Showman? Hypnotist? Psychologist?  The ever controversial Derren Brown returned to our screens last night in Channel 4′s Hero at 30,000 Feet in which Derren executed a realtime ‘zero to hero’ transformation on an unbeknown suspect, Matt. Using the guise of applying for a new game show, Derren slowly put Matt through a series of events to help alter his state of mind and attitude towards fear with the culmination that Matt would land a 737 which required an emergency diversion. Of course Matt was in no real known danger as actors were used and the actual ‘landing’ took place in a training simulator however the fear and tension displayed by Matt just shows how convincing it was for him.

Many people remain sceptical about the capabilities of Derren Brown and many on Twitter expressed a similar negative  reaction to last night’s television programme. However, I am the opposite. From visiting a hypnotist show in my younger days along with an amateur interest in psychology, I do enjoy watching what Derren has to offer as I find the human mind fascinating. On reflection, I also liked that Hero… presented a positive message of inspiration. These events enabled Matt to go from working in insurance to making the move of landing his ambition as a police officer, showing that it is possible to subconsciously change into a more go-getting, determined person.  The only downside being that not everyone can have the Derren Brown ‘treatment’ so we have to create these life-affirming transitions ourselves.

Comments are welcome, I would like to know what others thought about it.

Image can be found at: http://derrenbrown.co.uk/blog/tv-shows/hero-30000-feet/