The German dictator Adolf Hitler once said “He alone who owns the youth, gains the future”, and he proved this to be true. He began his youth indoctrination campaign in the 1920s, and by the beginning of World War II he had succeeded in creating a young army who were devoted to their leader. They believed every word he told them and would do whatever he said.

But it won’t be an identifiable man leading the young masses the next time; it will be the media. In fact, the media/entertainment/consumerism machine is doing this right now.

Most people assume that all the different facets of the media – music, film, TV, books, social media, advertising (which is far more powerful than we think) – are working independently of each other. The very idea that almost the entire media could be harnessed as a whole for the purposes of promoting a certain message, a certain agenda… The very idea that the media could be used to steer an entire population, or an entire generation in whichever direction it wanted to, politically, socially, morally and so on seems implausible to some people.

But if that was actually occurring (and I can assure you that in fact it is) we would really want to find out who holds the greatest positions of power in the media and scrutinise them very carefully to find out what their intentions were and what kind of people they are. Because they hold an enormous amount of power and influence, and they are speaking to our children too, with all the information that goes before their young and innocent eyes; upon their portable devices, upon the family TV, in their video games and the adverts that frequently pop up within them, in the music they listen to, on the radio and the YouTube videos they watch (which also contain adverts), in their books and magazines, in fact everywhere that the tendrils of the media reach.

There is an enormous amount of information coming from external sources that is passing before our children’s eyes. A lot of the information, even though it may not appear so, is coming from corporate and political sources which either own or have invested heavily in media corporations. What is their overriding aim or agenda? What are their politics? What are their morals? Do we want them putting their messages in front of our children’s eyes? Do we even realise what messages have already been absorbed by our children; placed in their mind through TV, film, music, books, magazines and advertising?

This is one area where all parents should be extremely vigilant. We need to look with a very critical eye at the subtle messages that appear on our screens in the form of stories and imagery – including music videos – because they nearly always have a deeper meaning, especially if millions of dollars have been spent on producing them. The storyline or imagery and the underlying message it conveys is the most crucial and key aspect of the communication, in terms of the power it has to affect people’s thoughts, attitudes and beliefs. It is more powerful than we realise, and the whole media machine has this power, through its various tendrils of information.

So rather than getting caught up in the superficial distraction, images, storylines and so on, we should watch much more carefully for any messages or themes that seem to simultaneously appear everywhere, in all the different areas of the media: in pop songs, in TV programs, films, books etc. If similar themes (e.g. war, dragons, dystopia, demons, hell, zombies, ice queens etc) seem to be everywhere in the media, then pay close attention. Our minds can easily be steered in a certain direction by an all pervading message or theme that we are subjected to repeatedly over a long period of time. Even more so with children.

Everything on our screens is like a parable, and our subconscious mind absorbs the subliminal messages they contains. It’s really that simple. The rest is just colour, sound, movement and distraction. The deeper metaphoric message is the real communication which reaches deep into the subconscious mental and emotional psyche of the viewer, especially when things are moving quickly on a screen; when colours are flashing brightly in our eyes, accompanied by affecting music playing in the background.

We can easily be mesmerised – or even hypnotised – by what happens on a screen in front of our eyes. Very easily. And children much more so. A child can be hypnotised by a screen in a matter of seconds and thus they become incredibly suggestible, receiving information and suggestions offered to them with virtually no filter or resistance. And, depending on their age, the scenarios they see on the screen can become like actual memories of actual events in their subconscious. They can feel as though they have been actually traumatised by watching a protagonist whom they identified strongly with go through an unpleasant experience. Movies are in fact designed to make the viewers identify with certain characters in the film. It is what makes films more powerful.

And consider the size of the plasma TV screens that most people have in their living room nowadays. This vastly increases the degree of involvement viewers experience, and for a child it creates a totally immersive experience. If you are watching a very well made film or programme on such a large screen and you are deeply absorbed and emotionally engaged in the story line, you are essentially experiencing an alternate reality, even though it is totally fabricated.

When we are immersed in such an alternate reality, it is very similar to experiencing a dream whilst in a state of heightened awareness and receptivity, due to the hypnotic nature of the viewing experience. Any messages, metaphors or ideas implanted into our mind in that state can deeply effect us, especially when they are repeated over and over again, like in advertising, or when the same message is mirrored in other avenues of the media at the same time : in TV, film, books, music, magazines, games and so on.

I mentioned dragons earlier, and this is certainly one motif that has been arising over and over again in recent years. Interestingly, in Christian theology the dragon is symbolic of the devil, or Satan. In the Bible, he is repeatedly referred to as the dragon: which of course is just a serpent with wings.

Also I have noticed the theme of hell arising over and over again in so many different areas of the media but specifically in the TV and music industry. For some reason, these messages are being specifically aimed at young teenage girls (e.g. “The chilling adventures of Sabrina” : https://vigilantcitizen.com/moviesandtv/the-sick-twisted-messages-in-chilling-adventures-of-sabrina/) and the songs are usually sung by young women (who also appeal to a young female audience) such as Billie Eilish, Halsey and Kesha (to name just 3 out of many). In fact, these 3 artists all performed their hellish songs at the recent American music awards. Billie Eilish performed “All The Good Girls Go To Hell”, Kesha performed “Raising Hell”, and Halsey performed “Graveyard”, which is as dark and sinister song I have heard for a long time, in terms of the metaphors and messages it puts out in the lyrics and video. As well as this, most of the other performances featured hellish and dark references in abundance; almost as if it was the theme of the entire award show.

I have been carefully observing the metaphoric and subliminal symbolism of film, music and mass media imagery for over 17 years, to the point where now the message, meaning or metaphor in a song, programme, film, music video or even an advert is what I see most clearly when I look at it. The rest is essentially distraction and entertainment for the conscious mind, while the subconscious is addressed by the crafted message of the film / program / music video etc. Again, that is textbook hypnosis.

The music video to the song “Graveyard” by Halsey also had many hypnotic aspects, which dissociate the viewer and mix up realities. I see this in so many areas of the media, and in very powerful ways. An entire generation of children can have specific ideas about the world, the future, truth and reality simply placed in their mind by the media, especially when the message is being reinforced through many other avenues, such as the books they are reading, songs they are hearing, adverts they watch, programmes and films they absorb. As mentioned previously, several themes that I have observed being placed into young minds in such a corroborative fashion include war, dragons, dystopia, demons, hell, zombies, ice queens and more. As you may have noticed, none of them are particularly positive.

Children are also being drawn into political issues like never before. Why on Earth would we want our children to be influenced by politics? We might not, but I assure you there are plenty of people that do. They want your child’s politic allegiance as young as possible, because they will be the voters in the future and remember, “he alone who own the youth, gains the future”. Hitler proved this with his youth camps and his endless propaganda, and he produced a generation of people who worshipped him, hailed him proudly, and called him their fuhrer. How did such an evil and hateful man get so many millions of ordinary and innocent children to worship him and do what he commanded? He produced a generation of children that thought the same way he did. He thoroughly indoctrinated them – politically, emotionally and mentally – and the media was an integral part of this.

I see the media as a kind of ‘illusion maker’. It very cleverly creates false and inaccurate realities, which affect us as if they were true. So if people stop absorbing its information for just a few days (and that includes books, magazines, radio, pop music etc) and spend more of that time in nature; more time communicating with loved ones, more time doing fun things in the real world, they will get a different sense of reality. With the negative influence of the media put aside, nature can influence us instead, and it tells our heart the truth, I can assure you.

The truth is not dark, pessimistic or threatening. The truth is that you are part of a divine orchestration, and God is 100% with you. But you have to start looking in his direction, which means turning away from negative visions and fears. Be silent, pray and talk to him, humble your heart and ask for help. Go into nature, and let his peace soothe you.

I recommend prioritising taking your children into nature regularly so they can remember how good life is, and how much more rewarding the natural world is compared to the digital world. Help them. Educate and alert them them about the negative nfluences, and just spend more time with them. So many parents allow a gap to form between them and their children, because they don’t spend time together doing positive and fun things. Your children, if you have them, are the most important thing in the world. Be their guide, their protector and respected elder, because if you don’t… there is a screen waiting to take your place.

God bless you, Alex

http://AlexanderBell.org