You are here:

Obedience

Name: Obedience
Director: Stanley Milgram
Released: 1962
Duration: 45 min

Representation Score

1.9/10

Minimal

1962

Director

Stanley Milgram

Runtime

45 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Obedience is a seminal piece of social documentation that prioritizes the deconstruction of authority over demographic representation. It functions as a study of how systemic pressure can override personal ethics. While the film lacks modern diverse casting due to its 1962 origins, it achieves significant intellectual subversion. It challenges the perceived stability of Western social hierarchies by illustrating how institutional structures manipulate individual roles. Ultimately, the work is less about identity representation and more about a systemic interrogation of human behavior within hierarchical structures.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Obedience have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The footage serves as a clinical psychological study. There is no discernible focus on or representation of sexual orientation or gender identity.

How does Obedience portray gender?

Limited

Subjects reflect the demographic norms of the early 1960s. The film operates within the traditional social constraints of that era.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Obedience?

Limited

The participant pool reflects a predominantly homogeneous white demographic. This reflects the systemic social limitations of mid-century American academic studies.

How does Obedience represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The film excels in its critique of Western institutions. It functions as a profound interrogation of institutional legitimacy and systemic power.

Does Obedience include disability representation?

Minimal

The footage focuses on psychological responses to stress. There is no specific representation of physical or neurodivergent disabilities.

Present on Screen

Provides a profound interrogation of institutional legitimacy and Western social hierarchies.
Offers a deep critique of how systemic pressure can induce harmful behavior.

Limited or Absent

Lacks racial and ethnic diversity, reflecting the homogeneous demographics of 1960s academic studies.
Does not include representation of LGBTQ+ identities or physical disabilities.

Official Synopsis

In the film, we see subjects instructed to administer electric shocks of increasing severity to another person, and observe both obedient and defiant reactions. After the experiment, we witness subjects explain firsthand their actions. Obedience is as relevant today as it was at its publication. As we as a society witness suicide bombings, torture, and gang atrocities, we wonder just how far people will go. Fifty years later, this experiment still resonates as people ask themselves, “Would I pull that lethal switch?” This is the only authentic film footage of Milgram’s famous experiment and is essential to all foundational work in social psychology at the graduate, undergraduate, and high school level.

How are these scores produced? →