'.However, from Mesmer's use of the glass armonica to the supposed dangers of subliminal messages in heavy metal, the idea that music can overwhelm listeners' self-control has been a recurrent theme.In particular, the concepts of automatic response and conditioned reflex have been the basis for a model of physiological psychology in which the self has been depicted as vulnerable to external stimuli such as music.This article will examine the discourse of hypnotic music from animal magnetism and the experimental hypnosis of the nineteenth century to the brainwashing panics since the Cold War, looking at the relationship between concerns about hypnotic music and the politics of the self and sexuality.