MARIA MELCHIORRE
Staff Writer
On Feb. 1 numerous curious students gathered in the Fenton 105 lecture hall, not really knowing what to expect, apart from a typical fun Black Student Union (BSU) event. Hypnotist Chris Jones, of “America’s Got Talent” fame, took the stage and played music while students poured in.
“This was one of my favorite music videos when I was in grad school,” Jones said as he pulled up another music video. “It’s showing two friends; they start at the same point, but their lives take different paths due to their different skill sets.”
This idea of “skill sets” was a running theme throughout Jones’s show and his life. In an opening number he deconstructed a magic trick he had learned in college.
A green poker chip seemingly leapt from one palm up into the awaiting palm above it. “It’s not magic, it’s just a skill set,” he said, which suggested a fascinating explanation for supernatural occurrences.
Jones won over the crowd and got them laughing from the very start of his set by, drawing attention to his striking similarity to the rapper Drake. He then broke out into a flawless “Hotline Bling” squat-swipe dance move ala-Drake.
He went on to explain the logic behind hypnosis, the art of suggestion, and how there is nothing to fear in giving in to the relaxation of hypnosis. Using the Red Robin and McDonalds theme songs he commenced a call and response of sorts in order to illustrate the role of suggestion in hypnosis.
Audience members, without thinking, would finish the tune Jones started and then laugh in shock at how automatic their responses were.
“You cannot be trapped,” Jones assured the crowd. “If I told you you were a dog and then I died, would you stay a dog forever?” he asked. “I don’t know, I’ve never died.”
The show began with everyone in the audience slowly relaxing to Jones’s progressive prompts.
“Imagine you have a helium balloon clenched in one fist and a brick resting on your other palm,” he said, and slowly everyone’s outstretched arms would become further and further apart.
He did not make the audience members move their arms, but merely suggested a circumstance in which they naturally would move. Understandably, some people were quite surprised to open their eyes and find their arms far from their original location.
After these introductory exercises, Jones asked for 11 volunteers to come to the stage to be hypnotized. Using an audio loop of his own voice, he lulled these individuals into relaxation.
“For the next 60 minutes you will not be able to remember how to pronounce your name,” he said as he tapped their shoulders. They were unable to produce a verbal answer when asked to recite their names.
Jones created numerous scenarios with these hypnotized audience members. One was a politically incorrect press conference complete with a hypnotized Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama. In another game, Jones had each of the hypnotized choose their superhero persona, the most notable of which was a girl named G-spot. Her talent? She made men think she’s invisible.
“Kid Cudi used hypnosis to quit smoking because he has a daughter now,” said Jones, who is very interested in working more on the therapeutic side of hypnosis.
Addiction and chronic pain can be addressed through hypnosis. After his appearance on “America’s Got Talent,” in which he was able to showcase his skill set, he began to receive thousands of messages from around the world.
“It creates some moral dilemmas,” said Jones of the outreach. “There’s a lot of things that I just can’t help you with, simply because it’s just not my place.”