To finish off my Shrek blogs, I'd like to remind everyone of the attached scene in Part 1. Toward the end, Lord Farquaad shines a bright light into GIngy's eyes to get information out of him. And he is successful!

Let me give you a quick play-by-play from the 2001 Dreamwork original hit: Shrek.

Lord Farquaad: [playing with Gingy's legs] Run, run, run as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!

Gingerbread Man: You're a monster!

Lord Farquaad: [tossing legs away] I'm not the monster here, YOU are! You and the rest of that fairytale trash, poisoning my perfect world. Now tell me, where are the others?

Gingerbread Man: Eat me!

[spits in Farquaad's face]

Lord Farquaad: I've tried to be fair to you creatures, but now my patience has reached its end! Tell me, or I'll...

[reaches down]

Gingerbread Man: NO! Not the buttons! Not my gumdrop buttons!

Lord Farquaad: All right, then! [swings around light] Who's hiding them?

Gingerbread Man: Okay, I'll tell you... Do you know... the Muffin Man?

Lord Farquaad: The Muffin Man?

Gingerbread Man: The Muffin Man.

Lord Farquaad: Yes, I know the Muffin Man. W-who lives down on Drury Lane?

Gingerbread Man: Well, she's married to the Muffin Man...

Lord Farquaad: The Muffin Man?

Gingerbread Man: THE MUFFIN MAN!

Lord Farquaad: She's married to the Muffin Man...

What a play!

Okay, so again, bright interrogation lights = inofrmation. Why?

Turns out, this is simply a minor torture technique. It intimidates the victim. Because it it so easily damaging to the retina when the eye is exposed to a bright light for too long a period of time, people tend to WANT to close their eyes, but refuse to based on the situation. It gives them a headache, makes them feel pressured and uncomfortable. It puts them in an immediately defensive mood. With the victim moderately blind/impaired, the interrogator becomes basically invisible and eye-contact virtually impossible.

In addition, the pupil is quite a tell. When, lying one is proved to have a fluttering and/or a dilating pupil. The interrogated will also commonly look LEFT when hiding something. These microexpressions become much more obvious in the face of bright lights. The victim feels that too. Them knowing that their every reaction is being watched intensifies their reactions overall.

Interrogation is both a mind game and a play of intimidation. Bright lights are a helpful tool, that both look extremely sketchy and are usually at one's disposal...according to crime movies at least.

However maybe that's the whole game. A bright light's reputation may be it's only secret.

Watch your back. I'm not sure what type of confidential information I just revealed to you.