Recently, the movie "封神" has been released. I have watched it and noticed the meticulous costumes and magnificent scenes, making it a good film. However, what is even more astonishing is the brainwashing technique used on King Zhou Yin.
Brainwashing Technique 1: Creating an External Enemy
For a collective, nothing unites them more than a powerful external enemy. This external enemy can take various forms, such as divine punishment or foreign hostile forces.
To fully utilize this external enemy, the goal of King Zhou is twofold: first, to make the people and slaves believe that the enemy is extremely powerful; second, to make others believe that he, as the leader, is capable of dealing with the enemy. In this way, the anxious people will support the confident king and chant, "Long live the mighty and powerful king!"
To achieve his goals effectively, King Zhou must maintain mystery, enforce information blockade, and keep the people, even his most trusted subordinates, unaware of the truth. For example, King Zhou would never clearly explain the true reason behind the divine punishment.
Brainwashing Technique 2: Crackdown on Internal Enemies
In any collective, there will always be dissenting voices. To consolidate his authority, it is only natural for King Zhou to suppress these dissenting voices. As a top-level ruler, it is not enough for him to just suppress his enemies; he must do so in a high-profile and severe manner.
For those like Duke Su Hu, who declared themselves kings, they must be strictly and ruthlessly suppressed, wiping out their entire families. However, to highlight the legitimacy of his actions, King Zhou must portray the enemy as extremely wicked. For example, even though King Zhou himself forced Su Hu's son, Su Quanxiao, to death, he would push all the blame onto Su Hu, claiming that everything was due to Su Hu's betrayal. This way, Su Hu is portrayed as a savage who does not even care about his own son's life.
For those like Duke Ji Chang, who refuse to speak against their conscience and fear no death, their weak points must be attacked. For example, by using the life of his son as leverage, King Zhou would force him to publicly confess on television and face public condemnation.
And if trusted confidants betray him, they must be publicly executed, even if they are his own sons!
In this way, who in the world would dare to disobey?
Brainwashing Technique 3: Creating a Glorious Image of Oneself
What has King Zhou done most successfully on his path to power? I believe it is his understanding of the importance of hiding himself. He has cultivated his loyal followers, making them believe that he is their great father. After ascending to the throne, he publicly proclaimed that he would self-immolate to appease the heavens' anger. Of course, he was just saying it, as he wanted to be the king of this world. As for the state of this world, he actually didn't care, as it only meant a difference in the number of people sacrificed. But in the eyes of ignorant people, King Zhou displayed a noble spirit of sacrifice - "Such a noble king is willing to die for us commoners?"
Therefore, with just a few impassioned words and without much cost, King Zhou successfully created a glorious image of himself. And since King Zhou is already so great, he must always be right. Thus, any doubts about him must have hidden secrets.
Under the leadership of such a great, honorable, and correct leader, people would naturally scrutinize each other and even themselves to avoid any disrespect towards the leader. If there were dissenters like Ji Chang spreading misleading words, they must be subjected to any possible attacks, such as throwing rotten vegetable leaves during their public humiliation or launching a social media campaign against them.
Brainwashing has been very successful, but the consequences are severe.
By successfully implementing these three techniques, King Zhou Yin has successfully cultivated loyal followers, some of whom even reported their own biological fathers and were willing to kill them. Such successful brainwashing results may not be surpassed for another 3000 years.
Fortunately, this is a fantasy movie with divine intervention. The brainwashing technique of King Zhou eventually backfires on him, and the reason is not complicated: the more loyal his followers are, the more they value his glorious image, and they are inevitably deeply involved in the suppression of opponents or dissenters. When these brainwashed individuals finally see the true face of King Zhou, they will feel disillusioned and enraged, becoming the ones who need to be suppressed. People like Ji Fa, who have witnessed King Zhou's oppressive methods, know that they have few choices left - either abandon their consistent pursuit of justice and continue to assist King Zhou, or rebel.
I believe that if there were no divine intervention in this movie, with such a powerful brainwashing technique, the Great Shang Dynasty would truly have lasted forever under the leadership of the immortal King Zhou Yin.