‘The Sown and the Waste’ – or, the psychedelic writing of film history
Alexandra Schneider, Wanda Strauven, Casper Tybjerg
NECSUS 2013 DOI: 10.5117/necsus2013.2.tybj (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Visual arts |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Argues that film historians can benefit from applying J.H. Hexter's concept of 'psychedelic' language use in historical rhetoric. |
Abstract
The word ‘psychedelic’ was coined in the 1950s by psychiatrist Humphry Osmond to describe hallucinogenic drugs like mescaline and LSD – but this essay will not be about either the history of ‘head’ films or how to write film history on acid. What I want to do is to show what film historians can learn from J.H. Hexter’s writings on the rhetoric of history, including a look at what he meant when he wrote about how historians use language ‘psychedelically’.