Intense ‘Twilight’ Scene Triggers Seizure Reports

ROSEVILLE (CBS13) — A local man says the latest movie in the popular ‘Twilight’ franchise triggered a seizure, and similar incidents have been reported in theaters around the country.

Brandon Gephart and Kelly Bauman said they were watching “Breaking Dawn: Part One” at a theater Friday night when Brandon sudden began convulsing during a graphic birthing scene.

Brandon said he doesn’t remember anything until he woke up on the theater floor, but Kelly said he was, “convulsing, snorting, trying to breathe.”

“He scared me big time,” she added. Paramedics transported the man to the emergency room and the theater had to cancel the rest of the movie for that showing.

Several reports on internet movie sites show reports of other people suffering similar symptoms during the same scene, which contains flashes of red, black and white. Dr. Michael G. Chez, the medical director of pediatric neurology and epilepsy for Sutter Sacramento, said the reports indicate the scene may be triggering an episode of photosensitive epilepsy.

It wasn’t blood, guts or gore that caused the seizure. It was the flashing on the screen at a certain rate that caused it.

This technique is everywhere anymore. No more still camera shots. Everything is moving, swaying, jouncing, bouncing, jittering all the time. And any event is triggered by an explosive flash of light, and ended the same way. Some commercials and movie scenes are virtual strobe lights.

This is direct brain manipulation neuropsychology, linked to social or poltical memes literally being injected into brains for later effect and memory retrieval. It's psychological warfare, and it goes on constantly to a basically oblivious public. Nasty, nasty stuff done by soulless people.

series of books, films..money maker like Harry Potter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twilight_Saga_(film_series)

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/english/The-Twilight-Saga-Breaking-Dawn-Part-1/movie-review/10856147.cms

Worldwide: $705,583,090 11/2009 New Moon

Worldwide: $606,074,000 09/2010 Eclipse

In a day: The second part of the Twilight vampire teen romance saga climbed toward a record opening at the box office Friday morning, just hours after its midnight premiere.

It pulled in a stunning $26.27 million (U.S.) in 12:01 a.m. screenings in the U.S. and Canada, the website deadline.com reported, handily out-grossing The Dark Knight's $18.4 million last year and Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince's $22.2 million this summer.[2 years ago]

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091121044106AA8HEgJ

Its good entertainment, and the younger set are addicted with family members in toe. Just saw on TV where a family had their family room professionally designed like “the woods” theme in the film.

Reread:“The trouble with theaters, it’s dark, the lights flashing in there is more like a strobe light,” he added.

Well I know what a strobe light is, so would not compare it to a typical strobe effect in intensity; but then I would not notice if I was not effected by it as some apparently are.

Still that being said, there was not "a graphic birthing scene". That is what I was hung up on as in the description of the "birthing scene" where in that timeframe of the film, the audience member hit the floor.

I guess we have beaten this dead horse to death. :)

This is direct brain manipulation neuropsychology, linked to social or political memes literally being injected into brains for later effect and memory retrieval. It's psychological warfare, and it goes on constantly to a basically oblivious public. Nasty, nasty stuff done by soulless people.

Wow that was a mouthful.

I guess I am doomed. [checks to see what is opening this weekend]. Grew up on films..so far so good. Even watched some old black and white "TV" [not movie house] shows on JLTV last night for a while but the film quality was so poor in staggering wash of black and white in motion that it was tiring, I had to move on. ;)

I have found with HD, I have a difficult time watching anything without. I compare it to clear vision and blurred vision.

Indy films or smaller production with well known actors found in the smaller movie houses, but can also win awards world wide may be much more tame in the sense of "flash"; but then it depends on the target audience and the genre of film.

Fox News is like apples to grapes in this sense when comparing their production, lighting, graphics, motion and/or tickers, etc to other networks. The WOW factor over the Drowse Factor.

However I am not a 3-D fan; and choose to see "without" when given as a choice in seeing a film.

See flash from subject Animated Cartoon..I see; but was unnoticeable to me in Twilight.

It's the media playing up this story for all it is worth.

The Independent called the book, "shockingly, tackily, sick-makingly sexist" and said that "Bella Swan lives to serve men and suffer."[36] Entertainment Weekly graded Breaking Dawn with a D, criticizing the birth scene and Bella's "unwavering passion for Edward" and having no other goals.[37] The Washington Post also responded with a negative review, making comments such as, "Meyer has put a stake through the heart of her own beloved creation," and "Breaking Dawn has a childbirth sequence that may promote lifelong abstinence in sensitive types." 38]

This one is particularly great:
" The dramatic - and grisly - birth scene in the new "Twilight" movie is causing some moviegoers to have seizures, London's Guardian newspaper says. The story also cites as evidence [the same man] a man who fell ill at a screening in Salt Lake City...a medical expert who said the reactions could be the result of photosensitive epilepsy, triggered by the birth scene's dramatic red, white and black images.

Media Piggy backing off a story sourcing an incident and an expert who said "may have" been. Doubt the expert saw the film either. Must to do about nothing--now these productions are making BIG money world wide--and need to share. They probably will have to add disclaimers as we know the Film industry should be taxed even higher and ~~Big~~ Gigantic Government involved].

Something to talk about.

Thanks

The video that you posted has the flash in slow motion. The one I posted has it in real time. YOU may not have noticed it, but those with photosensitive epilepsy will seiz.

>>[the same man] <<

Your quote says Salt Lake City and the article is from Sacramento.

The epileptic effect is known in the movie industry. On this one, I’ll give the MSM, the flashing should not have been added. Better the press report it than people seiz out at the theaters.

>>Entertainment Weekly graded Breaking Dawn with a D....and Bella’s “unwavering passion for Edward” and having no other goals.<<

Well I have to agree with that. I’m really glad my tween and teen disliked these books. Although I see a pro-life message to them, it is a FAR stretch. And personally, if one likes these movies, more power to them.

My girls are waiting for Hunger Games.

Flicker fits can be triggered while driving if the road divider is posts and not the solid concrete. That's one of the reasons they started doing away with post dividers and went to solid concrete in newer dividers...it can trigger a seizure in susceptible people... We had a patient in the hospital that had a sign on her bed, Do not jar bed.....it would send her into seizure activity. But she also said she knew when a seizure was coming on as she got an aura...some epilepics know when a seizure is coming on by seeing lights or other things that warn them....for others there is no warning...

You also don't have to be an epilieptic to have seizures from light or movie/TV strobing and/or auditory stimulation. As well there are different types or kinds of seizures. I can go through an EEG just fine. No seizure activity was ever detected in the several I've took. Basically anything which overtaxes a persons sensory processing system can trigger seizures but the person may not realize what they are having. One such type is this which I've had about 17 years now

Stimulus-sensitive myoclonus is triggered by a variety of external events, including noise, movement, and light. Surprise may increase the sensitivity of the individual.

An EEG won't trigger it but a movie like say Lion King can. I don't go too the movies LOL. Driving through a wooded area in the winter where light flickers between the trees to the eyes or on the pavment can trigger it. Certain tones like a back up alarm, fire alarm, or classical music. Store PA's turned up too loud or with a prompt tone also can do it.

I just go into violent upper torso spams or seizures. Each seizure last a few seconds and as many as several a minute in a bad attack. No passing out though nor any feeling I'm going too. It is limited in my case to specific plces only including shoulders, upper back, and neck. But if I don't stop the seizures I can go into a kind of a brain fog of where am I. how did I get here, where was I going, loss of time, etc. It can also easilly be misdiagnosed as Panic attacts. Been there done that for several years.

I become extremely dizzy & disoriented with the “light between the trees” things as well. The other thing that really sets me off (of all things)...certain types of geometric patterns on printed commercial carpet.

I can stand in one spot and look at the overall pattern with no problem, but when I try to walk down a hallway, or through a large room (usually these types of patterns are in hotels)...I simply lose my bearings. 90% of patterns cause no problem...just a handful of geometric examples.

There was one hotel (in Missouri) that I loved, and stayed at every few weeks for business that was the worst. I had to look up towards the ceiling and put my hand under my eyes as I walked down the hallway to avoid seeing the pattern “move” as I walked. How odd is that??

Several questions. When did it start? Do you have a history anytime in your life of things like chronic ear infections, chronic sinus allergies or bronchitis, lack of coordination, poor balance, or ADD ADHD type symptoms? Can you sue both eyes at the same time or just one. I don't mean can you see out of both eyes I mean both eyes at the same time. It's different. I can't and was born that way.

The Inner Ears help control or help coordinate visual as well as auditory information to the cerebellar potion of the brain. Any damage or dysfunction in any portion in this sensory processing system be it Vestibular or Optical can sometimes wreak havoc and create some serious but non fatal issues such as seizures, panic or anxiety attacks, phobias [though not actually true phobia as it is the brain trying to warn you of danger and something it has issues with}.

The human brain is designed for self preservation and when you don't give a proper response to what it sees as danger it can make you react. If you don't react in a manner it deems correct it will get your attention. Or if the damaged sensory processing system becomes overtaxed it will start shutting down programs in your sensory system much like an overtaxed computer processor. That results in what I call the brain fog which generally last 15 - 60 minutes. It's harmless but if you don't know and understand what it is it can scare the living crap out of you.

Many years ago on the farm, I came down stairs and hubby and son were in the living room, I said Hi and walked from the dining room into the kitchen. The last thing I remember was passing the stove then nothing. Next thing I could hear my hubby and son talking over my body....I kept saying in my mind to them that I was OK but couldn't open my eyes or move any part of my body. It must have lasted for several minutes and they probably heard me fall (which I don't remember) slowly could open my eyes then move my body, but real slow...they helped me into the down stairs bedroom and I slept until the next day. Weird. I had a similar experience at the age of 12, same thing,just dropped to the floor without warning and became conscious as my mother and father were taking me to bed.

The one on the farm gave me problems with weakness and sometimes I had to have my husband help me get up to go to the kitchen and such. Several episodes of vomit without warning. But that was well over 23 years ago and nothing since. I had about 3 months of problems but didn't bother going to the doctor....

Had EEG about 10 years earlier and the first was not normal, showed seizure activity that I was not aware of. The second one showed abnormal activity in Theta and Delta waves occasionally, but they said essentially within normal limits...so I guess it was not too bad...Those episodes are sure strange.

We had a snoodle (dog poodle/Schnauzer) that was a bad epileptic and the vet said as he aged they would get worse, went from a seizure lasting a couple of minutes and the dog must have had an aura, cause just before he would seizure, he'd run to whoever was in the room and then start. As he aged, they became 45 minutes long with loss of bowel and bladder and he got real strange...We eventually had to have him put down but he lived for about 10 years....

I use to have valium from my father for the dog after he seizured, his was clonic/tonic (grand mal) and the muscles would be sore afterword so I'd pop him a valium...Sometimes me too LOL. Valium is what we used in the hospital for post seizure patients...its a muscle relaxer...

Gee I wonder if anyone is normal, we all have something that goes fluey once in a while.

I remember the one EEG that showed seizure activity they gave me the strobe light flicker and I did have a sensation of movement outside of my body, but also have PPVA positional Paroxamal /sp vertical attacks so that was not unusual to me...Caused by an inner ear problem...

Your right there are many different types of seizure activity. Many types not known to the average guy or gal..

Xanax is my choice of meds and I have too keep .5Mg in me 24/7 one every 6-8 hours. If I'm out driving and the seizures start I pop one under my tongue real fast. I give it 15-20 minutes and a second one if needed which is rare. It wipes me out for the rest of the day if I let it get too that point.

A research Neurologist/psychiatrist starting links Vestibular issues to panic attacks back as early as the mid 1970's. The book Phobia Free was what helped me understand my disorders because all medical history matched. He also links it to a for of ADD ADHD. Audiologist know this as Central Auditory Processing Disorders. Myself and a now deceased cousin are the only two in the family that have it. Both of us have Inner Ear issues from early childhood.

There's still a lot they don't know about it simply because any portion of this system which is somehow damaged can produce varying symptoms. It all can also coexist with other disorders. One thing I do know. Persons with this should not take antidepressants. There seems to be an increased risk for Serotonin migration and you really do not need more sensory bombardment either.

If your EEG hadn't shown an issue it almost sounded like a low sugar attack. We've picked mom up off the ground or floor several times. She'd not diabetic but she forgets too eat before doing work and it comes back to bite her.

I have worn glasses since I was five, if that tells you anything. I am strongly right-handed, and strongly left-eye dominant...and run into things like doorways on a regular basis on my right side, which is funny. The tests that they do to check for peripheral vision are always fine, and I have no problems when driving or anything of that nature..I’m always just slightly off-kilter when I am wandering around.

I have always been accused of “not looking where I’m walking.” I could walk over hundreds of dollars spilled on a sidewalk and never see a thing. As you can imagine this creates problems with curbs, and ice...LOL! I have been like that since I was little (and have always been a klutz). The only thing I can think of is that as a kid, you just compensate for “whatever” the deal is..it apparently bothered me to even glance down as I walked, so I did not do it. I think people with this problem are most easily identified by broken toes...7 for me.

Lots of hereditary sinus issues; and my Grandmother had such an inner ear problem that even a long car ride would render her unable to stand for several days on occasion. Yes, they tried to tell me it was anxiety when the dizziness started (along with the sinus issues when I was in my early 30’s).

Thankfully, a few months later, I saw the PA for a sinus infection because my doctor was out. I told her I had been suffering from dizziness. She did a few tests for inner ear imbalance; then had me come in after the sinus infection was cleared. She actually ASKED me if I had family members with inner ear problems. She then told me that I had likely always had it, and that I should NEVER let a sinus problem get out of control to avoid a serious issue. Oh, and I don’t have a Doctor (I rarely go anyway)...SHE is my “doctor” and has been for 15 years...no matter the issue. She has referred me to specialists for other issues, but she will always be my primary care provider as she took the time to figure out what was going on.

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