Psychedelia in Film & TV #1: INtrospeC(EP)TION

by Samuel William Rathjen

In this series of articles I will take a look at various films and TV shows and apply a psychedelic lense to them – look at them with my ‘third eye’, if you will. The term ‘psychedelic’ is Greek for “manifesting the mind”, and is generally applied to certain plants and chemicals that can significantly alter a persons perception///consciousness. These changes take place whilst under the influence, but lasting changes can also manifest in the user after the experience is over. You’ve probably already heard of a few of the classic psychedelics – LSD, ‘Magic Mushrooms’ – Psilocybin>Psilocin and DMT. These articles will not break down the little (or large) nuances of each different psychedelic experience (depending on which drug one might choose to take), nor will they give a brief history of their timely usage on this planet, or the current push in the western world for more funding to explore Psychedelic Assisted Therapy. These will be purely filmic///psychedelic articles, although if you are interested in the diverse history of psychedelics and where they could be headed in the future, do look it up.

I will discuss a brief overview of the range of insights and experiences that different psychedelics can produce in users. For example (dosage aside) an LSD experience and a shroom experience will differ in the visuals encountered and the physical effect on the body, but mental experiences or insights often cross over. It is as if the majority of psychedelics allow the user to tap into a ‘collective consciousness’ of insights and experience:

• An immense feeling of oneness and unity is often experienced – a oneness with the entire universe, as if there is no separation between you and anything else. The “illusion of separation”, if you will, fades away.
• The feeling that ‘you’ have ‘died’. This is referred to as “ego death”, where the user is no longer able to define or distinguish themselves as anything – you lose your “I”, so to speak.
• Time distortions such as “time” -from your perception- slowing down (time dilation), speeding up (time contraction) or becoming completely obsolete. Five minutes has gone by according to a clock but in your experience it felt like an hour, or vice versa.
• Internal hallucinations – where a new world is constructed in your mind that you inhabit and traverse through.
• Deep introspection – where you gain an insight into any personal troubles you may have, or thoughts about the state of the world at large. It may be as simple as you looking at a challenge you face in a new way and the new perception giving you an answer.
• States of awe, curiosity, sacredness and wonder – The world around you becomes beautiful and you marvel at and appreciate things you haven’t before. Preconceived notions get challenged. ‘Possibility’ takes on an entire new definition.

These are a few of the common collective experiences people describe when under the influence of psychedelics, and will serve as a basis for my third eye-view at various moving image works. If you are interested in a more specific drug-by-drug description of effects, or just more information about psychedelics in general I recommend the following links:

http://disregardeverythingisay.com

https://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/faqs/psychedelics_guide.shtml

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INCEPTION.

A pretty trippy (literally), mind manifesting (literally), warping film to begin with right? WAIT?! WHAT?! YOU HAVENT SEEN INCEPTION?!

(and yes, I have seen PAPRIKA and that will indeed be discussed at some point)

Psychedelics are extremely powerful, and I don’t advocate a singular reason or method for their usage (for example only using them in a capacity to explore the self – psychonautic work and never using them for recreational means. The lines between which get blurred and become redundant in some instances, but that’s for another article). INCEPTION whole heartedly plunges into what the psychedelic experience can provide for its user in its non-recreational capacity – in this instance catharsis, problem-solving on a personal level and many, many, many levels and trips within trips.

Spoilers, by the way, if you haven’t seen INCEPTION already (see above link). In this film we have the main protagonist, Cobb, whose job involves diving into another person’s mind to steal a secret or to attain some information that said person has. This espionage takes place during dreams. But of course, he wants something he doesn’t currently have – the ability to go home and be with his children. The film goes about explaining how this situation arose and how the technology that allows dream exploration works, followed by an entering into the dreamspace before Cobb ultimately manages to get ‘home to be with his children’ (of sorts).

Straightforward, A to B delaying of the main protagonist achieving their goal. Voila. But it has a little bit more to it than that.

Let us break this psychedelic tale down on a story-concept level first. Cobb has a ‘physical’ problem in the real world of the story – he cannot go home. To solve this real world problem he delves into dreams///subconscious to solve it. This is one of the exact functions that psychedelics provide and one of the exact reasons why people use them – introspection: to examine what you think of as ‘you’. Technically it isn’t his subconscious that he is diving into, it’s someone else’s, but this can be contested – more on this later.

For example, lets say that you have a big decision coming up, one that has the power to radically change your life – a new job in a new city, one that you’ve always wanted. But you are naturally anxious and feel the apprehension of moving away to a new, big city alone. From this apprehension you begin thinking and rattling all these other cages of thought and they begin rattling together in a vibration of doubt – WILL I MAKE FRIENDS? WILL I KEEP MY OLD FRIENDS? WILL I BE HAPPY? IS IT WORTH IT? WILL I STILL BE ME? WHAT IS ‘ME’!? So you ask all your loved ones, friends and family what they think about your move. And what do they say? They say GO! ARE YOU MAD?! GO GO GO! YOU’VE WANTED THIS FOR SO LONG, IT’S PERFECT FOR YOU. And you get why they say this, you know they love you and you know they want the best for you and you know that they will be there and that you will be fine, more than fine in fact. Except that you don’t really know, do you? There are still niggling little fears that your anxiety wont let you let go of.

The story is – will you move away towards living the life you always wanted? You have a ‘mental’ problem to solve, whereas Cobb has a ‘physical’ problem. Cobb attempts to solve his problem via the act of inception; you can attempt to solve your problem via the act of introspection. This is what makes INCEPTION interesting on a conceptual level – goal attainment via literal mental///mind gymnastics. Most drama, let alone action-based conflicts, take part in the real world and naturally have real world stakes -this one doesn’t. Anyone who has “gone bad” during a trip and gets stuck in their own head, where time doesn’t exist, understands completely the gravitas of Cobb’s stakes. All the action///drama happens in your head yet the stakes are infinitely ‘real world’. Whether you ever escape intact, in the same order as before and can still function societally.

(After in depth research into a specific chemical and having already tried said chemical at a lower dose to gage its effects and its character) you have decided to take the plunge and see if it can help you figure out your problem. (by the way, if this isn’t obvious already, I am not advocating fleeting, spontaneous use of psychedelics in the hope for a quick fix to any and all problems. Psychedelics are first and foremost tools, just like a forklift or CADCAM software, that require the user to be experienced with them in order for them to work in the desired and expected way. We generally think of tools as having only physical or virtual applicability, something external that we use to help something else external, never the external helping the internal or mental. But this is what psychedelics do; dissolve boundaries.)

So, hypothetically, after following sensible precautions (issued to you via an online writer) you delve into the psychedelic experience specifically to shed light on whether you should move away or not. At some point during the experience you start to ponder the big question. You begin imagining what it would be like to move away, both mentally and physically – different people, different surroundings, and different routines. You slowly become used to the idea, it makes you feel good, free almost – you bask in this excitement of the unknown. Value and worth is being added to your life by making this decision, not taken away. You imagine all the ways that this one (fabulous) decision will impact positively on your life for years and years to come – that’s it, you will take the job. But, all of a sudden your imagined future starts to peel///fade away, your stomach drops and you are left face to face with an inner demon: your anxiety issues… Anxiety issues?! I don’t have anxiety issues – I’m just naturally a bit nervous about decisions in my life. That’s who I am.

Suddenly and as easily as your future was conjured up mere moments ago, your past now spans before (behind) you. All the negative, angry, pent up experiences that have distressed you so far in this life are displayed one after another – for your eyes only. A commonality or theme begins to emerge, prickling… and you realise: MY ANXIETY HAS BEEN AFFECTING ME MY ENTIRE LIFE, HASN’T IT? NONE OF THESE TEMPORAL///SPACIAL VARIABLE EXPERIENCES HAVE ANY REAL BEARING OR INTRINSIC NEGATIVE IMPACT ON ME, OR MY WELL-BEING WHATSOEVER. THESE NEGATIVE MEMORIES ARE ONLY NEGATIVE DUE TO MY EXPERIENCE OF ANXIETY THAT’S ASSOCIATED WITH THEM.

And BOOM, like Cobb realises he has to let go of his wife and her memory if he is to move forward with his life and be with his children, you realise anxiety is a fucking bitch that can totally debilitate your incentive for life and capacity for happiness. You realise through recognising a pattern about yourself that you are not limited to, trapped in, or defined by that pattern and you have the choice to leave it behind. You step back; see everything from a different point of view, return intact but with a greater understanding that provides you with more context for your problem: THIS IS MY HAPPINESS AT STAKE.

It was you.

This is why I consider INCEPTION to be somewhat psychedelic. It literally makes physical the emotional journey that nearly all protagonists go through on their way to a goal-oriented narrative. Yes Cobb only got to go back to America because he successfully performed inception and Saito made a phone call. But it was his need to let go of Mal that allowed him to achieve his want. Would he have ever let go of her without having the possibility of going home? He seemed relatively happy to run about the world, dodging his former employers whilst keeping a hold of Mal through dreamspace. During the limbo level of the dreamspace he ends up face to face with his demon, and has two choices: he can run from it again, not face his fears, not let go and instead ride the ‘kick back up’ the levels to consciousness thus never finding and saving Saito, OR, he can stay, face Mal by taking the time to explain (in classic Nolan over expository fashion) that he doesn’t need her anymore, miss the kicks, and drown in the u(p/t)most level (van level) which sends him back down into limbo (first scene of the film) where he washes up on a beach. Yes he achieved inception, but it only meant something after facing his demon.

It at least tries to show the real journey and emotional transformation that all protagonists go through. The inner turmoil of Cobb becomes our literal screen world– his trip becomes our experience. It is showing externally what is internal, that makes INCEPTION psychedelic.

Moving on from the story-concept level, there are more aspects of the film that, funnily enough, jive with the psychedelic experience. The time fluctuations where time slows down the deeper into the dream they go, is wholly reminiscent of time dilation. This is the experience that time has slowed down to such an immeasurable degree that it can no longer be said to exist. Common sound bites you hear from people experiencing this are:

“What’s the time again?”,

“How much… how long has gone by?”

“Has it been three hours yet?”

“An hour and a half? Mate, I’ve lived lifetimes…”

This is just a throwaway thought, but the admission that whatever idea gets planted in that guy’s head will (grow and) change his life (and who he will be) forever is kinda precisely what a lot of people report when asked about any psychedelic experiences they may have had.

The whole premise of designing a dream and then creating it as you experience it, in my opinion, is Nolan’s way of nodding his head towards Quantum Physics (or whatever that field is called). The whole “particle-wave conundrum-it cant be both-what the fuck our observation of the outer universe directly influences its formation what the fuck-the first Buddha said all this and more four thousand years ago but whatever modern science”- blah blah blah. This questioning of reality and of what constitutes reality is also a really big, fucking major, key (music theorists, wazzzup) puzzle that all psychedelic users are forced to face.

A somewhat common experience that people go through when on a high dose of psychedelics is one of omnipotence, or ‘centering’, where one feels at the centre of, and connected to the entirety of existence. When this experience of connectivity occurs in someone who is either on a low dose, or who is only feeling the connectivity as opposed to experiencing it thus able to verbalise thoughts– this translates as “I AM GOD” or “I’M MAKING THINGS HAPPEN”. (This particular subject area, perception+reality+creation and how they fit together will be explored at a later date)((FYI, I am not totally against the blasphemous notion that WE ARE ALL GOD and GODS equally and in equal amounts)). Of course, when someone is proclaiming at the top of their lungs that they are Neo, sober and/or religious people will find this definitely insane, and probably scary.

Step 1: the police are called (hopefully out of safety and compassion for the individual, perhaps fear. The latter comes down to poor drug education.) They are armed with tasers and guns (not nails and wood) and confront Mr/Mrs Anderson having little to zero knowledge about what is going through his head (poor drug education #2).

Step 2: Mr/Mrs Anderson sees the physical threat, but since they are currently connected to all that is and know that death isn’t actually a thing they have no fear and continue their proclamation.

Step 3: The police have no idea what to do and as a public crowd is watching them they feel pressure to allay the situation ASAP (poor drug education #3)

Step 4: Mr/Mrs Anderson gets tased.

Step 5: Mr/Mrs Anderson is arrested and/or taken to the hospital. Checks are done. A psychedelic substance is revealed in a screening.

Step 6: A news report is made detailing the successful subdual of a person under the influence of an illicit psychedelic (which will be reported 100% of the time as LSD or like LSD.)((poor drug education #4))

Step 7: Pats on the back abound.

Step 8: Status quo of drug ignorance continues. No one is ever the wiser (poor drug education #5)

Step 9: The cycle continues spiralling downwards.

Step 10: MORE POOR DRUG EDUCATION.

We see the god-like command that Ariadne has over a particular dreamspace (the city folding in on itself) and that freeness of creation to mould and change the scenery is absolutely achievable when one is in the midst of an internal hallucination. The issues and challenges come when one proclaims they have control over the physical space that all our different realities take place in eg. a public park. As I mentioned this area is sticky, and will be dealt with in a later article.

In the final scene, we see Cobb finally get home. He spins his totem to see if he is dreaming- but as soon as he sees his kids he embraces them both, forsaking the outcome of the top. (The greater symbolism here is that of Cobb completely leaving behind Mal. The totem was hers to begin with.) The camera stays on the table, showing the top spinning and spinning. It cuts to black before we get to see whether it ever falls. It is suggested to us that Cobb isn’t in reality, but in another dream – another level. But what we are completely shown without any obfuscation is that Cobb doesn’t care. To him it doesn’t matter if it is reality or not – he believes it is. What does this have to say about Nolan and his point of view on reality? Maybe nothing. My psychedelic take is that reality is as flimsy a construct as anything else – that the reality of reality is that there is no reality. Ours (Cobb’s final scene) is just one level of existence, above and below many others.

Maybe Nolan exposed himself to a healthy drug atmosphere during his days at university, tripped balls a bunch of times, reflected heavily upon his experiences, extrapolated aspects of these experiences and put them into his films to show the world what the world really is and how using psychedelics can help us create a more preferable one…oh wait, that’s my USP.

As previously stated, this is just my take –a psychedelic take- on this film. Everything previously, more than likely, reads as conjecture, and that’s fine (and that’s the point). It’s merely another point of view – something that psychedelics give you an abundance of. Oh, and context. Re-contextualize, re-contextualise, recontextualise.

 

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