On October 16, a new film is being released that documents the iconic psychologist, Stanley Milgram’s, experiments on conformity.
A prominent social psychologist in the 1960s, Milgram’s experiments were inspired by the Holocaust and the trial of Adolf Eichmann. Eichmann was an SS officer during the Nazi occupation, and was responsible for deporting many of the Jews to concentration camps, in addition to facilitating their execution. During his trial, Eichmann argued that he was simply just “following orders,” which elicited a debate in the realm of social psychology concerning obedience.
Inspired by the incident, Milgram decided to carry out a variety of controversial experiments. What he is most well known for, however, is the study he conducted concerning human shocking. When the subject would arrive, he/she would be ordered to administer a number of heightened shocks to an individual behind the wall. While most of the subjects were hesitant, the vast majority of them executed the shock anyways. The experiments are meant to explore ordinary people’s degree of obedience in the wake of authority.
Directed by Michael Almereyda, the true story will star Winona Ryder, Peter Sarsgaard, Edoardo Ballerinu and Josh Hamilton.
The film will be released this week on October 16.