webofevil | (no subject)

[Text and picture lifted from A Mountain Dweller in the Thames Valley.]

Another example of subliminal images made a politico-media scandal after the 1988 presidential elections in France. François Mitterrand was elected for the second time in a row, and some experts identified some puzzling images on the state-owned channel Antenne 2 (now named France 2). The introduction of the news programme was an animated three-dimensional “a2” rotating in the air until the speaker was on screen. A careful look at this 3D animation revealed that a face which could well be Mitterrand’s was blended into the metallic texture of the number.

When you know that a) regulations forbid subliminal images, b) candidates are due equal speech time and c) Mitterrand was said to have a harsh hand on the media, especially on national TV, you can easily conclude, as many did, that the image was not there by chance.