Authority

Wow, I've been posting a lot lately.

So last night I watched this movie called "Devil." Usually I don't watch scary ghosty movies cause they freak me out and give me nightmares. But I was with a trusted friend and we left the lights on. :) But so in this movie there's a group of strangers that get stuck in an elevator and one of them is the devil but we don't know who till the end (don't worry, I won't give away the ending! you should see it for yourself). I thought it was interesting how at several times during the movie the people in the elevator start to fight and this detective guy gets on the PA and yells at them to stop, and every time eventually they do. But, they didn't have to. I mean, it's just a voice they hear telling them to stop. But it's the trust they put into the police system that made them calm down and obey the voice. He was a stranger to them and yet they obeyed his authority. In some psycological analyses they've studied how victims of abuse or rape or torture obey the authoritative figure, not necessarily because they want to, but because it's ingrained in them to follow authority. I wonder why that is exactly.

Also, have you ever noticed how you clam up when you're stopped by a policeman and you get all nervous? Or maybe that just happens to me. But they're a recognized authority figure and you give them authority by letting them issue you a ticket or throw you in jail. Authority is an interesting thing.

But go out and rent the movie. It wasn't all that demonic like I thought; mostly suspense.