I was just wondering, as I was re-watching Fight Club, isn’t it supposed to be that you cannot see the subliminal images you get in movies?
I first watched FC at the movies, but when I rewatched it on VCD, I realised I could see the subliminal images people were talking about.
If they were subliminal, how come it was possible to see them? Stupid question I guess, but I’m curious again…as I thought the whole point of having subliminal images was that you could not actually visibly see them.
Not having seen Fight Club, I am unsure what you are referring to. What did you see? Coca Cola adds? Evil Nazi Messages? Or just plain fighting?
Please explain.
Hi Coldfire,
What I saw were 4 subliminal flashes of Tyler (Brad Pitt) at strategic points before he actually appears in the film. I have added the url for the pictures of the actual frame in the film to show these images if you are interested.
At the photocopier:
http://www.compsoc.man.ac.uk/~heather/here/photocop.jpg
At the insomnia doctor’s:
http://www.compsoc.man.ac.uk/~heather/here/doctor.jpg
At the healing groups:
http://www.compsoc.man.ac.uk/~heather/here/testicul.jpg
Watching Marla walk away:
http://www.compsoc.man.ac.uk/~heather/here/marla.jpg
I realise that this is what the film-makers had intended. However, what I was confused about was that I thought subliminal images are supposed to be flashed in our minds so fast/quick that we can’t see them by eye. I don’t remember seeing them in the cinema, however, I was able to see these by watching a VCD of FC. Sorry, I might be sounding a little too confusing.
In the “Big Secret” books by Poundstone, a collegue of Cecil’s, he discusses this at length.
A single frame intercut into a scene is not what is usually meant by a subliminal message.
A subliminal message is supposed to display at 1/100 to 1/300th of a second, so fast you aren’t aware it’s there. But the eye is fast enough to see a single frame (ever notice a scratch on the film as you watch it?).
Intercutting a single frame is used occasionally as an effect, but the assumption is that you’ll notice it. Subliminals you aren’t supposed to notice, but you are supposed to be influenced (whether they work or not has not been conclusively determined, but the answer seems to be “no, they don’t.”).
