03/10/2023
Jordan G. Ellis
English IV Honors
Mr. Jeffery Beson
The Horros of MK Ultra
MK Ultra was a top-secret CIA program that began in the 1950s and continued into the
1970s. It was designed to develop and experiment with various techniques for mind control and psychological manipulation, including psychoactive drigs such as LSD and various forms of torture and such as sensory deprivation and intense manipulation. The program was highly controversial and unethical, depriving many subjects, including foreigners and Americans, of basic human rights so much so MK Ultra is often cited as one of the most egregious examples of government abuse of power and violation of human rights in the modern era. The origins of MK
Ultra can be traced back
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Despite the controversy surrounding MK Ultra, the program did have some significant scientific implications. The research conducted by the CIA contributed to a better understanding of the human mind and how it can be manipulated. Many of the techniques developed by the program, such as hypnosis and sensory deprivation, are still used today in various forms of therapy and research. The legacy of MK Ultra continues to be felt today. The program has become a symbol of government overreach and abuse of power, and it serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked government power. The revelations about the program have also contributed to a broader cultural skepticism about government and institutional authority. In recent years, there have been renewed concerns about the use of mind control and psychological manipulation techniques by governments and other organizations. The rise of social media and digital technologies has created new avenues for the spread of propaganda and misinformation, and some fear that these techniques could be used to control public opinion and undermine democracy. The legacy of MK Ultra serves as a reminder that these concerns are not
Sarah Pacer Ms. Wasserman Honors English 11 24 February 2023 The Horrifying Details of Project MK-Ultra The CIA conducting hundreds of clandestine experiments on the public seems like something out of the newest sci-fi blockbuster, but this nightmare is far from fiction. The objective of Project MK Ultra: destroy the existing mind and insert a new mind into the “resulting void” (Gross). From 1953-1973, The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency was kept busy with its experimentation to control human behavior and destroy the human ego.
They used unwitting American and Canadian citizens as test subjects, giving them drugs like LSD (I eat a piece of paper given to me by Kris in a dark hoodie), hypnosis (Kris hypnotizing me), sexual abuse, including to children (Huge censor bar), torture (Camera pointed up at Kris with my hammer), and the list goes on. So our government is a control freak? So what? We have already seen that we aren’t trusted to handle ourselves safely, so what if we can’t control our own brains, so what if… we know... too much.
Manipulation of people and oppressive governments are two strong themes and warning signs that these three thought-provoking pieces of dystopian literature, 1984, V for Vendetta and “Harrison Bergeron,” synopsize in their plots. In all three schemes there are totalitarian leaders, meaning each government not only says how the society should run but also depicts the lives of the individuals in it. Although varying with their degree of control, each leader uses perplex tactics to negatively influence and control their community. All three governing bodies including George Orwell’s 1984, James McTeigue’s film V for Vendetta and Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” control their citizens using manipulation through intimidation, law enforcement and media.
Hal Marcivitz calls attention to the use of torture over the years when he states, "Throughout human history, tortures have inflicted excruciating agony on their victims" (5). This relates to 1984, by relating to O'Brien and how he uses torture to change the mindset of his victims including Winston and Julia. Over many, many years, different types of "tortures employed only the crudest physical methods on their victims" and gave torture its definition "while involving every possible kind of pain that could be inflicted apo the human body" (Innes 43). Such terrifying torture methods are used as a brainwashing tactic by O'Brien to Winston and many of his other
This can turn dangerous as some many feel they are deserving of more, so they go and create their self-righteous version of terror. Because of this powerful businessman and their rent-seeking activities and the abusers of the BlueServo project possess similar motives. But when people are the ones being viewed or spectated, humans attempt to escape reality to focus on irrelevant things. The
MK-ULTRA: The CIA’s Mind Control Program For years, the CIA held secret experiments on citizens in an attempt to control their minds. The CIA fed unknowing citizens different drugs, including LSD, heroin, morphine, alcohol, cannabis, and many others. The program was approved on April 13, 1953 and officially lasted until 1973 (Eschner).During the time of MK-ULTRA, many United States citizens were not aware that the Central Intelligence Agency existed, but the rumors of the agency experimenting on citizens made them well known (Wall, Jr).
This theory is based on the agency's involvement in the MK-Ultra program, which was a series of experiments conducted in the 1950s and 1960s that aimed to develop mind control techniques. While it is true that the CIA was involved in MK-Ultra, the program was shut down in the 1970s and there is no evidence to suggest that it continues to this
Moderation of expression, a significant part in 1984’s government, “Ingsoc”, plays a key element in America’s division. The “Ministry of Truth” is a branch of Ingsoc’s government that acts with controlling the Thought Police, and they censor the world’s history as well. They also use technology such as the “telescreen” to see and hear everywhere in the country. If a citizen is caught acting in “Thought Crime”, that criminal is rehabilitated through brainwashing in the mockingly named “Ministry of Love” (Orwell 2-4). Similar to Ingsoc’s “Ministry of Truth”, the United States has its own federal spying organization.
Web. 08 Feb. 2016. In this report the author explain that many CIA agents believe that physical torture is not as effective as psychological torture. For example, leaving them naked in front of other people will
Applebaum has plenty of evidence to back up her claim that physical torture is not effective, and there are many other ways to obtain information. While the fear-encouraging and questioning elements are potent to many who are afraid of terror committed against them, but when the overwhelming sentiment of Levin’s argument is being compared to the logic and ethical points of Applebaum it is clear to see the superiority of her argument. Although Levin would advocate for physical torture in extreme situations, one must expect extreme consequences. Physical torture is rarely effective, violates rights, and damages a whole nation’s credibility. This is why physical torture should not be
In addition the CIA used the “MK-ULTRA, which operated from the 1950s until the early '60s, was created and run by a chemist named Sidney Gottlieb. Journalist Stephen Kinzer, who spent several years investigating the program, calls the operation the "most sustained search in history for techniques of mind control"(Gross, 2019). This shows the length the CIA was willing to go to control everyone that opposed
In Michael Levin’s “The Case for Torture”, he uses many cases of emotional appeal to persuade the reader that torture is necessary in extreme cases. There are many terms/statements that stick with the reader throughout the essay so that they will have more attachment to what is being said. Levin is particularly leaning to an audience based in the United States because he uses an allusion to reference an event that happened within the states and will better relate to the people that were impacted by it. The emotional appeals used in this essay are used for the purpose of persuading the reader to agree that in extreme instances torture is necessary and the United States should begin considering it as a tactic for future cases of extremity. One major eye catching factor of this essay is the repetitive use of words that imply certain stigmas.
In fact, these types of experiment could still be being conducted today, as we speak. One of these schemes include Operation Midnight Climax, a subproject of Project MKUltra. Operation Midnight Climax was ___, unethical in every aspect, and___. If this operation was truly so ___[evil], what in
The two control methods are related as they contribute to one purpose the totalitarian control over the people of Oceania. The people are physiologically manipulated as discussed by the mental control measures, and physically forced into loving Big Brother. This is one of the methods the government uses to control people’s minds, by placing fear into them. The fear in 1984 limits the people into even thinking of challenging the government.
To illustrate, the book discusses how the government utilizes mind control methods such as providing an alternative definition to words. “All that was needed was an unending series of victories over your own memory. ‘Reality control,’ they called it: in Newspeak, ‘doublethink’” (18). Providing an alternative meaning of words can misconstrue them in the favor of Big Brother. Likewise, the United States has emulated “doublethink” when it presents itself as convenient.