6 Of The Best Modern Psychedelic Films

Welcome to day 13 of PSYJuly!

Today’s is a guest post from long time friend Peter Francis (we go back to nursery if you can believe that). Pete and myself were once upon a time two-thirds of a film club and he remains my go to friend to geek out with about cinema.

Pete has put together a short introduction to the origins of psychedelic cinema and and picked his top 6 modern films from the genre. Its an excellent selection and I fully recommend to anyone wishing to explore a psychedelic state of mind through film.

Get your popcorn ready and enjoy!

Over to Pete…

An Introduction to Psychedelic Cinema

As David Church remarks in his excellent essay The Doors of Reception, the word ‘psychedelic’ when applied to cinema is long and indeterminate. Firstly it can be used historically when ascribed to the immediate film experiments and avant- garde films from the 1960’s that coincided with recreational drug use. His Church recounts, the word ‘psychedelic’ has been used to describe some formal experiments of filmmakers like Kenneth Anger, Jonas Mekas, Stan Brakhage and Jordan Belson in the 1960’s; some being actively inspired by psychedelic drug experiences.

Avant-garde aesthetics in independent film of this period are dazzling: swirling geometric patterns, the use of paint on 16mm and 8mm (evoking a lurid flickering effect), figurative scenes that dissolve into abstracts shapes or colours, depictions of mythical figures and hallucinations and a strong absence of any linear narration. From the 1960’s onward these formal experiences spilled into the mainstream in films like Kubrick’s 2001 Space Odyssey (1968) and Seconds by Jonathan Frankenheimer (1966).

The stargate sequence from 2001

Yet the relationship between cinema and inner psychedelic experience isn’t simple. How can cinema accurately or truthfully depict an experience on the influence of ‘psychedelics’? The idea that a highly subjective drug experience could be accurately depicted through images and text is problematic. As David remarks:

‘It is precisely this phenomenology of drug-enhanced spectatorship – and the attendant proposition that no text has any inherent meaning outside one’s subjective experience of it – that makes psychedelic cinema such a valuably challenging outpost in the “antipodes” of film analysis.’

However, there has been a resurgence in psychedelic film in 21st century cinema since around 2000. This might be suggestive of the long-term influence of the lurid psychedelic film experiments of the 1960’s on narrative cinema. Interestingly, these films arrive at times of changing behaviours to film spectatorship – some of these films are now being watched under the influence of psychedelics (or taken after a trip) and their online responses being shared in online communities. Church gives examples of Gasper Noe’s Enter the Void having a strong online following and audience response in this regard. Could this signal a new branch of film spectatorship?

6 Awesome Modern Psychedelic Films

Below is a list of recommended modern films for those of you interested in this kind of spectatorship, or films that are somehow linked to psychedelic experiences. They contain surreal sequences; hallucinogenic dream-states that veer into abstraction, a languid pace, an over-emphasis on micro-details and some even depict the effects of psychedelic usage.

Spoiler alerts

Waking Life by Richard Linklater (2001)

Richard Linklater takes a departure from his very wordy every-day dramas to make a very wordy animated investigation into dreams and consciousness. An unassuming protagonist roams around an unnamed American city, drifting between conversation (often mid-way) that muse on the nature of reality, time and the meaning of dreams. Is he witnessing a dream or a real conversation? Linklater ‘rotoscoped’ (traced animation) of each digitally-shot frame using computer animation. The resulting animated effect is gloriously surreal- more figurative than hand-drawn animation, yet strangely amorphic and unstable.

Midsommar by Ari Aster (2019)

As director Ari Aster remarks, Midsommar is “a breakup movie dressed in the clothes of a folk horror film.’ Set in the perpetual daylight of Summer Solstice in Sweden, Midsommar is the story of Dani (Florence Pugh) and her self-regarding boyfriend Christian visiting a bizarre Swedish pagan cult for a summer research project. The film follows Dani’s growing realisation of how much of a jerk her boyfriend is, while at the same time being subject to the cult’s horrific and otherworldly rituals including sacrifice, chanting, incessant drinking and dancing.

The lengthy finale of the film is particularly striking, Dani is given a hefty dose of psychedelic drugs and becomes the ‘Queen’ of the cult’s ritual- making the final sequence nightmarish. The sequence even more surreal and hallucinatory, by the warping of the frame ever-so slightly.The drug sequences in Midsommar emphasise the dramatic-downfall structure that is typical of the horror’s genre; Dani’s ethereal, blissful trip early on heavily contrasts with her garish and horrific trip in the films finale.

Mulholland Drive by David Lynch (2001)

All of David Lynch’s work embraces abstract, non-linear methods of storytelling, which is crystalised in the often-sublime ‘Mulholland Drive. David Lynch’s L.A film – noir juxtaposes innocence and darkness in equal measure; a tale of two actresses, amnesia and loss of identity.

Mulholland Drive begins in a familiar narrative path which eventually becomes darker, more allusive, more abstract as the film progresses. The imagery of Los Angeles night time boulevards and palm trees give a seductive, hypnotic quality in this film -a film recommended to be viewed late at night!

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives by Apichatpong Weerasethakul (2011)

Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, makes incredibly meditative films – set in very rural locations near the Thai, and Laos border, and are categorised as ‘slow cinema’. Uncle Boonme concerns a man with an ailing kidney condition, who receives visitations of ghosts of his son and wife and hopes to reach them when he is reincarnated. Weerasethakul films are interested in ideas about memory and ‘objects and people that transform or hybridise”.

While his films often delve into the supernatural and dream states as characters experience powerful incantations, the film’s surreal effects are always grounded in a very blissful realism; his films make use of long shots and languid sequences that make use of silence, natural sounds, and remote locations. Two of his earlier works, Tropical Malady and Syndromes and a Century are also heavily recommended.

Embrace of the Serpent by Ciro Guerra (2015)

Embrace of Serpent is semi-historical black and white film, inspired by the diaries of real-life ethnographer Theodor Koch-Grunberg and ethnobotanist Richard Evans Schultes. The film follows two explorers’ encounters with Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and last survivor of his tribe. Shot with non-actors and indegenous communities in the Columbian Amazon, the film explores the western discovery of rare psychedelic plant Psychotria Viridis, and vividly depicts how such sacred indigenous plants can be abused by colonial interventions and interference.

Watch out for the poignant and illuminating colour sequence in which Evans is given a dose of Yakruna from a last surviving plant.

Enter the Void by Gasper Noe (2009)

Gasper Noe’s neon-tinged, Tokyo-set Enter the Void, explores a young man called Oscar out-of-body experiences over one dramatic and fatal evening. Shot entirely from point-of-view, the film explores Oscar’s intense experience when taking DMT, and the dramatic turn of events that follow. After a fatal encounter with police, Oscar experiences a range of flashbacks and out-of-body observations as his spirit drifts above various scenes.

John on Enter the void:

This film is as trippy as they come. Noe envisioned this film in his early twenties whilst on magic mushrooms and worked on the screenplay for over fifteen years before the film went into production. He made Irreversible, starring Monica Belluci and Vincent Cassel, as a way to generate funding for Enter The Void which was ultimately his passion project. An absolute visual feast and, like all of Noe’s works, absolutely not for the faint of heart.

If you are interested in continuing to read about psychedelic cinema of the modern era, I would like to point you in the direction of Church’s excellent academic essay from Senses of Cinema about ‘Psychedelic film and spectatorship’.

13/07/2020/by John Robertson

Preparation, Psychedelics

Clearing: A Key To Psychedelic Preparation

I first got introduced to the concept of clearing as a psychedelic preparation practice from DMT researcher Rick Strassman’s chapter Preparation For The Journey from the psychedelic compilation book, The Divine Spark. He outlined some basic and practical ways of clearing.

Then a couple of years ago, I saw this concept evolved when I went on on an experience Retreat with the UK psychedelic Society. As part of their preparation guidelines they included clearing and broadened the the idea to include emotional clearing; clearing space in the heart. This included, for example, having difficult conversations that you’ve been putting off, or if this was not possible, writing a letter to that person expressing your feelings (even if if you aren’t going to send it).

Clearing could also be known as creating space, tidying up loose ends, or getting around to doing those things that you have been meaning to do but have been putting off. It could also be known as closing open loops or clearing your mind.

Clearing practices can help to bring about a greater sense of peace by putting to bed nagging thoughts that may be at the back of one’s mind. Those oft subconscious unresolved things can take up space.

Clearing is so important because space is where new things can emerge. If we are hoping for an insight or a new idea to emerge in a psychedelic experience it’s best that we try to clear the way for them to grow and sprout. Nothing new can grow in a garden which is already full.

Clearing can be done on many levels, both big and small. A lot of it can be very mundane. Here are some examples:

selling or donating clothes/things you no longer use
household jobs you’ve been putting off
paying overdue bills
filing
cleaning the apartment

Digital Clearing

Computers and tech are such a big part of our lives these days and I think it’s very useful to also do digital clearing. Digital clearing may seem less obvious because you can close your laptop and lose sight of your mess, where as if you are in a dirty room, it’s hard to ignore. However, a cluttered digital life can take up a lot more mental space than we might imagine.

Some examples of digital clearing practices:

cleaning up your computer; sorting download and document folders
responding to any unanswered emails or messages across all messaging platforms
inbox zero
sending any other emails you’ve been meaning to get around to

Emotional Clearing

If we want to experience some kind of deep rebirth or renewal from a psychedelic experience then we need to prepare to let go of old things and to say goodbye to things from our past. In this way a thorough clearing practice can be seen as preparing for death. Opening and clearing the heart can be a difficult, but ultimately, powerful preparation. Some examples:

Calling loved ones and touching base with them
Expressing a feeling to a friend or partner that you’ve been holding back
Having that difficult conversation with a flatmate or co worker
Reaching out to someone you wronged and apologising to them
Saying things that shouldn’t be left unsaid

If your time is going to be up, what needs to be cleared up before you can pass on in peace?

12/07/2020/by John Robertson

Psychedelics, Tripsitting

Session Agreements

The psychedelic experience is an inherently wild entity and it is useful in to have a strong and steady container to contain such a thing. Having certain strict confines for a session can help to promote feelings of safety and security. This in turn will help a journeyer to relax more deeply and navigate their journey more effectively.

Part of a container can be the structure, and part of this can be agreements between journeyers and guides. Agreements may differ depending on the intention of the session and the people involved. For example, if you are doing a group journey with friends, agreements will probably be more relaxed than those of a 1-1 session with a hired guide.

Leo Zeff’s Agreements

Leo Zeff was a pioneer of psychedelic therapy and the subject of the book The Secret Chief Revealed. In this book, he shares five agreements that he had with all of his patients:

1. They will not leave the house where we’re having the trip at any time during the trip without prior clearance from me.

2. They agree that there will be no physical harm or violence to themselves or to me or to anything else in the house.

3. Reiteration of the security requirement. They agree they will not reveal to anybody else where and with whom they had this trip without prior clearance from me, ever.

4. I ask them to agree—now if this is a woman or somebody gay—I ask them to agree that there will be no sex taking place between us. I’ll explain the background for these agreements in a minute.

5. The last one I ask them to agree is that at any time during the trip if anything is going on and I tell them to stop it, stop doing it, and I make clear, “This is under structure; it’s not just a recommendation or suggestion,” they agree that they will stop it. Or if I tell them to do something and I make clear it’s under structure they agree that they will do it.”

You might also have other agreements or rules in place to contain the experience, such as the journeyer turning their phone off and handing it to you for safekeeping until the day after.

You might also ritualise them somehow, by shaking hands, or having everyone say ‘I agree’. It can be good to say them out loud and have an express verbal agreement before the start of the session, or in certain circumstances it may be appropriate to have certain agreements written down on a piece of paper and signed.

If you are working as a guide, it is good practice to have agreements in place so that your journeyer can rest assured that certain boundaries will not be crossed, helping to create an emotionally safe space for the session.

The Secret Chief Revealed is available as a PDF on the MAPS website here. Tam Integration also wrote a piece about Zeff’s agreements you can find here.

11/07/2020/by John Robertson

Psychedelics, Tripsitting

How to Tripsit Friends

Tripsitting friends can be complicated. When you have a specialist tripsitter or psychedelic guide that you pay for, much like with a therapist, the relationship is clear. There will probably be clear agreements in place about how your relationship is and how your interaction will be.

However, having a friend to tripsit can have the upside of being easier to organise, it already being someone that you trust, and also being a cheaper option. Personally I think it can be a good option, but it can be murky. The relationship already has personal history, and you should proceed with caution if you and a friend are going to go this way.

Before a couple of years ago most of my own therapeutic style psychedelic sessions were either solo or with a professional. Since then I have tripsit dozens of times for friends and have also had friends sit for me. This experience has taught me about what can be a complex dynamic of sessions with friends.

Here are three guidelines I’ve found helpful to keep in mind when sitting for a friend:

1. Treat it as if its your own trip

Don’t underestimate your responsibility as a tripsitter, even if its ‘just’ a friend. Something I always remind myself before sitting anyone is that I need to be prepared to hold them crying in my arms that day. You should be ready for that.

So treat the session with the respect that you would as if it was your own session. Make sure to arrive well rested. I really emphasise this point. If you are tired, it will hinder your ability to be really present and receptive to your friend. Being even a little tired can make us cranky and a worse version of ourselves. Needless to say we should be aiming to be at our very best, not for us, but for them.

Be sure to have cleared your schedule. I’d also recommend putting your phone on airplane mode for the duration of the session.

I see the tripsitter’s role as going on the journey with the journeyer, even if they are not taking any psychedelic substance. We are are still going with them, alongside them. If we follow the analogy of the guide being ground control in the airport tower, would you want your ground control to be distracted or answering a text message whilst you fly high? Doing appropriate clearing beforehand will allow you to be present.

Trip-sitting itself can be psychedelic and this should be borne in mind.

2. Be the most allowing version of yourself as the friend

That might sound strange. Let me explain. Relationships with friends can hugely diverse in terms of the ways we treat each other and the roles we play. The relationship can change hugely depending on the mood and the day. Sometimes we might tease and make fun of each other, others peaceful and chill. We might also enjoy having heated discussions and debates, each trying to prove our point.

When it comes to sitting, I recommend treating your friend as if they’d just received some awful news, had a really tough day, or are going through a really tough time.

Be openhearted and listen to them.

“There are three things you can do to heal someone. The first is to listen, the second is to listen, and the third is to listen.”

Listen to them. Really be a good listener. Hear what they have to say. Don’t start debates or discussions. Allow them space to speak, and when they don’t speak, don’t try to fill the space, allow it. Space is often where the magic happens, let it be.

If they say something which triggers you or you find yourself wanting to respond to ‘correct’ them. Just WAIT.

Some Do Nots:

Don’t challenge what they are saying or disagree with them
Don’t tell them they are wrong or correct them
Don’t try to convince them of your philosophy, or espouse yours to them

If you don’t understand their viewpoint, be patient, and take a moment to try and understand before any response. Approach with a genuine curiosity. Act as if they know something that you don’t. Use questions to help yourself reach their viewpoint, rather than using questions to get them to reach yours.

What they need will come from within them, not from you telling them conclusions that you’ve already come to.

Being open, gentle and loving doesn’t mean being serious or inauthentically lovey dovey. It means being patient and sensitive to the depths and dimensions of them. You can still smile and be light.

I would recommend these guidelines regardless of how they are behaving and how fine they might seem. Even if they are joking or smiling, that doesn’t mean they aren’t still in a vulnerable and sensitive state. Some people joke around to hide their pain. Words or gestures, even a subtle tone of voice or body language, can have an big impact and be received like thrown weapons. Be mindful and sensitive.

If they are full of energy and joy and flying high, you don’t need to bring them back to earth. They will come back down on their own time.

3. Don’t skip to the end

Sitting requires a lot of patience and after sitting quietly for hours, it can be tempting to hurry back to your more usual way of relating as friends. This might include teasing, challenging etc. However, in the hours and days following a session there can still be subtle shifts ongoing. We can still very opened up, vulnerable and open to change. As research has shown, there is an increased neuroplasticity during the two weeks following an experience and this is a crucial phase of the integration process.

So try to follow 2. and continue being the most allowing version of yourself as a friend even after the effects of the drug have worn off. Doing that for a whole two weeks might seem a lot, so maybe try at least for the rest of the day and the day after.

The best thing you can do as a tripsitter, and as a friend, is to be accepting of whatever arises

I have some more concrete practices to follow for friends organising to tripsit for each other but am out of writing time for today. If you’d like to see them, share this post and if I see some interest I’ll cover them in another one soon. Good day!

10/07/2020/by John Robertson

Psychedelics

How To Trip When You Have Flatmates

Finding a place can be a big part of preparing for a psychedelic experience. If you live with flatmates and don’t have your own private apartment or house, it can be the biggest obstacle to making it happen.

If you have flatmates that you don’t feel comfortable sharing your interest in psychedelics with and you’d rather not talk to them about your plans to trip at home, then this post is for you.

This post covers:

The minimum prep
Questions to consider before doing a journey at home
Using a cover story for a covert trip, with step by step instructions
The Midnight Trip
Bonus Tips

How to trip at home when you have flatmates

Note: I do NOT advise to do a covert trip for your very first psychedelic experience.

If you already have quite some experience, it could be easier than expected. The first time I went for it, after some initial come up anxiety, I was surprised at how comfortable I was and the only real hurdles were the times I had to leave my room. That is why…

Preparation Is Key

Living in a shared space can be complicated. The prospect of interacting with sober flatmates while tripping is not an attractive prospect and could cause complications. The only time this can happen is when you have to leave your room, i.e. to use the bathroom, the kitchen, or get things from else where in the house.

Set yourself up to be able to stay in your room for the duration of the session.

On the most basic level, this means having the following ready:

Enough food and water
Enough warm clothes
A vomit/piss bucket

Yes the piss bucket might seem a step too far, but when you are 4 grams deep and suddenly realise you desperately need a pee, only to head to the bathroom to find that your flatmate is taking a nice long bath, you will be glad you had this ready. I am happy to say that I’ve never had to use it. However, it has given me peace of mind knowing that I’m covered and could stay in my room if I really needed to.

Tip: When you need to leave your room, move calmly and quickly. If you see a flatmate, keep moving, not stopping for small talk.

Some questions to consider before doing a journey at home

Do flatmates respect your private space?
Do they knock before opening the door?
Do they leave you alone if you don’t answer the knock?
What is the interaction normally like in the corridors? Is it normal to walk past each other without saying anything?

Cover Story

Depending on the relationship you have with your flatmates, a cover story might be a good option.

Say you are doing an at home meditation retreat

Here are the steps to doing this:

1. Become a meditator

It is a good habit anyway and will serve you well in your psychedelic practice.

2. Talk to your flatmates about meditation

and your experience of it. Ask them if they’ve tried it. Invite them to practice with you. Who knows, you might even get a meditation buddy, this will support your practice.

3. Do a ½ day meditation retreat

This is an optional step and works well as a dry run. You can also just skip it but the steps here will still be used.

i) Tell your flatmates your plan to do an at home retreat / long practice. Tell them that for that day, ideally you’d have as much peace as possible and not be disturbed.
ii) Ask them when would be the best time for you to do it. Find out when they will be at work, out for a whole day, or even better, away for a few days.
iii) If there isn’t a time you can get the place to yourself, let them them know that you will be in silence, and therefore, if you see them whilst visiting the toilet, you wont speak with them. You’re not ignoring them, its just the guidelines of the retreat.
iv) Find a date and put it in your calendar.
v) Prepare to be offline for the day, let important people know you will be unavailable. Take care of all emails in advance. Standard clearing practices.
vi) Do your at home meditation retreat.
vii) See how it goes, tell your flatmates about your experience.

There is a ½ day at home retreat as the final part of Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach’s Power Of Awareness Course, which I can absolutely recommend.

4. Tell your flatmates that you’re going to do (another) at home retreat.

Follow steps i to v as above.

5. Trip!

Safe travels!

Bonus Tips:

I recommend a low – medium dose as I would recommend having a tripsitter for a high dose. If you are thinking that you want to do high dose anyway, consider that you might have a big emotional release, for example through laughter or crying, which could be quite noisy and problematic.
Use headphones for music if your flatmates will be home. Telling them you’re doing a meditation retreat and then pumping music won’t do. Unless you tell them its an extended sound meditation, I guess. Also, you might wake them up if you go for…

* The Midnight Trip *

Another option is the midnight trip, which sidesteps possible encounters with flatmates by tripping when everyone else is asleep. It is also pretty straightforward and means that you don’t have to do many of the steps listed above.

If you are flexible with work and sleep hours this could be a good option and is one I have used with success.

That’s all for today. Safe practice, be well!

09/07/2020/by John Robertson