Psychological Aspect
The show consistently raised the issue of how an immersive illusion can convince average people over a period of time, especially when reinforced as part of a group of believers – especially when this includes men in white coats and other authority figures. Outsiders (in this case, the viewers) see the hoax as laughable, yet 'inside' the Cadets have been slowly lulled into (as Vaughan stated) "what is, in effect, an alternative universe". The actor Cadet on the 'mission' stated that it was easier to let himself believe the experience was genuine; trying to consciously remind himself of the hoax left him disoriented and "30% convinced, despite everything I know, that I am actually in space".
Parallels can be drawn to the supposed 'group experiment' element of Big Brother which Space Cadets draws on, and in wider terms propaganda, subliminal advertising, and the consensus nature of reality. See also: Asch conformity experiments, Milgram experiment and the Stanford prison experiment.
Read more about this topic: Space Cadets (television Hoax)
Famous quotes containing the word aspect:
“The fact remains that the human being in early childhood learns to consider one or the other aspect of bodily function as evil, shameful, or unsafe. There is not a culture which does not use a combination of these devils to develop, by way of counterpoint, its own style of faith, pride, certainty, and initiative.”
—Erik H. Erikson (1904–1994)