Derren Brown: Pushed to the Edge

I am always skeptical of the reality of these experiments, but I must say that there seems to be no fiction in this experiment. People forget that these people were selected after a series of eliminations and they are inclined to obey rules. The ending is shocking because it makes you question your own morality. Are you ethical enough under severe conditions? How can we ignore other people's commands and continue in our own path? Now I am a fan of Derren Brown's experiments. Well-done.

Derren Brown is incredible at what he does. I am a fan of pretty much anything he has done. This feature is very interesting and entertaining. My only real criticism is that there isn't much of Derren performing his own illusions. He obviously designed the experiment and keeps it on the right track. His job in this is mostly limited to presenting and narrating. You don't really get to see him perform very much. For this reason, I would not say it is his best release. However, the concept of the experiment is very interesting and it is executed very well. He basically figured out a way to do 'Weekend At Bernie's' in real life, which is hilarious. Not only that, he even named the character Bernie and made him wear sunglasses. None of the participants noticed which made it even funnier. This really is very entertaining. Derren is the best.

Just watched this captivating and amazingly executed scenario.

Many skeptics say that this can't be real, without really saying why they think it's fake. They can't seem to imagine that this is how people act. However, it looks like this is how all kinds of people act. Don't take it from me or Derren Brown, just look up the Milgram experiment or one of many testimonies of people who went through civil war. It is eery how people seem to get along fine, until the system breaks down and authority figures pop up, telling you what to do. Suddenly these kinds of acts start happening everywhere. Just because you can't imagine it, doesn't mean it's not real. It seems good to be reminded of that.

Others object to the ethics of this show. Indeed, it seems borderline unethical, and I hope the participants were properly supported after the show. However, it is encouraging that the participants who pushed are clearly told that their behaviour was not at all 'strange' in this setup.

It has to be shocking to experience this. However, maybe we, the audience, could use a little shock to keep us on our toes. I know next time I make a mistake and I am deciding whether I admit it or cover it up, this show is going to play in the back of my mind.

I see many people questioning it's reality and how this affects the contestants psychologically. But i assure everyone that an episode of this scale will not cause any psychological trauma as long as they know it's not real.

As a social conditioning experiment, I found this very interesting! As a human mental health experiment, I truly hope they were plants.

Seriously disturbing, yet very compelling.