Final Reflection - Subliminal Messages

I have learned a lot throughout my research on subliminal messaging. Looking at my original foundation questions, I realized that I answered all of them, making this a successful search. Subliminal messaging isn't really the best known topic, so most people don't even know what it is. They are simply messages or ideas that are not supposed to be recognizable to the conscious mind but are entered into the subconscious mind. They are found everywhere like in movies, TV shows, ALL aspects of advertising, music, and magazines. During my research I learned that the subconscious mind can't make you do anything you don't want to but the ideas can still result in some change. They also affect everyone in different ways because obviously our personalities, upbringing, and thinking patterns are all completely different.

At times my research was a bit difficult because a lot of the sites repeat the same information. I think that the most interesting part of my research was the video examples of subliminal messages in Disney movies. Who would have thought that there would be hidden messages in children's videos. Aladdin, The Rescuers, and The Lion King are all popular Disney movies and I'm sure most people have never even realized those messages were included. Now that people know that hidden messages are in there, it might make them want to watch the movie and see for themselves.

One of my original questions that I wanted to know was if subliminal messages are used as simply a joke or are put in accidentally. One site explained that they are often motivated by boredom or a need for self-expression and a practical joke. Now whenever I see an ad I look more closely to see if certain things were added in there, as a hidden joke.

My essential question was "Does subliminal messaging affect peoples lives?" Since this isn't a wide known topic and is kind of hard to research, I think the answer would be an opinion. I think that no matter what your opinion is on the subject, they will still affect you. Like the one example I found during my research, about how supermarkets place popular items in the back of the store. This makes the customer walk through the store and pass displays which leads them to buy more than what they came for. This isn't a message but it is considered to be subliminal persuasion. This type of advertising or persuasion works and is here to stay. So even if you think subliminal advertising is a hoax, I'm sure you've passed that fancy store display for a new product and decided you just had to have it and bought it. You were influenced by the display without even realizing it. My opinion is that they will affect people's lives although the results may be minimal. Now that I am aware of subliminal messages and I realized I have missed all of those jokes imbedded in movies and ads, I will definitly try to look out for them more often.