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Dehumanising the human- Rhythm 0 Experiment


Anu Khandelwal


 While growing up, we are all imparted social and ethical values by our family and friends- to be respectful towards others, accept other viewpoints and to be cognizant of one’s pain and emotions. While this might seem ordinary, here lies the underlying problem: not many people are fortunate enough to be born and raised in a safe environment, receiving the same values and developing a sense of empathy in situations that heavily demand attention and care. 
Marina Abramovic, a performance artist, took it upon herself to measure people’s lack of empathy and disregard for human life. In the experiment, Rhythm 0, Marina created a disturbing artwork- she stood blindfolded in front of a table that had 72 objects placed on it. While some of the instruments were simply for pleasure, others were not. The list of objects ranged from a rose, a feather, a glass of water, a lipstick, a shoe to dangerous instruments such as a knife, a razor blade, a hammer and a loaded pistol. 
There was a self-written note placed by Marina on the table that informed her audience that she would stand still for the next six hours and they can use these objects on her body as per their liking. Written on the note was also a very alarming message- “I am the object.”
Initially, people remained hesitant in nature and would simply lift her arm or make her hold the rose. But soon after, they became restless and vicious. 
Her clothes were torn apart and she was subjected to physical and sexual assault. Her neck was slit with a knife by one participant from the audience who later on, proceeded to drink  blood from her bruised neck. Half naked, Marina was carried to a table and a knife was thrusted between her legs into the table. 
The turning point of the experiment was when a member of the audience made her hold the pistol in her hand encouraging her to pull the trigger. This resulted into a huge conflict by another participant who threw the gun outside the window. Throughout the course of the experiment, Marina displayed no signs of mobility and maintained her position. 
As soon as six hours had passed by, Marina stood up with tears in her eyes and started to walk away. The entire crowd scattered as they had been reviewing her as an object due to her absolute silence, no signs of objection and immobility. They had not anticipated her in a light where they could perceive her as an equal- a human being just like them. 
The rationale behind this experiment was to arrive at the conclusion that people can go to any extent to prove a point. They had dehumanised Marina in a horrifying manner and inflicted several degrees of pain on her body. 
Interestingly, the results of this experiment were in contrast to the results of Milgram's experiment where volunteers were asked to electrocute a person as per the orders given to them by the authorities. Blind obedience or obedience to authority was a crucial catalyst in performing Milgram’s experiment. However, signs of reluctance and distress were also recorded amongst the volunteers while they were instructed to inflict higher degree of pain on another person.
In the aforementioned experiment, we observe that people protested against the instructions and were conscious of the fact that they were being hostile towards a living human being capable of emotions and sentiments.
While on the other hand, in the experiment Rhythm 0, the members of the audience did not display signs of uneasiness or discomfort in the process of degenerating Marina to a horrifying extent. 
After six hours of absolute horror, Marina spoke about her experience stating, “If you leave it up to the audience, they can kill you.”
Rhythm 0 gave a new direction to the study of social psychology- people can go to appalling lengths as they poorly distinguish between what is right or wrong. They can turn a blind eye to their own conscience and gravely engage in acts of terror.
Through the implementation of her experiment, Marina was also able to prove another point, that is, performance art is real and can leave performers scarred and devastated for the rest of their lives. 

CITATIONS
  1. Mcleod, S. (2017, February 5). The Milgram Experiment. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html.
  2. Reality 0 - A Terrifying Experiment. (2014, May 22). Retrieved from https://johndopp.com/reality-0-marina-abramovic/. 

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