Mass Hypnosis
FADE IN:
INT. CLUBHOUSE - DAY
PETER reads newspaper reports.
PETER (V.O.)
People will make Yuen
Long bad coming
Saturday.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
Somebody calls for it.
Core protesters aside,
there's every likelihood
that many others will
follow.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)
Why the mass would obey
and go where they're told?
Have they all been
hypnotized?
FLASHBACK
INT. ICE SKATING RINK, MEGA BOX - DAY (2009)
Notepad in hand, a COACH (20s) is examining Peter (54) and his younger SON and DAUGHTER on basic skills of figure ice-skating. They skate and glide forwards and backwards, turn left and right, hop a little and do T-stops.
COACH
You all passed.
Feeling high, Peter continues to challenge himself in one corner. Then, he loses his balance and falls.
PETER
Oh, I hear a small
cracking sound...
Son and daughter skate and glide near.
SON & DAUGHTER
Dad, are you Okay?
PETER
(Painful looking)
I can't move my right
ankle...
Having helped him get up, son and daughter escort Peter gliding out to the exit.
INT. HOSPITAL WARD - DAY
A DOCTOR (50s) examines a X-ray screen of a foot.
DOCTOR
You've broken your right
ankle. The initial healing
would take about 3 months;
seamless recovery in 2
years.
INT. ICE SKATING RINK - DAY (3 months later)
Inside the rink, Peter does some one-foot forward skate and glide. A MAN (40s) standing by the rinkside claps his hands as Peter glides by. Peter smiles and raises his hand to acknowledge the praise.
PETER (V.O.)
His daughter has won
many trophies. But I
daren't re-try some of
the advanced skills that
made me fall. I desire
to skate well again but
couldn't overcome my
fear of falling.
INT. SITTING ROOM - NIGHT
Peter watches YouTube video clips on self-hypnosis.
PETER (V.O.)
I need to do some self-
hypnosis to get rid of the
fear in me and reset my
mindset.
Staring at repeated moving images and hearing monotonous sounds, Peter looks increasingly frustrated.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
I've followed all the
instructions but I can't
hypnotize myself. I can't
be brainwashed. There's
no way I can bypass
my conscious mind to
re-program my unconscious.
END FLASHBACK
INT. STUDY - DAY
Peter surfs the web.
PETER (V.O.)
Mass hypnosis is possible
when "groupthink" is there,
such as the launching of
space shuttle Challenger
despite unfavourable
conditions. Now, "groupthink"
exists via social media
messages of netizens or
messages from people in
politics and in religions...
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
Yes, Hong Kong has
contributed many affirmative
instances in 2014 and now.
How do influencers do
them?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
The influencers tap into
people's desires and
exploit their fears. People
want their desires fulfilled,
but they worry if they can
ever accomplish them.
The influencers would
then step in and make
appealing promises to
allay people's fears and
suggest people's desire
can be a reality.
FLASHBACK
INT. OFFICE - DAY (2012)
Working behind his computer, Peter responds to hundred of emails with the caption "Web- Article 23".
PETER (V.O.)
The netizens didn't think.
They posted me the same
queries as if they'd been
hypnotized. I responded
to each and every query
personally, without any
delay, arousing their
consciousness.
As Peter reads some feedback to his replies, his marketing HEAD comes into his office.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
Look, some did wake up
and respond positively.
END FLASHBACK
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
After that, there wasn't
any further spamming.
I believe the silent majority
didn't expect to receive a
Department head's swift
responses, not to mention
that I delivered what I said
publicly in pushing the
Copyright (Amendment)
Bill.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
Later, an influencer in
politics said to me that if
she was re-elected, she'd
continue her opposition.
Somehow, she wasn't
re-elected and I heard
no more from her.
Peter researches further.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
Around 15% of people
are very responsive to
hypnosis... If that's right, in
Hong Kong, there're more
than a million people...
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
I'm just wondering whether
those in authority in Hong
Kong fall into that category
too - having hypnotized
themselves that the worst
has already come and
people can't make Hong
Kong bad...
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd) That seems ridiculous, but
it can't be falsified yet!
FADE OUT. The End