"The Game" and the Psychedelic Experience.....

[laughingwillow]

We recently watched The Game, with Michael Douglas and Sean Penn. I'd caught this flick once before and was intrigued by the parallels between potential psychological/spiritual effects of psychedelic experience and the premise of the movie. The second, recent viewing reinforced my initial take on the subject matter at hand. In fact, I'm now curious if the writer may have consciously explored that analogy.

The basic premise of the movie is that Sean Penn buys his older brother a game experience for his birthday. Unfortunately, MD's birthday conjures up images of his father's suicide on that same day way back when. Penn tells his brother that he recently played the game and it was a life-changing event for him. Michael Douglas is a busy and important man and has little interest, initially, in participating in The Game. That notion is reinforced after he agrees to play and then is forced to spend a day filling out paperwork and taking psychological and physical tests.

The Game begins, Michael Douglas' attention gets trapped and he is soon on the psychological ride of his life. Everyday details become important, nobody is who they seemed to be and everyone becomes a potential threat or holder of key information. Mind fuck ensues; betrayal and deceit. Fear ignites base instincts long dormant. The character is eventually broken down, both physically and mentally. In the end, unable to distinguish friend from foe, he is led to believe that he kills his brother on a roof top, before finally letting go and jumping to his death. However, when the dust settles and breakaway glass is swept up, Michael Douglas opens his eyes to realize that he has actually jumped into his birthday party......

(more to follow)

[laughingwillow]

I view the story above as an allegory of the psychedelic experience.

Michael Douglas is given the opportunity to ingest a sacrament. While he's told that it could be a life changing experience, MD initially shrugs off the implications and agrees to participate in "the game" mostly to humor his brother.

Even before consuming the sacrament, the group of pranksters responsible for the experience begin messing with his ego. As MD is a mover and shaker in the world of high finance, this crew soon has him waiting in lines, carrying another person's sack lunch, filling out forms taking stress tests. They could care less what his status is outside of their organization. And after all of that, he's notified that he didn't make the cut. See you later.....

Then the sacrament kicks in. Things get a little bizarre. MD is made aware of possibilities that he never knew existed. He starts to notice details and connections that he'd never saw before. He is soon engulfed in mystery that threatens to take a violent turn. MD is pushed to the edge and forced into a "fight or flight" mode. Running for his life turns out to be a messy proposition; wading through the garbage and filth accumulated over a life time. Confusion ensues.  Illusion is exposed. MD starts to get pissed. He wants to confront the man behind the curtain responsible for his current situation.

MD eventually confronts the pranksters. ANd he learns that fear and strength sometime ebb and flow during the psychedelic experience. Feelings of treachery resurface. MD is forced back into a fight or flight mode and this time he stands his ground and fights. When that approach proves to be disastrous, he reaches his ropes end and jumps to his apparent death.......

.... which in reality ends up be a birthday party in his honor with all of the prankster guests waiting for MD to make his dramatic arrival. Through the process, MD's psyche was dismantled, refigured and given a new lease on life. He'd confronted the demons of his past and gained a new perspective on what really mattered in his life.....

lw

[Satori]

I can see your point..
But wouldn't you also say, that this is sort the general recipe in any form of initiation right or right of passage. Normal state -> Reflections on life -> an action: ingestion of something, dancing, or other all in all -> out where one feels lost -> going back renewed...?
Not to make it seem banal. But I just don't think it necessarily only relates to use of psycedelics.

[laughingwillow]

Hey, Satori.

Thanks for replying in this thread.

While I agree that personal transformation occurs on many levels, some more mundane than others, I see the main character of this story being led through life shattering upheaval and growth on a scale and depth not ordinarily attained by an individual in our culture. At least not without some assistance.

This topic is an extension of some of my questions and observations concerning the theoretical benefits of group pressure and support on an individuals' personal journey. As hinted at in the other thread in question, I view psychedelic compounds as powerful tools for personal transformation. So powerful that I consider them to be sacred. And while the average human may be adept at identifying faults in others, we really have a difficult time stepping back and seeing our individual positions and actions from the objective perspective of a third party. Thus, my contention that plot of the film in question mirrors what I would consider to be psychedelic initiation by group therapy. The Game led to life shattering revelations and alluded to deep, personal transformation of the main character in the end. And it took a village of pranksters to help guide him over that rough terrain.  

Btw, I'd be interested in hearing about any initiations or activities you are familiar with that utilize elements outlined in the original story.  

lw

[Satori]

Yeah.. I agree that the movie is an interesting interpretation, or telling(?), of a lifechanging experience for sure. That can be used as a way to describe what can happen in a trip, or other form of rites that gives you a purified perspective on life, where you end up getting more down to the roots of what is important in your life as a human being.

I am not sure I understand your question.. But as an attempted answer I could maybe say: The african tribe that jumps off from high cliffs attached to vineplants (or.. lian.. i don't know the english term I think).. Or the klingon rite of passage, that Worf has to go through in one of the episodes. It consists of him passsing through a row of people all hitting him or inflicting immense pain on him with a weapon.. But it has been so long since I have been near my beloved Star Trek series ...
And there are many more like that.. I also know of one tribe that sends young men out on a small boat and have them beckon a shark to trie some form of forces with. Hmmm.

[itcomesfromtheearth]

i felt the movie was a metaphor for life in general, we play this "game" and we never truely know if we have won. 

[dendro]

i felt the movie was a metaphor for life in general, we play this "game" and we never truely know if we have won. 

maybe we only "win" when we stop playing the game. Maybe the game is zero sum, after all.

[lulugioni]

Sounds so sick!

[dendro]

Sounds so sick!

Welcome to the forum, lulu. Can you expand a little bit more on your comment?