Stanley Milgram - References in Media

References in Media

In 1975, CBS presented a made-for-television movie about obedience experiments: The Tenth Level with William Shatner as Stephen Hunter, a Milgram-like scientist. Milgram himself was a consultant for the film, though his personal life did not resemble that of the Shatner character. In this film, incidents were portrayed that never occurred in the followup to the real life experiment, including a subject's psychotic episode and the main character saying that he regretted the experiment. When asked about the film, Milgram told one of his graduate students, Sharon Presley, that he was not happy with the film and told her that he did not want his name to be used in the credits.

The French political thriller I... comme Icare includes a key scene where Milgram's experiment on obedience to authority is explained and shown.

In Alan Moore's graphic novel, V for Vendetta, the character Dr. Delia Surridge discusses Milgram's experiment without directly naming Milgram, comparing it with the atrocities she herself had performed in the Larkhill Concentration camps.

In 1986, musician Peter Gabriel wrote a song called We do what we're told (Milgram's 37), referring to the number of subjects (out of 40) who obeyed the experimenters all the way in Milgram's authority experiment, Milgram 18.

The award-winning short film Atrocity (2005) re-enacts Milgram's Obedience to Authority experiment.

Milgram 18 was reproduced to test the participants in a 2008 television special "The Heist". Created by Derren Brown and Andy Nyman for British station Channel 4, the Milgram experiment helped determine which candidates were the most responsive to authority. The four most responsive and psychologically sound candidates at the end of the show were indirectly given the opportunity to rob a (fake) armoured bank van.

In 2008, folk musician Dar Williams released a song called "Buzzer", in which the narrator participated in the Milgram experiment. After being debriefed, the narrator realizes that evil is not committed by an unreachable other, but instead ordinary people and every day.

The 2008 episode "Authority" of Law and Order: SVU has Detective Munch mentioning Milgram's experiment in reference to corporate training at HappiBurger (a McDonalds-like restaurant). Likewise, Merritt Rook (portrayed by Robin Williams) poses as a "Detective Milgram" to convince a restaurant owner to molest an employee and drive the doctor that let his wife and infant child die to suicide. He later kidnaps Detective Olivia Benson, takes her to an old recording studio, and wires her to a battery. He tells her partner, Detective Elliot Stabler (played by Christopher Meloni) to push the button on his remote that sends anywhere from 2 to 2000 volts of current into Benson. Stabler then realizes that Rook performing Milgram's experiment on him. Each time he (Stabler) refuses, Rook becomes more enraged. Finally, when Stabler says he can't hurt his partner, Rook calls him a human being and tells him that his partner was never in any actual danger.

In 2009, Long Distance Calling, a German post - rock band, released a song named "I Know you Stanley Milgram"

In March 2010, French television channel France 2 broadcast Jusqu'où va la télé, describing the results of a fake game show that they had run 80 times (each time independently, and with a new contestant and audience). The contestants received instructions to administer what they thought would be near fatal electric shocks to another "contestant" (really an actor) when that other contestant erred on memorized word-associations. Encouraged by the show's host and by an unprimed studio audience, the vast majority followed instructions even as the "victim" screamed.

In 2010, luxury brand Enfants Perdus released a collection called "Milgram", in which the designers drew themes and inspiration from the Milgram experiment. The design team has referenced the discussions about the human condition and the revelations of the human condition in numerous interviews.