2008 Woodie Awards
Starting semester in a daze
Hypnotist's antics includes 'Butt Beat Boys'
Andy Bockelman
Issue date: 1/14/08 Section: News
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These were the sensations experienced by a handful of students on Sunday night, which in turn, made for a very unusual show for the audience at hand.
Hypnotist C.J. Johnson exhibited his skills Sunday evening at 7 p.m. in the UC Ballrooms to an enthusiastic crowd. Johnson began by running down some of the frequently asked questions about hypnosis and giving a brief explanation of the tenets of his trade.
For example, he clarified that a subject cannot be hypnotized to do anything that goes against their morals. Another fun fact he gave was that being under hypnosis for an hour was the equivalent of being asleep for four hours. He continued by requesting that volunteers come up to the stage for his demonstration.
As Johnson lulled the dozen willing subjects into a state of semi-sleep, he described the process to the audience. Within minutes, the volunteers were receptive to his instructions, which ranged from convincing them they were being subjected to blistering heat to more complicated directives such as getting every man on stage to sing "Greased Lightning" while acting like John Travolta. Sophomore psychology major Alex Black was one of the stage participants.
"I really don't remember anything," he said. "I know I sat down in one of the chairs up there, but then after I got off the stage, I started acting like the Roadrunner."
One of Johnson's final commands was for Black to take up the role of the "Looney Tunes" character when he uttered the trigger word "Good night," which also caused another volunteer to chase Black around the room as Wile E. Coyote. Black's friend and sophomore athletic training major Josh Woodward was still laughing about the onstage antics afterward.
"I don't know which part I liked best," Woodward said. "The dance competition was hilarious, but so were the Butt Beat Boys."
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