Cosmic CameraRealms of the Psychedelic Unconscious in Cinema

Demonstrates how film can function as a psychedelic medium that conceives the unconscious beyond the individual psyche as collective and cosmic

• Brings together perspectives from film studies, philosophy and research in psychedelics
• Gives an elaborate overview of Stanislav Grof’s levels of the unconscious based on the experiences from fifty years of research on therapeutic use of LSD and holotropic breathwork
• Brings these observations from psychedelic research in dialogue with critical perspectives from gender, race and indigenous perspective

This book, inspired by research of the psychedelic revival, explores the different realms of the human unconscious in film. Drawing on Stanislav Grof’s influential ideas about the transformative potential of non-ordinary states of consciousness, Cosmic Camera redefines the unconscious by integrating contemporary viewpoints, including those from queer- and Black psychedelic experiences as well as Indigenous traditions. The primary argument is that cinema can unveil unconscious realms in psychedelic manners, particularly within genres that transcend ordinary perception, such as experimental, horror and science fiction. Ultimately, our media culture itself belongs to the extensive domains of the collective unconscious, where we can have unusual experiences, comparable to good and bad trips, that provoke deep inquiries and insights about what it means to be human in a transforming world in crisis.