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Derren Brown: Master Mind-Manipulator

a little off track for the discussion that is going on right at the mo. But relevant to some of the earlier discussion:-

The 'mind reading' thing derren does were he gets someone to write a word, draw a picture etc... and he guesses it, i was able to do as a child.

I was about 8ish and my dad had been watching a program about psychic type stuff, and he decided it would be a laugh to try the mind read thing out.

He tried it with my mum and my brother but got nowhere. Then when he tried it with me I apparently kept getting things spookily accurate. He was sitting so i couldnt see what he drew or how he moved his pen and didnt say anything. Then when he had finished he would concentrate on his image and i would try and 'see' what he drew. These were things that were more complicated than your usual triangle, circle, square etc... the ones i remember were a simple house and a pair of boobs (he thought it would be funny). I got these spot on. :shock:

I havent tried this with him since but i ought to try...

witchflame
 
A friend of mine had, I forget what you call it, a machine for doing remote homeopathy treatments. You'd take a snipping of hair from the would-be patient's head, put it in the machine, and set the dials accordingly. All very hokey IMO but she had me hold some hair clippings that she had and see if I could figure out whose they were. I managed to describe one of her sons *and* his father perfectly. I'd never met the kid's father or seen a picture. Of course she could have been shining me on but it was something of a :shock: experience.
 
http://tinyurl.com/25sftl

Derren Brown slammed over 'see yourself dead' hypnosis stunt
09.03.07

Derren Brown: Courting controversy once again with car crash stunt
Hypnotist Derren Brown has been slammed for a stunt in which he forced a woman to 'see herself dead' in a car crash.

Julie Simm, 29, was taken to a mocked-up crash scene after being hypnotised by Brown for his new C4 series.

Ambulance men removed a 'body' from the car as she was wandering around the wreckage.

Programme-makers say Ms Simm had admitted to rarely wearing a seatbelt, and that the stunt was for her benefit.

But Carole Whittingham, founder of SCARD (Support and Care After Road Death and Injury), said: "This does seem to be trivialising what is a huge problem.

"It's a trivial way of going about it, that I suspect will make good television.

"It's a very cock-eyed way of solving the problem. We can't start hypnotising everybody in the country who doesn't wear a seatbelt.

"We have a huge problem with people not wearing seatbelts, in particular young people who see themselves as invincible. But they're not."

Mind control expert Brown is known for his controversial stunts, which have included playing Russian roulette live on TV.

In his new series, Trick or Treat, participants select a card to decide whether they will get a trick or treat and are warned that anything could happen to them.

Special effects experts made the mould of the woman's face for the dummy in the car while she was hypnotised into believing she was having a facial.

John Beyer, director of Mediawatch-UK, said: "To present this in the guise of entertainment is taking the trickery of hypnotism a bit far.

"For the woman itself it could present some very real psychological harm in the future."

A C4 insider said: "She cannot believe what is happening. As far as she is aware she is still alive, so she ends up having this strange out-of-body experience.

"She's clearly distressed but not hysterically so.

"She has vowed to wear a seatbelt from now on, so it's had some public service value."
Click to expand...

Why do people ask for Mediawatch's opinion on anything? There's nothing they enjoy!

[Emp edit: Fixing big link]
 
Fixed link (it's a biggie!)

This just reeks of a publicity stunt for the upcoming tv show.

Has anyone on the board been hypnotised? Is it for real? Or is it like bending spoons - (a load of bollocks)?
 
Frobush said:
Fixed link (it's a biggie!)
Click to expand...

Thanks!

This just reeks of a publicity stunt for the upcoming tv show.

Has anyone on the board been hypnotised? Is it for real? Or is it like bending spoons - (a load of bollocks)?
Click to expand...

I heard the more intelligent you are, the easier it is to be hypnotised. Anyone know if that's true?
 
gncxx said:
Frobush said:
Fixed link (it's a biggie!)
Click to expand...

Thanks!

This just reeks of a publicity stunt for the upcoming tv show.

Has anyone on the board been hypnotised? Is it for real? Or is it like bending spoons - (a load of bollocks)?
Click to expand...

I heard the more intelligent you are, the easier it is to be hypnotised. Anyone know if that's true?
Click to expand...

No.

-
 
gncxx said:
This just reeks of a publicity stunt for the upcoming tv show.

Has anyone on the board been hypnotised? Is it for real? Or is it like bending spoons - (a load of bollocks)?
Click to expand...

I heard the more intelligent you are, the easier it is to be hypnotised. Anyone know if that's true?
Click to expand...

Sounds like something the easily hypnotised might say to make themselves feel better.
 
The Epitome of Illusion!

Few names conjure up images and thoughts of illusion and magic more than Derren Brown! And to celebrate the release of the magic packed film The Prestige we are sending you and one lucky assistant to Oxford to see his new live show. Famous for his death defying and inexplicable feats of magic you will be literally blown away by what he has to offer on his new tour.

Just like the characters in the Prestige you will be left amazed and astounded by what you will see! So, what are you waiting for? Magic wand at the ready?

According to the trailer for The Prestige, every magic trick has three parts, the first act is called ‘The Pledge’, the second act is called ‘The Turn’. What’s the name of the third act?

Click here to submit your answer

Prize includes:

Two tickets to Derren Brown Live 2007, Oxford New Theatre

Return train travel for two people to Oxford

Overnight accommodation for two people at The Oxford Belfry

Breakfast in the hotel restaurant for two people

http://tinyurl.com/27hhg9
Click to expand...
Go for it!
 
Did anyone see "Trick or Treat" last night?

I have mixed feelings - the thing with the League of Gentlemen was good, but more along the lines of a slightly edgy conjurer's trick. But as for the guy sent to Marrakesh - :wtf: No matter how deep a "trance" someone is in surely they'd have to go to the loo in 13 hours?! And wouldn't getting them through customs be a little dodgy? Although he did look genuinely confused when he was woken up. I dunno...

One thing I did notice is that the cards with "trick" or "treat" written on them were optical illusions, so if he'd held it up one way it would have said "trick" and the other way it would have said "treat", so they weren't making the choice - he was! But this was never mentioned... :devil:
 
Yes, I watched it as well. I wonder if they could say, "well, you opted to be in the Derren Brown show, so you knew something odd would happen." I was thinking the same thing about the loo as well! And wouldn't planes be a bit hesistant to take someone if they're in a... what amounts to... coma?

I hadn't noticed the optical illusion thing, but it doesn't surprise me as I found those cards quite difficult to read. Also, who knows if the "treat" wasn't going to be the same as the "trick". "Of course it was a treat - you got a free holiday!"

You know the trick he did in America with the guy on the phone, so that the bloke said "Bicycle". Derren guessed he would say "tricycle." My boyfriend was watching it and when Derren said, "So that's three things you need to do, three cogs going round..." my boyfriend said, "The word's going to be tricycle." And it was. So nerrr, Derren, figured you out!
 
Anyone else think that this series is turning out to be a bit poor compared to his usual stuff? I did like the trick with the blank money though - especially when the hot dog guy called him an asshole! :p
 
I saw one last night, and I thought it was an amazing load of crap. I found it impossible to stretch my imagination to believing that it wasn't all staged, and the whole cheesy gothic aesthetic was incredibly irritating.
 
I thought last night's was much better than the previous week's. Making that guy believe he was a ventriloquist's dummy was highly amusing and proved Derren and his mysterious friends could still come out with something a bit different.
 
But did the guy really believe he was a ventriloquist's dummy? He looked like a bad actor pretending he believed he was a ventriloquist's dummy.
 
Zoffre said:
Did anyone see "Trick or Treat" last night?

I have mixed feelings - the thing with the League of Gentlemen was good, but more along the lines of a slightly edgy conjurer's trick. But as for the guy sent to Marrakesh - :wtf: No matter how deep a "trance" someone is in surely they'd have to go to the loo in 13 hours?! And wouldn't getting them through customs be a little dodgy? Although he did look genuinely confused when he was woken up. I dunno...
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Yeah it had so many hurdles I wonder if he rather shot himself in the foot:

1. I'd assume he'd have to cathatarise the guy

2. There must be procedurs for getting semi-concious people through customs but "I'm the devil wizard off of the telebox!! Stand back or I turn you all into Frenchmen" isn't really going to cut any ice. Or "look he signed his immortal soul over to my power so I can do whatever the Hell I like with him" can't be a legitimate excuse at customs surely.

3. Hypnotism doesn't work like that. I kind of thought I'd heard Derren Brown suggest something similar. You might be able to make suggestible people do somethings they might not normally do but what he did there.... It is similar to the one where he made the lad think he was in the shoot em up, the level of immersion (if right) was scary but if you could do that with a bit of suggestion and a few flashing lights then we are all Manchurian Candidates in waiting.

It certainly makes you think but it does make you think "fake!!"
 
H_James said:
But did the guy really believe he was a ventriloquist's dummy? He looked like a bad actor pretending he believed he was a ventriloquist's dummy.
Click to expand...

I thought it was pretty convincing to start with and at one point the hair on the back of my neck actually stood up though I reckon that has more to do with the fact that I live in total fear of ventriloquists dummies.
Fortunately, what with the decline in variety style tv shows over the last decade or so, it doesn't come up much.

However, once the evil, evil dummy was put back in the case and matey lapsed back into his own voice it started to reek of fakery. If I suddenly believed I'd gone blind and been left entirely alone to get on with it, I can assure you I'd have been significantly more upset about it than that guy seemed to be. Also, the endings of the last 2 episodes have been deeply unsatisfying. It'd be way more convincing if we actually heard from any of the participants themselves, rather than having to trust the vague 'everything was ok later' messages they use. Perhaps this is to cover up the fact that Browns 'victims' have not been seen since making the show and one day in the future, once Derren Brown has assumed his birthright as supreme ruler of the planet, a group of underground renegades will discover them toiling as his personal slaves....
 
The disclaimers say they were happy to be a part of the programme. Doesn't necessarily apply to the viewer though.

I also wonder why none of those involved are found, speak out or are interviewed after the show.

On the customs bit, I assume there are occasions when severely disabled or ill people have to fly and pass through customs - what would be the protocol then?
 
But how would anyone react if they thought they were a ventriloquist's dummy? The fact that Friday night's victim was hesitant and bewildered suggests he thought it was still part of the trick. If he was a plant then you would have thought they'd have picked a more convincing one.

It's just a hypnotism act of the kind that has been done for decades. It's the imagination that goes into the tricks that makes or breaks the programme.
 
When the bloke started to talk in the dummy's voice I was really scared!!! Great bit o' telly. ;)

I can't work out when he hypnotised him... Derren was saying "look at the dummy, look at the dummy," so I spose it must've been that.

Still, it was nice to see some burlesque on the tv.
 
That's scary.

That's not nice. I like Derron Brown, and love his stuff, but this is just super mind f*ck. Not nice.

Most, if not all, of his stuff is composed and comprised by other people. And a lot, if not all, is fake (and there's nothing wrong in that), but, (strangley a 'Derek Anaconda' disclaimer is missing from 'Trick Or Treat'), there's no need for this.

Scary.
 
That clip didn't look fake to me! He seemed to calm down a lot when the man himself appeared, so it'll be interesting to see what the rest of the episode is like.

Last night's had me worried because it was a little old lady who was the victim, but at least she got a "treat". Seeing her beat the experts was highly amusing. Liked the waxworks bit too.
 
Rrose_Selavy said:
Here's an out take with DB you probably won't see on Trick or Treat. Guy freaks out ( and who can blame him) when kidnapped by a taxi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRIV3hPt4AU
Click to expand...

Of course the question that arises is where did the video come from? It can only have come from the production team and may have been leaked deliberately possibly as misdirection: "See it is all real."

Perhaps.
 
Hey Fro, go and see DB live. He is great, if a little shorter than you'd expect.

He doesn't claim to do achieve his effects through anything other than psychology, so there's no need for a disclaimer. No 'talking to the dead', no psychic connections, just ruthless manipulation. Which is scarier, really. :D

We saw him a year or so back. Fantastic show. 8)
 
gncxx said:
Last night's had me worried because it was a little old lady who was the victim, but at least she got a "treat". Seeing her beat the experts was highly amusing. Liked the waxworks bit too.
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Wish I'd seen that one:
POKER-FACED ANNE PLAYS A TRUMP CARD
11:00 - 28 April 2007

Derren Brown's Trick or Treat series found an absolute star in this week's "victim" - 75-year-old pensioner Anne from North London.

Anne got on a fake bus which drove her to an isolated area where all the other passengers got off and Derren offered her the usual choice of trick or treat.

She didn't know what she had chosen, but it turned out to be a treat for her as well as the viewers.

When she met Mr Brown ("call me Derren", he beamed) again he revealed this week's task. Anne liked to play cards - brag, canasta, things like that - and Derren was going to teach her how to play poker.

Not just any old game of poker, but championship level for big money against top names in the poker world, including Anthony Holden, who wrote about his experiences of spending a year as a professional poker player.

Can Derren really convince a pensioner who has never played poker in her life that she can beat the best?

The answer was a resounding "yes". Anne had a crash course in poker with Derren's training on how to spot a player's "tell" - when he's bluffing with a poor hand.

He hypnotised her to build up her confidence, and before you could say full house she was sitting down with the big boys.

Derren was right - they would start getting heavy when the hands stopped going their way, but within an hour of play several had folded.

It was down to the last three players and Anne quickly dispatched one. Unbelievably, Anne faced just one man.

Her skills held out - she had correctly predicted his hand - but this is a game of luck and the cards simply went against her.

Anne didn't mind. She won £1,000 and toasted her success in champagne. What a story to tell her friends at the whist drive! :D

I don't know how he does it, but Anne was a real trump card for Derren Brown - sweet and deserving, but with a scary, steely air at the poker table.
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http://tinyurl.com/3yrtzu
 
I've not read through the whole thread but has someone already mentioned that he card say both trick and treat depending on which way up they are?

I got really upset when they kidnapped the old lady. I was sure that she would get treat though, like the card you pick is a free choice!
 
liveinabin1 said:
I've not read through the whole thread but has someone already mentioned that he card say both trick and treat depending on which way up they are?

I got really upset when they kidnapped the old lady. I was sure that she would get treat though, like the card you pick is a free choice!
Click to expand...
Yes, I mentioned that a bit earlier - it annoys me that none of the "victims" mention it as it seemed obvious to me as soon as I saw the cards, as they're actually not that easy to read. And given he's making the choice, it just seems like a bit of pointless posing... :roll:
 
DB's act is built around his attempts to force participants to comply with his plan for them, while letting them think they are exercising free will.

So WE can see that the words look the same, especially after several sights of them, but the 'victims' are under too much pressure to take enough notice. ;)

I'm wise to him, though. I don't reckon he could manipulate ME. Not one bit. No, sirree. :lol:
 
Mighty_Emperor said:
Rrose_Selavy said:
Here's an out take with DB you probably won't see on Trick or Treat. Guy freaks out ( and who can blame him) when kidnapped by a taxi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRIV3hPt4AU
Click to expand...

Of course the question that arises is where did the video come from? It can only have come from the production team and may have been leaked deliberately possibly as misdirection: "See it is all real."

Perhaps.
Click to expand...

Maybe not misdirection but leaked to back up Brown's credibility instead? You know how he likes his mind games.

And also to remind those who have applied to appear on his programme that he may strike at any moment, so don't panic and phone the police, thankyou very much.
 
I read some version of the taxi riide may appear this week ie Friday's broadcast.
 
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