When Batman turns extra batty...

My husband is a fan of Gotham. Yes I admit there were initially days after he got hooked when I felt like a Gotham widow. However, over time I too have gotten into the characters and plots.
A recent episode introduced a new character called the Mad Hatter. This villain was a stage hypnotist who instantly hypnotises his victims into willing slaves with a swish of his pocket watch, compelling them to kill their loved ones and embedding hidden suicide commands into them. . . . . .
. . . . . . And people wonder why hypnosis sometimes gets a bad rap! (I met a new contact at a recent conference who said he wouldn’t look me in the eye after he found out I am a hypnotist …but that is a blog for another day). 
Hollywood’s portrayal of hypnosis is a fantasy, just like flying super heroes and x-ray vision. The sad thing is, however, that while x-ray vision myths are benign the portrayal of hypnosis can actually do harm, by putting off people for whom it could actually be of benefit, be it  relief from their troubles or installation of resources.
Hypnosis can’t make you do what you don’t want to do or would normally do. It can help unlock the power of your subconscious mind to help better your life.
So the next time you are watching a show with conniving villains, flying super heroes and mesmerizing evil hypnotists who take over the minds of the unwilling with a glance, just remember that the latter, just like the others, is just phantasmagorical magnification….(albeit it a pretty cool one).