Contestants turn torturers in French TV experiment

[b]Contestants turn torturers in French TV experiment[/b]

PARIS (AFP) – Game show contestants turn torturers in a new psychological experiment for French television, zapping a man with electricity until he cries for mercy -- then zapping him again until he seems to drop dead.
"The Game of Death" has all the trappings of a traditional television quiz show, with a roaring crowd and a glamorous and well-known hostess urging the players on under gaudy studio lights.

But the contestants did not know they were taking part in an experiment to find out whether television could push them to outrageous lengths, and which has prompted comparisons with the atrocities of Nazi Germany.

"We were amazed to find that 81 percent of the participants obeyed" the sadistic orders of the television presenter, said Christophe Nick, the maker of the documentary for the state-owned France 2 channel which airs Wednesday. ..

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The game: posing questions to another "player" and punishing him with up to 460 volts of electricity when he gets them wrong -- even until his cries of "Let me go!" fall silent and he appears to have died.
Not knowing that the screaming victim is really an actor, the apparently reluctant contestants yield to the orders of the presenter and chants of "Punishment!" from a studio audience who also believed the game was real.
Nick said 80 percent of the contestants went all the way, zapping the victim with the maximum 460 volts until he appeared to die. Out of 80 players, just 16 walked out.

One contestant interviewed afterwards said she went along with the torture despite knowing that her own grandparents were Jews who had been persecuted by the Nazis.
"Since I was a little girl, I have always asked myself why they (the Nazis) did it. How could they obey such orders? And there I was, obeying them myself," said Sophie, quoted in a book by the film makers.

shocking!

Thanks Greg for posting this article. It is not so shocking for those of us who believe that there is a coming "final solution,' for the genuine Christian on this earth. We are dealing with a genuinly desensitized world. Also, it demonstrates the inherant wickedness and self preservation aspects of humanity. In Nazi Germany, so many of the people looked the other way because they did not want to, in any way, endanger themsleves. One must not be fooled into thinking that the Germans were some how more wicked than other nations. It was a given set of circumstances that brought about Hitler and his Nazi thugs. Economics, turmoil and uncertainity enabled Hitler to arise. Of course there was a simmering anti-semantism bubbling under the surface in almost every European country, and there was the threat of communism that loomed on the horizon. I would argue that that today, there is a simmering dislike of genuine Christianity bubbling under the surface. Given the right set of circumstances, forces will arise and Satan will set about his "final solution," for the "Christian problem." Now, do you think that is too outlandish? One must remember that it was only 70 years ago that the Jewish people were hunted down and massacred, in a "civilized," European country for no other reason than for being Jewish. The greatest evil the wolrd has ever seen happend just 70 years ago. This is a slap in the face to liberal thinkers who believe that the human race is getting better, the last 100 years shows the exact opposite. Will there come a time shortly where Christians will be hunted down and killed just for being Christians? Yes, there definately will. Yet the Lord will raise up a standard as the enemy comes in like a flood. He will prepare His people, He will pour out His Spirit upon them. This will enable and equip His people to go through this flood and be a genuine witness on the earth. The irony is that the more He pours out His Spirit on His people, the more that they will be hated..............brother Frank