The Milgram Experiment

The Milgram Experiment is one of the most shocking experiments that I have come across as it shows how much power an authority figure can have over you.
The experiment consisted of a number of subjects who were told to electrocute a person (who was an actor) if they got a question wrong, everytime the question was wrongly answered the voltage of the electricution would get higher. This experiment is a test on how far people would go until they were ready to say stop and not the authority figure,

http://www.new-life.net/milgram.htm

After looking at the experiment I found that many others had reproduced this experiment to represent greed or to find specific subjects for another test. Cildo Meirelles and Derren Brown had re-invented this experiment for other reasons.

Cildo Meirelles is a Brizillian artist who produced very creative, imaginative and inspirational installations, whilst looking at his work I found an installation called ‘Occassions’ which was consisted of two chambers separated by a mirrored glass, one room had a bowl in the middle of it with notes and coins in it with a statue standing by it as if to be gaurding the money. The room is surrounded by three glassed mirrors which the visitors are aware of, this is where the temptation would hit the visitors to see the money and want it but wouldn’t want to touch it as they would feel as if there is someone behind the glass mirrors watching. Not only was it a installation piece but it was also a test of greed and if the power of temptation to touch the money. He presented the milgram experiment in another form but used the same aspects as the subjects would be feeling the same, it would be the same as being in the big brother house if you were pressured by someone or yourself to do something that is not acceptable even when you know that there is someone watching your every move.

http://www.portikus.de/ArchiveA0124.html

The experiment carried out by Derren Brown was exactly how the milgram experiment was done but he had other reasons for why he carried out the experiment. He was planning ‘The Heist’ and needed vulnerable subjects to take out the positions that needed to be filled, he found that the milgram experiment would be the best way to pick out who would be the best to work on and the most easiest to influence to carry out the heist.

This shows that the milgram experiment could work on anyone especially if you have never heard of the experiment before, Dan Brown took it to his advantage to find vulnerable people to help him do a real life bank robbery. He was more powerful then the position of the experimenter in the milgram experiment as he was able to make people believe that anything was possible. His power is creating illusions and many people would say that they wouldn’t fall for what he does but he doesn’t have to say or do much before you begin agreeing on what he wants to do next.