"The hunt": The Myth of Group Thinking

Danish director Thomas Vinterberg's "The Hunt" begins with a lie about a little girl (played by Annika Wedderkopp). In a small community in Denmark, the little girl's accidental words raise suspicions that kindergarten teacher Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen) sexually abused her. Despite the lack of substantive evidence, the principal decided to fire Lucas immediately on the grounds that "the kids wouldn't lie" and reported the incident to the police.

Regarding whether the little girl had a motive for lying, even though the director did leave the line in the story, the little girl still entered kindergarten. If she said that this was a deliberate lie, she was planning to ruin Lucas, but she would deviate from reality. In fact, the director's discussion did not stop at the little girl's lies, the lies were just obstacles, and the consequences that accompanied them became the center of the discussion.

The film is set in a small community in Denmark. Prior to the "incident", more than a dozen men in the district had gathered together to hunt, drink, and eat together. Little girl Theo's father even said that Lucas was the best. Friend life, the relationship between everyone is very close and harmonious. However, when the principal announced the "incident" to the parents at a parent meeting, a group of shocked parents immediately filed charges against Lucas and branded them as perverts, without giving Lucas a chance to explain at all. After Lucas is fired, he walks into Theo's house in an unbelievable mood, intending to earn the trust of his best friends. As a result, Theo (Thomas Bo Larsen) experienced a struggle,

During that period, Lucas was very desperate, faced with the cynicism of his neighbors, he broke up with his new girlfriend, and his son who was planning to live with him also put his plans on hold, and his life changed drastically. He couldn't stand that kind of life. While trying to explain to Theo again, he runs into other people at Theo's house. They reluctantly kicked Lucas away and even injured him. Even Lucas's son went to the supermarket to buy daily necessities and also the officer warned: "You are not welcome here." The most classic scene is that Lucas goes to the supermarket to buy groceries. The officer not only ignored his request and asked him to leave, but the staff in charge of the butcher also punched him and Lucas broke his head. Blood flow,

Regarding this phenomenon, the American psychologist Irving Janis once put forward the concept of "group myth", by showing that in group decision making, members naturally tend to agree with the group's views, have the same attitude towards various things, and even lack different thoughts. , so that groups can make wrong decisions under the influence of myths. Indeed, in the film, the whole society considers itself a member of that group. When one of the members was wronged, they didn't make an objective decision (the police had asked Lucas to help with the investigation, but they didn't. Take the case) Then try it yourself. Even if Lucas' sons tried to find the truth, they were considered messengers,

For Lucas's case, the police recruited other students to help with the investigation. As a result, all the students said that they had been to Lucas's dungeon, as if Lucas had really done bad things to the students. However, it was later discovered that there was no such thing as a "dungeon" in Lucas 'house, so he was found not guilty, but at the same time it demonstrated the group's power to influence the members' decision making. There is no doubt that his confession, almost right and wrong, is being persecuted. Good people.

After a while, things ended, and the community seemed to go back in time. Theo's relationship with Lucas was restored. The others talked and laughed with Lucas, and the girlfriend returned to Lucas's side. Everything seemed like it was about to end again, as if that incident had not happened. However, the director didn't end the story. In the final scene, when Lucas goes hunting in the forest with his son and a group of friends, there is gunshot and bullets going past Lucas. In the gloom, it was as if Lucas saw someone who wanted to shoot him, but the film did not explain the authenticity of the scene. Whether the shot represents an unfinished incident or has become an indelible image in Lucas's heart. It's a mystery that can't be explained, but either way,