If you missed Part 1, it’s worth starting there to understand how movies influence the unconscious mind.
By Dr Adriana James
In my previous article, I explained how movies influence the unconscious mind and why even the most rational adults can be affected without realizing it. Today, I want to go deeper into what you can do about it—and why awareness by itself is never enough.
We Are All Suggestible—Yes, Even You
One of the first things I tell my students is this:
All human beings are suggestible.
We might like to think we’re immune to advertising, political messaging, or the influence of entertainment—but if that were true, entire industries wouldn’t be spending billions on getting their messages in front of us to reach us with carefully designed suggestions.
Whether it’s a billboard, a product placement in a movie, or an ad between YouTube videos, your conscious mind might not be paying attention—but your unconscious mind is.
In NLP, we know that your conscious mind takes in only a fraction of the information available at any given moment. Your unconscious mind, on the other hand, picks up everything—all the sights, sounds, colors, patterns, and messages—whether you “notice” them or not even when you think you’re ignoring them.
Why This Matters in Movies
Movies are not “just entertainment”. They can carry:
- Product advertising – cars, gadgets, clothing
- Fashion trends – styles that appear in films often show up in stores months later
- Social and cultural ideas – new behaviors, values, or even political perspectives
- Gadgets and technology – sometimes appearing in films years before they hit the market
Repeated exposure to the same themes or images—even when you know “it’s just a movie”—can desensitize you. Something that initially felt shocking or strange can start to feel familiar and normal, simply because you’ve seen it enough times in fictional contexts.
This is why we can see something distressing in real life and feel little surprise or emotional reaction—our unconscious has already “practiced” that scene in fiction.
Children: The Most Suggestible of All
If adults can be influenced this easily, imagine the impact on children—especially those under the age of 7.
Before the critical faculty develops (the ability to distinguish reality from fantasy), children are essentially “walking unconscious minds”. They absorb everything uncritically—whether from parents, siblings, teachers, TV shows, movies, games, or social media.
That means they are especially vulnerable to:
- Unhealthy eating habits promoted in ads
- Aggressive or violent behaviors portrayed as “fun”
- Ideas and values conflicting with the family’s beliefs
The Role of AI and Modern Media
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence, the challenge of discerning reality from fiction is growing. AI-generated videos and images can be so realistic that the human eye can’t detect the difference.
This means the line between “this happened” and “this was created” is becoming harder to see—making discernment a survival skill.
A Simple Self-Suggestion Technique
So, what can you do to protect yourself and your children? One simple, powerful method is self-suggestion.
Here’s how to use it:
- Speak directly to your unconscious mind (either silently or out loud).
- Use a clear, positive statement.
Example:
“I know the difference between what is healthy, positive, and beneficial for me, and what is not. Unconscious mind, from now on you will automatically delete, reject, and remove all suggestions that are not good for me, and keep only those that are positive, healthy, and beneficial.”
Repeat this several times a day. Over time, your unconscious becomes trained to filter out unwanted suggestions.
In our 3-Day Hypnosis Training, you’ll learn more advanced self-hypnosis methods to reinforce positive suggestions and reject negative ones.
Why This Works
Your unconscious mind operates based on:
- Beliefs you hold to be true
- Values you prioritize
By setting this filter, you effectively program your mind to only accept suggestions aligned with your own values and goals.
From Awareness to Mastery
While self-suggestion is a great start, the most effective way to protect yourself—and use suggestion positively—is to learn how hypnosis works.
In our trainings, starting with our 3-Day Hypnosis Training, you’ll:
- Understand how trance states occur naturally in daily life
- Learn to use self-hypnosis for stress relief, focus, and well-being
- Discover how to communicate effectively with the unconscious mind
For those who want to go further, our Hypnosis Trainer’s Training equips you to teach these skills to others—helping more people guard against unwanted influence and use their minds for positive change.
The bottom line
You can’t stop all the suggestions coming at you every day—but you can decide which ones take root. By training your unconscious mind to reject the harmful and embrace the beneficial, you claim control of your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
In Part 3, I’ll share a fun and effective hypnotic technique you can use with yourself or your children—no certification required.
For full training in these skills, see our 3-Day Hypnosis Training or Hypnosis Trainer’s Training.