Hypnosis in movies: Hansruedi Wipf reacts to “Hypnotic”

Someone loses control. They are manipulated, steered from the outside and made to do things they cannot remember afterward. That is the classic story of hypnosis in movies, and the thriller “Hypnotic” tells it with plenty of suspense. When the trailer came out in 2021, we asked Hansruedi Wipf, owner and president of OMNI Hypnosis International, author, trainer and speaker, for his reaction. His answers are a good guide to what is fact and what is fiction.

Hypnosis in movies: a thriller, not a documentary

Hansruedi Wipf’s first reaction was relaxed. “Hypnotic” is certainly an exciting movie, he says, if you like thrillers and horror. But it is important to understand that a boring movie does not sell. So fact and fiction get mixed up quite a bit. Movies need conflict, and a hypnotherapist who calmly helps a client sleep better or lose a fear of flying does not make a thriller.

The film plays on primal fears: losing control, being at someone’s mercy, being manipulated and perhaps even steered into committing crimes you can no longer really remember.

If hypnosis were as powerful as the trailer suggests, Wipf points out, it would be the perfect way to forbid people to have problems. You could simply order them to stop having phobias or to stop being depressed. “If this were the case, it would have been practiced long ago.” And the number of bank robberies would skyrocket, because anyone could send hypnotized people to commit them. Fortunately, that is not the case.

Can hypnosis be used to control people?

“You don’t need hypnosis to manipulate people,” Wipf says. Manipulation is everywhere: in advertising, in politics, at school, in relationships, in families and at work. Even a dog can manipulate us with its trusting eyes until we hand over a treat, a “Gutzi,” as they say in Switzerland.

But controlling a person remotely, like a puppet, is not possible. In Wipf’s words, “that is a good thing.”

In fact, he believes that people in hypnosis are probably even less open to manipulation than in everyday life. A client in hypnosis is paying close attention, because they want a change. If a hypnotist offered them an idea they did not like, they would firmly reject it, and nothing would change. Hypnosis works with a person, not against them. Without their cooperation, nothing happens, and that is exactly why consent comes first in every professional session.

Can an idea take root and become reality?

In the trailer, an idea planted in a person’s mind grows into a whole new reality. Can that happen?

Wipf’s answer is nuanced. The subconscious cannot really tell the difference between reality and imagination. Rational thinking, however, allows us to recognize the difference in most cases. An imagined fear can eventually turn into a real problem. But that does not require hypnosis either.

We are exposed to other people’s ideas every day: on the internet, on television, in newspapers, in politics. It is unavoidable that absurd and completely far-fetched ideas sometimes stick. The many conspiracy theories in circulation are proof of that.

Hypnosis myths that need to go

There are countless prejudices about hypnosis. Asked which ones most urgently need to be cleared up, Wipf names several.

Nobody can be forced into hypnosis. Hypnosis is a natural state. Entering it is always a conscious decision to let it happen with the hypnotherapist.

You cannot get stuck in hypnosis. Every session ends, and you come back to your normal state of awareness.

Hypnosis is not a truth serum. It does not make you reveal what you want to keep to yourself.

Hypnosis is not anesthesia or unconsciousness. In hypnosis, you hear everything. You can think, argue, open your eyes and leave at any time.

Hypnosis has nothing to do with esotericism, religion or the supernatural.

For Wipf, the most important point comes first, though: people should become aware of what hypnosis can do for them, and take a closer look at the subject instead of relying on movie images.

Stage hypnosis vs. hypnotherapy

Much of what people believe about hypnosis comes from two places: movies and stage shows. Neither shows what happens in a hypnotherapy session.

Stage hypnosis is entertainment. The volunteers who come up on stage want to take part, and the show is designed to be spectacular. Hypnotherapy is the opposite: a private, confidential session with a goal the client has chosen, such as less stress, more confidence or freedom from a fear. There is no audience and no show. The client stays aware throughout, and the hypnotherapist works for the client, not for applause.

Even techniques that look dramatic on stage, such as an instant induction, work on the same principle in a practice: with the client’s consent. Our article on flash hypnosis explains why.

A movie is a movie

“A movie is a movie,” Wipf says. “Hypnotic” is not a documentary, it is a thriller. And he planned to watch it anyway: “For entertainment. With lots of popcorn.”

That is good advice for anyone who enjoys hypnosis in movies. Enjoy the suspense, and leave the myths on the screen.

About Hansruedi Wipf

At the time of this interview, Hansruedi Wipf was owner and president of Hypnose.NET GmbH and OMNI Hypnosis International. He is an author, trainer and speaker.

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