Just an anecdote, but my high school grad class' party had a hypnotist. As these were classmates I knew quite well (it wasn't a large class), I can say it seems somewhat legitimate. The people who were "successfully" hypnotized did some crazy things. Afterwards, one guy explained it as feeling like a very strong suggestion, but nothing that could fundamentally go against your will. Some people during the show that went up on stage at the start eventually came back down as the show asked them to do more and more crazy things (nothing degenerate, just impressive) and I guess some commands were a step too far that pressed what they would normally be comfortable doing.
That was just a stage performer however, so maybe some weaponized government method could push people further, probably by breaking their will to begin with, or working over a longer period of time, or stepping up the things you ask slowly enough that people can continue to justify it to themselves. I wasn't able to be hypnotized despite my attempts to be. Part of me couldn't give up any control, even though I knew the environment was safe, so there's some aspect that makes some people more susceptible than others.
I got called up on stage for a stage hypnotist act once. I had seen the show once before (not called up to participate) and I really wanted to find out what it was like. At the first show, people were doing all kinds of wild stuff at the hypnotist’s apparent command, and yet he’d suddenly say “sleep!” And all the volunteers would seem to just pass out! I really wanted to know what it was like! Occasionally someone would snap out of the trance and he’d send them back to the audience.
So at the second show I got myself selected. He sat about ten of us in chairs and went through a whole routine of speech, watch waving, all that, for about ten minutes and I honestly felt myself slipping toward a sleepy state. Then he said “you are all now in my power” and… I wasn’t. I was 100 percent awake and in control. But I wanted to stay on stage and be part of the show, so I felt like I had to pretend! And so, fully conscious, fully able to say no if I wanted, I just did whatever the hypnotist told me to do, acted out whatever he wanted me to act out. And afterward when my friends asked what it was like, I totally lied and said I had no memory of the show and that I couldn’t believe I did all the silly stuff I did. He never asked us to do anything super embarrassing or to tell everyone a deep dark secret or anything like that, so I willingly did what he asked me to. Act like a monkey, do an interview pretending to be five years old, just silly stuff.
Here’s a funny story that I can’t say really sheds any more light on the question. There was one moment where he sent us all to sleep in our chairs, and I playacted like I was slumped asleep, leaning back, and the girl next to me was slumped too, but more to the side and her head fell onto my shoulder. The hypnotist had someone one else acting out some silly commands, and the girl’s head starts slipping off my shoulder. I have to pretend I’m asleep so I can’t do anything to help. Her head slips down to my chest… then down to my stomach… then finally she ends up face down in my lap in full suckjob position. It was all I could do not to bust out laughing, and soon I hear the audience cracking up too. I don’t know if the girl was “really” asleep or not or just taking advantage of a situation, but she just stayed like that. Finally the hypnotist came over and gently repositioned her. I of course told everyone who asked I had no memory of this. I never found out if the girl did. I suspect probably she did, but I’ll never know.
TLDR: I’ve been hypnotized for a stage show and my experience was that I was not hypnotized at all. Simply wanting to be part of the show was enough for me to want to pretend.
I honestly felt myself slipping toward a sleepy state. Then he said “you are all now in my power” and… I wasn’t. I was 100 percent awake and in control.
That's about as far as I got into it too, which is why I never participated.
The reason I found it convincing wasn't my former classmates being told to act this way or that way. It was a part where he had some people hold various poses. One person was doing something similar to planking (before that was ever a thing) and they were not the kind of person you would think could hold that kind of pose as well as they did, and especially not for as long as they did. The Hypnotist would push on them and try to get them to move and they just wouldn't. It was honestly like seeing the sort of discipline you would see from a monk, but in someone you would really not expect to see that in at all.
If it was an elaborate ruse, it was prepared months in advance for sure, and kept very, very secret.
Just an anecdote, but my high school grad class' party had a hypnotist. As these were classmates I knew quite well (it wasn't a large class), I can say it seems somewhat legitimate. The people who were "successfully" hypnotized did some crazy things. Afterwards, one guy explained it as feeling like a very strong suggestion, but nothing that could fundamentally go against your will. Some people during the show that went up on stage at the start eventually came back down as the show asked them to do more and more crazy things (nothing degenerate, just impressive) and I guess some commands were a step too far that pressed what they would normally be comfortable doing.
That was just a stage performer however, so maybe some weaponized government method could push people further, probably by breaking their will to begin with, or working over a longer period of time, or stepping up the things you ask slowly enough that people can continue to justify it to themselves. I wasn't able to be hypnotized despite my attempts to be. Part of me couldn't give up any control, even though I knew the environment was safe, so there's some aspect that makes some people more susceptible than others.
I got called up on stage for a stage hypnotist act once. I had seen the show once before (not called up to participate) and I really wanted to find out what it was like. At the first show, people were doing all kinds of wild stuff at the hypnotist’s apparent command, and yet he’d suddenly say “sleep!” And all the volunteers would seem to just pass out! I really wanted to know what it was like! Occasionally someone would snap out of the trance and he’d send them back to the audience.
So at the second show I got myself selected. He sat about ten of us in chairs and went through a whole routine of speech, watch waving, all that, for about ten minutes and I honestly felt myself slipping toward a sleepy state. Then he said “you are all now in my power” and… I wasn’t. I was 100 percent awake and in control. But I wanted to stay on stage and be part of the show, so I felt like I had to pretend! And so, fully conscious, fully able to say no if I wanted, I just did whatever the hypnotist told me to do, acted out whatever he wanted me to act out. And afterward when my friends asked what it was like, I totally lied and said I had no memory of the show and that I couldn’t believe I did all the silly stuff I did. He never asked us to do anything super embarrassing or to tell everyone a deep dark secret or anything like that, so I willingly did what he asked me to. Act like a monkey, do an interview pretending to be five years old, just silly stuff.
Here’s a funny story that I can’t say really sheds any more light on the question. There was one moment where he sent us all to sleep in our chairs, and I playacted like I was slumped asleep, leaning back, and the girl next to me was slumped too, but more to the side and her head fell onto my shoulder. The hypnotist had someone one else acting out some silly commands, and the girl’s head starts slipping off my shoulder. I have to pretend I’m asleep so I can’t do anything to help. Her head slips down to my chest… then down to my stomach… then finally she ends up face down in my lap in full suckjob position. It was all I could do not to bust out laughing, and soon I hear the audience cracking up too. I don’t know if the girl was “really” asleep or not or just taking advantage of a situation, but she just stayed like that. Finally the hypnotist came over and gently repositioned her. I of course told everyone who asked I had no memory of this. I never found out if the girl did. I suspect probably she did, but I’ll never know.
TLDR: I’ve been hypnotized for a stage show and my experience was that I was not hypnotized at all. Simply wanting to be part of the show was enough for me to want to pretend.
That's about as far as I got into it too, which is why I never participated.
The reason I found it convincing wasn't my former classmates being told to act this way or that way. It was a part where he had some people hold various poses. One person was doing something similar to planking (before that was ever a thing) and they were not the kind of person you would think could hold that kind of pose as well as they did, and especially not for as long as they did. The Hypnotist would push on them and try to get them to move and they just wouldn't. It was honestly like seeing the sort of discipline you would see from a monk, but in someone you would really not expect to see that in at all.
If it was an elaborate ruse, it was prepared months in advance for sure, and kept very, very secret.