We're Back This Week for Sci-Friday!
My Top 5 Sci-Fi films that involve an altered state of consciousness
Last week my Sci-Friday participation was relegated to a short note but this week I have returned with a full list of recommendations for a few different pieces of Sci-Fi that involve an altered state of consciousness.
Before we enter the world of Sci-Friday we must take a moment to acknowledge and thank a few of the other fantastic authors who have participated in the weekly event we call Sci-Friday. Here they are,
Now let’s get to My Top 5 Pieces of Sci-Fi that involve an altered state of consciousness!
Dreamscape (1984)
We tell our children not to worry, it was only a dream… or was it?
When Alex Gardner goes to sleep at night he can invade your dreams and can bend them to his every will. So of course the government recruits him to do their bidding while the world is asleep.
As Alex peels back the layers of the onion that is the dream world he uncovers a conspiracy that involves The President of The United States and an agent of the deep state named Bob Blair.
Alex becomes further entrenched in the dream world and soon discovers there are sinister plans to use dream manipulation for nefarious purposes, including assassinations and other evil deeds.
Flatliners (1990)
There is a world that lies between life and death, some cultures believe that this is the same world that lies between wakefulness and sleep, dreaming or not, it is definitely an altered state of consciousness
This film may not take place in the traditional dream world of natural sleep but as far as most of us know, the afterlife and the world of our dreams may not be all that different.
Medical students trying to find out what happens after we die induce a near-death experience, or so they think. They take turns temporarily stopping each other’s hearts so they can delve into the afterlife, challenging each other to stay in longer and longer. In doing so they encounter eerie visions from their pasts and face the consequences of their actions.
The Cell (2000)
Catherine Deane is hired to conduct an experimental virtual reality treatment for coma patients by using a "Neurological Cartography and Synaptic Transfer System" that allows her to enter a comatose mind and attempt to coax them into consciousness.
When a serial killer named Carl Stargher falls into a coma, the FBI seeks Catherine's help to enter his mind and find information that could lead to the location of his latest victim, who is still alive and running out of time.
As Catherine dives deep into Stargher's disturbed and nightmarish mental landscape, she must navigate through surreal and grotesque imagery, reflecting the killer's twisted psyche, will she make it out alive?
The Butterfly Effect (2004)
The story revolves around Evan Treborn, a man with the ability to travel back in time by reading his old journals. As Evan revisits pivotal moments in his life, he attempts to make changes to prevent traumatic events from occurring.
With each timeline alteration, Evan discovers that even seemingly minor adjustments can have profound and unforeseen consequences in the present. The title refers to the chaos theory concept that the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil could set off a chain of events leading to a tornado in Texas.
This film is the epitome of unintended consequences. The main character’s attempts to fix his past create a series of increasingly horrible and incendiary alternate realities, none of which reflect his desired outcome. Do not alter the timeline!
Altered States (1980)
The story follows Dr. Edward Jessup, a Harvard professor who becomes obsessed with exploring altered states of consciousness through sensory deprivation and psychedelic substances, sounds like a good time to me.
As Jessup gets deeper into his experiments, he begins to experience profound and disturbing physical and psychological transformations. In this film, we can take a look at themes of isolation, the nature of human consciousness, and the potential dangers of pushing the boundaries of scientific and metaphysical exploration. Don’t go too far or you may never come back.
The film was adapted from Paddy Chayefsky's 1978 novel and is his final screenplay. The novel and the film are based in part on John C. Lilly's sensory deprivation research conducted in isolation tanks, under the influence of psychoactive drugs like mescaline, ketamine, and LSD.
I like this take on our "assignment." While not strictly sci-fi, I have really enjoyed "altered state" movies. I loved how the showed Hunter S Thomson's trips in the Johnny Depp version of his life's story (Bill Murray did one too about a decade prior). The cleverness in which they showed those altered states playing out was amazing.