Subliminal Projection: History and Analysis

Authors

Thomas Albert Bliss

Abstract

This article examines subliminal projection, the process whereby information is transmitted to one's subconscious without one's knowledge, as it applies to audio-visual media. The author outlines the psychological basis for the process, then describes the various techniques that have been devised for exploiting the process. A detailed history of experimental and nonexperimental applications is followed by a discussion of the responses by lawmaking, regulatory and programming bodies to those applications and the process in general. The author argues that, lacking statutory bases for prevention of the use of subliminal projection, the most appropriate tort theory on which to base an action is invasion of privacy. The article concludes by noting that it remains the responsibility of the viewer/listener to detect and remedy such abuses, a responsibility that is by its very nature a contradiction.

Recommended Citation

Thomas Albert Bliss, Subliminal Projection: History and Analysis, 5 UC Law SF Comm. & Ent. L.J. 419 (1983).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_comm_ent_law_journal/vol5/iss3/1