One of the most memorable lines in the film "House of Games", is when Billy explains how he performs his trade: "It's called a confidence game. Why? Because you give me your confidence? No. Because I give you mine." What's interesting is that he is saying that people in effect con themselves by placing false trust in a stranger due to outward appearances.
Is this wrong? Does everyone do this? When someone puts on a nice suit for a job interview, they too are gaining false trust. How could interviewer possibly gain any knowledge about the person from the quality of his clothing? When in even the most basic social interaction, we ask someone how they are, do we really care most of the time, or are we just once again trying to gain their trust? I think the strategy Billy uses to exploit people is really a rarely discussed aspect of human communication, that is integral to the basic structure of a society where one is forced constantly to interact with and trust complete strangers.
No comments:
Post a Comment