Humans are the most advanced mammals in the world. We, as humans, have created great things and accomplished astounding feats, but there is something that all humans should not be proud of. That particular thing is that most humans give into what others say or do to them.
On Dr. Phil’s show on the Lucifer Effect, the show performed an experiment where they had someone dress up as a security guard. The man, an actor, provoked random people into performing nonsensical acts. Most of the people did exactly what the ‘guard’ said just because he was in uniform. A Lucifer Effect expert, Philip Zimbardo, explains this phenomenon as human nature to follow people without knowing exactly who they are.
Through the experiment, it can be proven that humanity is greatly influenced by monsters. Psychological monsters, such as the Lucifer Effect, prove that humans are extremely gullible to what people of higher rank tell you.
Our Monsters Ourselves
Timothy K. Beal’s piece, “Our Monsters, Ourselves”, contains an abundance of material that pertains to the third essential question.
The piece was written just after the September 11th Attacks, and the first few pages are about the tragedy. Beal writes that two months after the attacks, monster movies began to become extremely popular. “But here it is November, and monster season appears to be in full swing” (Beal 1). Beal is trying to portray the idea that the monstrous attacks in Manhattan are contagious to the American people.
The ‘contagious’ idea leads me to my next idea regarding the third essential question. “The Stanford Experiment” was an experiment that took place in 1971 where 24 random students were assigned to be either guards or prisoners. The experiment turned out that the guards abused their power and treated the prisoners terribly. According to the writer, John Schwartz, the guards became “swaggering and sadistic” (Schwartz 1). What this teaches us about humanity is that all humans can catch the contagion of becoming a monster. The guards were not bad people, but they subconsciously chose the evil side.
It seems to be a pattern that when humans are placed in a situation that they are under the control of a higher force, they will always do what they are told. This teaches me that humanity is something that cannot be trusted, and many people are tricked into being people that they actually aren’t.