- The Doors of Perception (Wikipedia)
The Doors of Perception is an autobiographical book written by Aldous Huxley. Published in 1954, it elaborates on his psychedelic experience under the influence of mescaline in May 1953. Huxley recalls the insights he experienced, ranging from the “purely aesthetic” to “sacramental vision”, and reflects on their philosophical and psychological implications. In 1956, he published Heaven and Hell, another essay which elaborates these reflections further. The two works have since often been published together as one book; the title of both comes from William Blake’s 1793 book The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.
- Brave New World (Wikipedia)
Brave New World is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hierarchy, the novel anticipates huge scientific advancements in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation and classical conditioning that are combined to make a dystopian society which is challenged by the story’s protagonist. Huxley followed this book with a reassessment in essay form, Brave New World Revisited (1958), and with his final novel, Island (1962), the utopian counterpart. This novel is often compared to George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949).
- Mind at Large (Wikipedia)
Mind at Large is a concept proposed by Aldous Huxley to help interpret psychedelic experience. He maintained that the human mind filters reality under normal circumstances and that psychedelic drugs remove the filter, exposing the user to a Mind at Large.
- Aldous Leonard Huxley (/ˈɔːldəs/ AWL-dəs; 26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including novels and non-fiction works, as well as essays, narratives, and poems.
- ‘but he just makes gangster films’ (YouTube)
Martin Scorsese isn’t your average director. With a career spanning over four decades, he’s created some of the most celebrated American films of all time. Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Casino; Scorsese has defined the modern gangster film. Yet, this is just one side of his filmography. However, today I’ll look beyond this, and try to identify a wider style that is present throughout his work. Stay tuned for an examination of Scorsese’s childhood roots, cinematic influences and his key collaborators, which all combine to create some of the best films ever put to screen.
