Return conversation with James Ellis of Hermitix on Hollywood malevolence, mapping Hell, the mystery of affect, conceptualization vs sensation, and the essentiality of experience.

Part One: The Hollywood Implant (0 – 30 mins)

Clashing opinions over 16 Maps of Hell, writing and theory of mind, behind the scenes malevolence, demonic Hollywood, a possibly morbid fascination, what’s the purpose of the book, rewriting the book, finding the thesis, too many case studies, the Hollywood implant, turning Roman Polanski into the protagonist, torture the women, making the world coherent, moving into and past the original wound, from David Byrne to Ed Gein, seeking the exit, the bleaker-than-thou outlook, the need to turn away.

Part Two: Integrating Hell (30 mins – 1 hr 4 mins)

The finitude of Hell, Schopenhauer on the positivity of misery, the architecture of Hell, the danger of loving thy neighbor, Ernst Junger, reveling in evil, modernity as a void, post-apocalyptic media, a plane of negativity, C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters, breaking in method in criminology, the toybox killers, false optimism vs morbid pessimism, the third path, addiction and advertising as control mechanisms, what mapping hell means, traumatic imprints, an infinite avoidance strategy, integrating Hell, a Kantian view, the hell of affect.

Part Three: Respect Your Elders! (1 hr 4 mins – end)

Experiencing hell, body terror, do babies read Dostoyevsky? mind awareness & body awareness, the Hollywood parasite, the pros and cons of watching movies, temptations of the world, cultural colonization, hyper-masculine role models, crossing the abyss, respecting elders, occultism, learning from mistakes, the journey of zero distance, the illusion of a path, reconciling.

Hermitix site.

Songs: “Pirates” by Entertainment for the Braindead; "All I Want from You Is Love," by Let's Go Sailing; "A Bomb" by The Dead Mantra; “Changes” by Short Hand.