by AlmostAtheist 34 Replies latest jw friends
To me it seems like pure paranoia. If you look at anything long enough, you can see faces, weird patterns, etc.
I would agree that individual artists my insert something out of boredom or anger about their circumstances. Anything coming from the FDS, I doubt it.
r.
I think 99% of it is imagination on the part of the perceiver, including nearly all the examples found on websites. But at the same time, I do not dismiss the phenomenon as a whole. It's well known that artists (including disgruntled artists) sometimes hide images in art, think of the scandal about pornographic images hidden in Disney films or currency engravers hiding their signature in the image. I have a painting right on my wall here that has intentional subliminal imagery (according to the artist who painted it). There have been a few images in Watchtower literature that seem more intentional, such as the portrait of a ram's head sitting inocuously on the table of a JW residence in the Live Forever book (a rather bizarre image hidden in plain sight), or the skull in the folds of a sleeve of a man drinking water -- with the letters "JAH" in the skull's mouth no less. I spotted that one in the kingdom hall during the Watchtower study, and it made me jump in my seat...and it caused a little stir there in the back of the hall as I passed it around to my friends...they all noticed it very easily.
I remember two such things (non-jw) that were apparantly innocent, but actually caused a big stir in their day...
a) - Remember the Republican campaign TV ad that had the word "Democrats" as part of the text image - it panned down for a split second to just "rats"; it made the national news for a week or two. It was eventually revealed to just be an artifact of editing the TV ad for time. This, of course, did not prevent the Democrats from crying foul from the highest hill for all the silly publicity they could get.
As if this was actually going to change anybody's vote. Either way.
b) - Remember all the "Demonism" stink about the Proctor & Gamble logo? It had a quarter moon and maybe some starts or something - so some of the fundies freaked out and accused them of cavorting with Beelzebub naked in the forest, etc. As I recall, there were even some JW urban legends about this one.
As if this was going to change the way you buy floor cleaner. Either way.
Point being - in both cases, the "finders" of the nonsense subliminals tried to make themselves the beneficiary of the "find". Let's don't fall into this trap - it would make us ex-JWs just look silly in the long run.
But again I say - the dishonesty of the WTBTS would not prevent them from trying such a thing if it were really to their advantage. They do so with words, in essence.
However, how in the hell would putting a RamsHead or Skull into a picture in the WT help them in any way?
James
PS (unless you believe they are Machievellian enough to put it their hoping we would find it and make fools of ourselves...)
If there is hidden art it's because they are getting bored of painting the same images over and over again.
There have been a few images in Watchtower literature that seem more intentional, such as the portrait of a ram's head sitting inocuously on the table of a JW residence in the Live Forever book (a rather bizarre image hidden in plain sight), or the skull in the folds of a sleeve of a man drinking water -- with the letters "JAH" in the skull's mouth no less. I spotted that one in the kingdom hall during the Watchtower study, and it made me jump in my seat...and it caused a little stir there in the back of the hall as I passed it around to my friends...they all noticed it very easily.
I remember both of these very well.
WHO would have a picture of a goat on their table? (not to mention the AWFUL plaid skirt the "sister" was wearing).....SOMEONE sinister seemed to be having a good hearty laugh at the expense of that "food from God" we had to swallow!
Annie
Dear Art Lovers,
Freed from uniformity of thought and strict control over our every expression, I'm grateful that we can pretty much say as we like here, but within the bounds of propriety. In theory, at least, we can disagree without becoming disagreeable. May I add to the discussion that the term "subliminal" is neither totally comprehensive nor applicable to all aspects of art. The above term refers to that which is inadequate to produce a sensation or perception, or existing outside the area of conscious awareness. There are other terms to consider:
secondary: immediately derived from something original, primary, basic.
embedded: that which is enclosed closely within, as in a matrix; to make something an integral part of.
reflective: that which is given back by by a reflecting surface.
The above adjectives are terms that, in reference to art, can be placed directly before the word "image". These terms are more correct in describing certain forms of art; not all imagery is meant to be below a level of awareness. What many have described as their own personal experience is not to be tossed aside as mere delusion. What one needs to do is talk to artists who understand and employ this very real form of artistic expression.
"Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known." Matthew 10:26, NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Reference Edition, First Edition.
Compound-Complex
>>There are other terms to consider:
Thank you! Yes, "subliminal" here isn't really what we usually see in these "look at this!"-type posts. I used that term since it's the term most used to refer to this sort of stuff.
And it would seem that the concensus of the group (hardly indicative of "truth", I admit) is that the images do indeed appear to be intentional in some cases, though often they are not. And they are placed there by individuals, not at the direction of the Watchtower. It is much more a question of motive than of whether or not it happens.
Dave
We have all seen something there. Most of us can agree that its the text that brainwashed us, not the art work. Yet, why is it there?
Options:
1. Satan, the father of the lie, created and is behind the Jehovah's Witness religion. The genius brainwashing techniques are not necessarily man's doing but Satan's work. The religion is obviously hiding who Jesus is, therefore it can be considered anti-christ. Now, the art work, perhaps it could be affecting a member subliminaly, ie., nightmares, supernatural occurences, etc. or could Satan be having fun, laughing at those he has duped. Could this be ego coming forward to show what he can get away with? In other words, he can push things and mock so far and the sheeple will still believe the LIE.
2. Charles Taze and his underlings created the Jehovah's Witness religion and applied their own intellect and knowledge of brainwashing techniques to indoctrinate members. Fast foward to the literature artwork:
a. The artists are bored and having fun purposely putting in extra images for their own enjoyment.
b. The artists aren't intentionally putting in the extra images, but the extra images just happen to accidentally show up.
What else?
I'm just trying to come up with different hypothesis as to why they are there.
Can you find the subliminal message in this work of art?
Dear Mary of the Annunciation,
Friends recently returned from a tour of Bethel remarked how very much they were reminded of the Sistine Chapel when they viewed this lovely tableau, "The Ascension of the Oracle". Were you, likewise, on tour recently when you took this photo? What is so wonderful for me personally is that I once had an audience with HIS HOLINESS, long before his canonization. We discussed my ardent desire to join the heavenly ranks upon my demise at Bethel. He said, ever so simply, that where I landed was not up to him. The experience gave an entirely new meaning to the word sacrilege. I'm going to check with my friends for more photos and share them with you. Thank you so much for reminding me of happier days!
Compound-Complex of Hermetical Holy Orders
