''Hallucination Generation'' is a 1967 film by
Edward Mann. Purportedly intended as a warning against the dangers of pill-popping Sixties hedonism along the lines of 1936's ''
Reefer Madness
''Reefer Madness'' (originally made as ''Tell Your Children'' and sometimes titled ''The Burning Question'', ''Dope Addict'', ''Doped Youth'', and ''Love Madness'') is a 1936 American propaganda film about drugs, revolving around the melodramat ...
'', the film's primary purpose appears to have been titillation, thus landing it in the genre of
exploitation cinema
An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or Exploitation fiction, lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical ...
.
The film is a drama set in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
where a small group of American young adults is living. The leader of the group is a
drug dealer
A drug is any chemical substance
A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by ...
. The others are there living carefree lives as
beatnik
Beatniks were members of a social movement in the 1950s that subscribed to an anti-materialistic lifestyle.
History
In 1948, Jack Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation", generalizing from his social circle to characterize the undergr ...
s. The leader has more nefarious aims in mind, and uses drugs to lure the others into lives of crime. Most of the film is in black and white, but there is a psychedelic sequence depicting the purported effects of the group using
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...
which was filmed in color.
It is often cited as an example of
counterculture
A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...
cinema.
George Montgomery is the psychedelic advisor to a circle of young expatriates living on the Isle of Ibiza. Visitor Danny Stone, who avoids taking part in the fun until his mother cuts off his allowance, seeks help in a monastery after an LSD-induced crime spree results in the murder of a Barcelona antiques dealer. The real world is black-and-white, the LSD trips are in color. Featuring
Renate Kasché
Renate Kasché (also credited as Renate Cash) is a German actress known for such films as '' A Black Veil for Lisa'', ''Josefine Mutzenbacher'', ''Lady Frankenstein
''Lady Frankenstein'' is a 1971 Italian horror film directed by Mel Welles a ...
,
Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the Fourth Doctor, fourth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Wh ...
, Marianne Kanter, and
Steve Rowland. Filmed in Spain.
In popular culture
The film inspired a 1989 song, "Hallucination Generation" by the
new beat
New beat is a Belgian electronic dance music genre that fuses elements of new wave, hi-NRG,Simon Reynolds: ''Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture.'' Routledge 1999, , p. 124. EBM and hip hop (e.g. scratching).Timo ...
band
The Gruesome Twosome.
See also
*
Hippie exploitation films
Hippie exploitation films are late 1960s-early-to-late 1970s exploitation films about the hippie counterculture with situations associated with the movement such as marijuana and LSD use, sex and wild psychedelic parties.
Overview
From almost th ...
References
Further reading
* Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film, Michael Weldon, Ballantine 1983, pp. 302
External links
*
*
1967 films
American documentary films
1960s exploitation films
Films about hallucinogens
Lysergic acid diethylamide
1960s educational films
Psychedelic films
1960s English-language films
1960s American films
American educational films
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