The Manipulation of Mind by unknow

Author:unknow
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Televised Interrogation

An open official interrogation affects those who watch it - and the fact that they are affected may influence its outcome. Various crime hearings in this country, for instance, were brought before the people by means of television. Citizens sitting comfortably at home far from the scene could see how defense lawyers manoeuvred facts or instructed their clients (among whom were well-known crime bosses) so that they would appear in a favourable light. Even though their actions may have been transparent tricks with the appearance of a fixed wrestling match, the result was that some of the not-so-jovial-looking victims of the criminals were made ridiculous, while the criminals, calm, assured, self-possessed, seemed more admirable. The victims often couldn't stand being in the limelight; it made them feel ill at east and embarrassed.

The criminals, on the other hand, either denied every accusation in tones of righteous indignation or made confessions which degenerated into hysterical quests for pity. The magic effect of all the anonymous onlookers -- because the witness or defendant imagined their approval or disapproval - influenced the outcome of the hearings. All of us who watched them brought our own subjective expectations to bear on these hearings.

Television makes a mass trial of such a hearing, and unwittingly not justice but the variable feelings of the public become part of the courtroom atmosphere. Every piece of evidence in such a hearing is colored by rumour and emotion, and the shocked onlookers are left with feelings of suspicion and deep misgivings that the hearing has not really gotten down to the condemning facts.

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