We have all seen depictions of hypnosis in media. Vampires, for example, use a sort of charismatic mind control to lull their victims. There are also entertainment hypnotists, like Erick Kand, who explains on his website what to expect at his shows; “the hypnotic trance state creates a sense of heightened awareness that brings out the best in the volunteer performers. Your volunteers role-play in various hypnosis comedy routines that have your audience doubled over with laughter.”3 This is the classic “cluck like a chicken” sort of hypnosis that has been performed on stage since the eighteenth century. Although Kand and his counterparts assure we will be laughing at the hilarity that hypnosis can bring, the practice of stage hypnotism has been met with healthy skepticism. Kreskin, an American magician who performed comedic hypnosis for decades eventually maligned his former work:
For nineteen years I had believed in . . . the sleeplike “hypnotic trance,” practicing it constantly. Though I had nagging doubts at times, I wanted to believe in it. There was an overpowering mystique about putting someone to sleep, something that set me and all other “hypnotists” apart. We were marvelous Svengalis or Dr. Mesmers, engaged in a supernatural practice of sorts. Then it all collapsed. For me anyway.4
While stage hypnotists are strictly there for entertainment, hypnosis has been used for far more serious endeavors, including therapy, and to recall traumatic events from the past. Hypnotherapy is utilized in a number of different mental health scenarios. In a study published in 2014, researchers studied whether it worked for people suffering from clinical depression. Sachin K. Dwivedi and Anuradha Kotnala from the Department of Clinical Psychology in Hardwar, UK, concluded that hypnotherapy, as long as it was done by professionals with the proper approach, did improve the lives of people who were afflicted with depression:
Modern hypnotherapy is widely accepted for the treatment of anxiety, subclinical depression, certain habit disorders, to control irrational fears, as well as in the treatment of conditions such as insomnia and addiction. Hypnosis has also been used to enhance recovery from non-psychological conditions such as after surgical procedures and even with gastroenterological problems including Irritable Bowel Syndrome.5
Whether or not stage hypnotists are authentic, there is proven science behind the efficacy of hypnosis in a medical setting. Does this also include the recall of long buried memories? Are memories drawn from hypnosis to be believed? According to Dr. Brian Thompson, a licensed psychologist at Portland Psychotherapy Clinic, Research, and Training Center in Portland, Oregon, “ scientific data suggests that the use of hypnosis in recovering memories is very problematic.”6 Thompson goes on to assert that hypnosis hurts rather than helps:
Not only is hypnosis no better than regular recall, data suggest that recall during hypnosis can actually result in the creation of more false memories than recall while not under hypnosis. Furthermore, people who recall memories under hypnosis are more likely to believe in the accuracy of these memories, regardless of whether they are true or not. It is for these reasons that many professionals working with individuals who may have been abused as children strongly caution against the use of hypnosis as a tool to try to recover possible unremembered trauma. The American Medical Association took a stand warning against accuracy of memories recovered through hypnosis in 1985.7
The resounding answer about hypnotic memory recall is that it is not reliable. A research study in 1988 concurs; “. . . extreme caution should be exercised in employing information and impressions derived from hypnotic early recollections in forensic situations.”8 It is surprising, after unearthing all this data, to realize that hypnotic memory recall has been used in the conviction of crimes. One such case involves the “Dating Game Killer” Rodney Alcala. A serial killer responsible for countless, brutal deaths spanning the country, Alcala was granted a retrial in the 1979 murder of Robin Samsoe because of the prosecution’s use of hypnotic memory recall. After the overwhelming scientific data compiled in the 1980s, it became evident that any witness statements derived from this practice needed to be dismissed. During the original Alcala investigation, a witness, US Forest Ranger Dana Crappa, underwent police-sanctioned hypnosis to better remember the vehicle and suspect she’d seen. Because of this, Alcala was given another day in court. Fortunately, there was overwhelming evidence against Alcala without Crappa’s statements, therefore the “Dating Game Killer” did not escape justice. This reminds us of a futuristic Black Mirror (2011–Present) episode, “Crocodile” in which insurance companies are able to access memories in order to dispute claims. Imagine the future of criminal justice if this were possible!
Hypnosis is a proven state of being. Although, it’s proven that memories drummed up from this autonomic, sleep-like trance are not dependable. But, as in the case of Chris Washington in Get Out, can someone be hypnotized without giving their consent? This can perhaps be answered by the bizarre case of former attorney Michael Fine, who was sentenced to twelve years in prison for multiple counts of “kidnapping with sexual motivation” in 2016. Yet, this is not a clean-cut case of a bad man tying rope around his victim. Instead, Fine was accused of hypnotizing his clients in order to have sex with them while they were in their fugue state. One unidentified victim described how she had no memory of anything untoward after her first meeting with Fine. Although when she left his office her bra was unclasped and she had a peculiar feeling. Also, her memory was blurry, as though she couldn’t recall the meeting. Disconcerted after several meetings, this victim decided to secretly audio tape her meeting with Fine. Afterward, she played the tape, shocked to discover that they had had a sexual conversation that she had no memory of! And at the end of their discussion, Fine instructed the woman not to remember anything of their meeting in the tone of a stage hypnotist. This victim was not alone, as five others came forward:
Hypnosis is a proven state of being.
In one complaint filed against Fine, a victim described how he would perform the actual hypnosis. Under the guise of introducing her to meditation and mindfulness, he would ask her to sit in a chair, perform a few breathing exercises and close her eyes. Sometimes he would ask her to watch the space between his fingers.9
Fine is not the first man to use hypnosis for lascivious means. In 2012 a physician’s assistant in Michigan was convicted of second-degree criminal sexual conduct after victimizing two women after hypnotizing them. While Get Out is a fictional story rooted in a science that is not real (yet!) the sunken place feels authentic. The vulnerable state of those in hypnosis, as shown by the women victimized by Michael Fine, is a raw and scary place where evil people can assert their control. In Get Out, filmmaker Jordan Peele asks us to recognize the contrasting landscape that minorities face every day, a stark difference from the “perfect” suburbia of white privilege. What better way to do this than to introduce us to the sunken place?