Musician and musicologist Dr. Hans Utter joins Brett to discuss Oliver Stone’s 1991 musical biopic The Doors, a “trip movie” that is the first full-on showcase of Stone’s signature frenetic-psychedelic style which helped define the media zeitgeist of the 1990s. During the production, we reveal, Stone and his companions conducted countless New Age rituals, peyote ceremonies, and magical workings, and they expressly designed the film itself to function as a neo-shamanic ritual, imbuing its audience with his “Nietzschean” brand of countercultural spirituality via the myth of Jim Morrison. Much of our analysis focuses on Stone’s surprisingly open embrace of “the dark side of the 60s,” including the infernal symbols and ceremonies of witchcraft and Satanism. We compare Stone’s portrayal of Morrison, as the embodiment of Dionysus, with the prefabricated archetype of the rock star as the incarnation of Lucifer/Satan. The conversation also revisits Dave McGowan’s Laurel Canyon thesis regarding the military and intelligence backgrounds of the Laurel Canyon scene that created the counterculture, since Stone directly references Morrison’s elite military background in the film, but in a way that misdirects the audience from “culture conspiracy.” Brett and Hans touch on the 27 Club, the cult of the artist, and many other related topics besides.
A lengthy addendum from Thomas speaks to subjects including Morrison and Stone's disturbing shared Oedipus complex, how The Doors film exemplifies Timothy Leary's idea of reprogramming the brain via psychedelic chaos, and how the movie represents a sinister turning point in Stone's filmography, marked by the start of the enigmatic Richard Rutowski's influence upon Stone.

CORRECTIONS: The reference to Meg Tilly is meant to be to Jennifer Tilly. The reference to Warhol's "Gallery" is meant to be to his Factory

Hans's podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/1mlCW7CCQ2rfSavOImbkiA?si=9b5932d833e24398
https://www.patreon.com/DrHansUtter
https://x.com/Resonantstate
https://hansutter.com/

If you enjoy Psyop Cinema, check out the research anthology series that we edit, Cultural Engineering Studies. Volume #3 is out now and features Hans's groundbreaking essay on the role of FM radio in the counterculture psyop. Use code psyopcinema for a 25% discount on any order of CES - https://decoding-culture.com/print-copies/ 

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