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| One of the few shots where he isn't exhaling tobacco smoke. |
Sex, Drugs & Magick: Drug of Choice: The Story of Bill
I'd say this is the most straight forward of the Interludes in Sex, Drugs & Magick. It is unambiguous and tightly composed, even ending with something of a punchline. While this might be trite, I'm a huge fan of the show Mad Men and this seems like it could have been the B plot in a Wilson-penned episode of that show. (Do you think Wilson would have enjoyed Mad Men?) It has the most essential element for the show: old fashioned Mad Ave executive clashing with a changing world during the 1960s. There's enough mixed drinks, smoking, latent homosexuality, women's liberation, soullessness and longing to be free that all we need are a few melancholy shots of Don Draper as he tries to figure out something about himself that it'd be ready to film. Yet, I'd also say that this story is a lot less subtle than the show was at times.
From the very beginning, we all know where this is going...although Wilson occasionally disparaged armchair psychology, the Freudian foreshadowing has a sense of silly inevitability to it. Unlike the other stories, there isn't much ambiguity about the ending and Bill seems to take a net-positive change from his experimentation with cannabis. Perhaps contemporary readers would have shuddered at the idea of marijuana bringing out their buried homosexuality, but in the 21st Century, I'd imagine most of us would earnestly say "good for him." (Except of course for those fervent, forked-tongued members of the American Taliban currently pushing Evangelical and Papist "morality" down our collective throats.) Wilson is also more conscious of his portrayal of Bill than his other characters, taking time to point out to the reader that while he relates the unpleasant parts of Bill's personality, the man had some good qualities. It is striking that Bill earns this circumspection in a way Jane, Leonard, Tom or Jerri did not; perhaps Wilson did not share my viewpoint that those characters seemed more distressed and unbalanced than Bill and therefore didn't require his defense.
Bill, for all that Wilson says about his wit and help writing ad copy, seems like a very unpleasant person at the beginning of the Interlude. Would a contemporary reader have viewed his homosexuality as a just comeuppance for his earlier misogyny? I'm not sure. Wilson goes on to say that "nobody was particularly likeable as the 1960s ground toward their miserable end;" certainly, most of the characters in Mad Men carry their foibles on throughout the seasons of the show and we get to watch their lives continuously fall apart and be picked back up over the course of the show's decade, so this sticks with the script. Are people generally less likeable in times of societal shifts? Pretty much every writer I've encountered who either imagines or reminisces upon the late-Sixties considers it with an air of wistfulness that often overlaps with being haunted by memories. I believe the late-Sixties might really have been as grim as Wilson says, as it seems to be that it caused some sort of cultural trauma that echoes until this day. But that's all just this barely-child-of-the-twentieth-century's musings on things that transpired long before I was born.
For all that the above might interest me, the most important part of the Interlude is Wilson's very clear demonstration of how to talk to someone who is paranoid because of cannabis. I have used his method of forced calm, jocularity and distraction many times before; and, for all that some will warn of the dangers of mixing marijuana and alcohol (I don't recommend doing it in large amounts! Alcohol impairs judgement enough on its own.) I have found that a snifter of something can put a stopper on the worst of green delusions with no ill-effect. I have also found that being around people who "zone out" to a large degree while smoking marijuana, or who smoke a large enough amount to be "zoned out" no matter their exposure, is not copacetic with a pleasant experience for new hands or anyone who slips into paranoia. I fall on the side that sees marijuana as an excellent vehicle for conversation and exploration of the minds' delightfully ridiculous tangents and nothing harshes my buzz like being trapped in a dirty room watching someone play video games. (Adulthood has happily robbed me of those dismal collegiate smoke sessions.)
Wilson's capability and awareness is contrasted by the gawking ridiculousness of Danny and his party guests. After reading this the first time I was determined not to be caught unawares in the types of situations that might arise while indulging. I used to keep a bottle of niacinamide in the house until I found that its "face-warming" or hot flash side effects can cause a lot more distress, despite whatever benefits the vitamin might have. While introducing more drugs, chemicals or supplements into the mix might be a shot in the dark, talking and remaining upbeat and positively "normal" hasn't failed me on any occasion so far.
Stray Thoughts
- After his line about nobody being particularly likeable as the Sixties ground down Wilson goes on to say: "The flower children had grown thorns; the Weathermen contingent of the old SDS was planting bombs hither and yon; movies like Joe or Easy Rider seemed to underscore the mood of genocide or civil war that was in the air just as the joyous and hilarious Skidoo and I Love You, Alice B. Toklas had echoed the open-ended optimism of the early 1960s..." While these cultural hallmarks aren't touched upon in the series, I think this augments my supposition that Mad Men echoes this tale quite nicely.
- The same paragraph ends with the line: "As I said, Joe and Easy Rider had already warned us that Middle America was armed and dangerous." This line is all the more chilling today as we watch our rights forcibly stripped while the enemy gleefully hints at which others they plan to take away. These foes of freedom have been cemented in power by an indifferent Middle America disgusted with the admitted excesses of identity politics and new movements. They are still armed and dangerous and will watch most of us fall over with the same cold indifference of the camera recording Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper's motorcycle death spills.
- Wilson at one points compares Bill to Claggert (presumably Danny is Billy Budd) which is a lovely reference to Bill's initially hostile homosexuality since Melville's short novel positively scintillates with gay undertones.
- Wilson also says that listening to Danny and Bill talk was like listening to Rousseau arguing with de Sade. While posterity cannot hear Rousseau's opinions of de Sade, I'm happy to let you know you don't need a proxy for de Sade's response. Rousseau's brand of Enlightenment philosophy was a favorite target of de Sade's, and it is easy enough to find his contempt for Rousseau's ideas about innate nobility and the positive passivity of females in his works.
- I watched Joe for the first time this week and it is a really good, hilarious and excruciating film. I would have used Exuma's "You Don't Know What's Going On" for this week's song but I didn't care to evoke the scene or film...the movie is dark. I've been dark enough this week considering my Prometheus Rising post on Rawillumination. It is worth watching, perhaps essential, and considering all the angles. Joe says a lot about our times. To an eerie extent. I hope not a damning extent.
In keeping with Wilson's ruminations about hashish and sex in the previous chapter, in Joe, right before the most tragical denouement the audience is treated to this exchange:
"Never screwed on grass before, huh?"
"That was...that was..."
"Outrageous, right?"
"Nothing harshes my buzz like being trapped in a dirty room watching someone play video games. (Adulthood has happily robbed me of those dismal collegiate smoke sessions.)"
ReplyDeleteIn the 1970s, the experience was to smoke pot while listening to music on the stereo. Perhaps this speaks to a real shift in the culture?
I haven't looked at Mad Men, but from what I've seen, it seems a perfect fit for Bill's story. If those men really are mad, as in angry, they should consider smoking or eating more weed. Both the story and the show appear very dated. The attitudes toward smoking marijuana seem so different such that any anxiety caused by propaganda and fear back in the '60s wouldn't factor in so much to a first time user these days. The set today appears more positive and conducive to having a good experience.
ReplyDeleteThis story presents an instructive account for how to guide someone having a bad time with any psychoactive substance or perhaps freaking out in general. The Guide takes advantage of the highly suggestible state of the ... let's call Bill a voyager, to direct their thoughts and attention in a better direction.
Leary's set, setting, and dosage protocol applies to any psychedelic including marijuana. The potency of commonly available THC products has increased exponentially since the '60s making caution and consideration of dosage more critical. Hatha yoga and yogic meditation can produce a very similar high as weed, but takes longer, therefore safer, with virtually no chance of overdosing like one can with weed. Yoga exercises attention. Focusing attention becomes easier when the attention gets stronger through exercise. Strengthened attention becomes useful for the weed smoker who attempts to do something with the expanded mind and heart the intoxication produces.
“I longed to live in a free country where Danny could have summoned professional help without risking prison.” (p.190-1)
ReplyDeleteThis libertarian argument runs throughout the entire book, so we discussed it already. But I thought that was another of the important aspects of this Interlude, and the reason why RAW feels compelled to teach us some DIY drugs safer-use 101. Very sad that 50 years later this would still be just as necessary.
“When the usual armors against anxiety collapse, the accumulated repressed terrors of decades can come out” (p.192)
Without them being named, one can perceive here the influence of the psychoanalytical theories of Wilhelm Reich and Stan Grof.
Apuleius, you wrote: “perhaps Wilson did not share my viewpoint that those characters seemed more distressed and unbalanced than Bill and therefore didn't require his defense.” Maybe Bob Wilson thought that, for all their issues, Jane, Leonard etc were at least a product of their time, while Bill appears backward culturally and antagonistic to the counter-culture, hence his stronger defense from RAW.
This actually could be my biggest personal takeaway from this Interlude, RAW’s tolerance of widely different reality tunnels. He does more than tolerate, he hangs out with Bill. This almost anthropological openness tends to make these interludes interesting, without appearing coldly detached from their subjects (well, perhaps a bit in the case of Tom and Jerri).
I also went on to watch Joe, which I had never heard of. A punch in the face of a film. Essential viewing indeed000 for anyone interested in the dying end of the sixties, the so-called ‘New Hollywood’ cinema, or as an extension of this Interlude. The difference in the movie between conservative booze-related culture and the hippies and freaks is striking, even though the younger generation does not come out as being so much better on many regards.
I want to quote IMDB reviewer dougdoepke ( https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3031417/?ref_=tt_urv ): “In passing-- note in the movie how the feminist movement has yet to have impact. Thus uppity women are not included in Joe's long list of cultural evildoers. Still, it's entertaining to wonder how Joe and especially his dutiful wife would react to housewives desiring more options.”
That makes it a striking difference with our Bill and his diatribes against “pigs”. And while Bill ends up going for homosexuality, the two male leads in Joe (the other one also being named Bill, perhaps an inspiration for Interlude Bill?) towards the end find themselves thrown into the free love ethos in a way that I found both hilarious and really smart, the cultural gap being played out brilliantly. See for instance the discussions on one-night stands in the film and in the Interlude paralleling each other.
Finally, I wonder if the mention of the film Skidoo could also be a disguised wink at a hidden 23, given the expression 23 skidoo. Strangely enough, an old slang French expression with a similar meaning uses the number 22, “22 v’là les flics” (or “22, the cops are coming”). Even more strangely, according to Wikipedia there appears to be equivalents in Italian (‘sedici’, or sixteen), and German (‘achtzehn’, or eighteen).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppbi_hzEH4I
@Tom- I would rather listen to records. I'm a snob towards video games and would much rather listen to music. That said, I don't like sitting in silence all that much sober, let alone high. I'm a conversationalist. (Or a jabbering moron.)
ReplyDelete@Oz- I think you're right it isn't as likely to happen anymore, but I've witnessed my fair share of cannabis-inspired freak outs. Since you brought up dosage, it does occur to me that most of those freak outs happened while I was living in Colorado where stronger stuff like dabs and shatter were free-flowing.
I find pranayama to have an interesting duel function when combined with marijuana. I can use it to get "higher" or deeper into the high or I can use it to calm myself and alleviate any unpleasant tangents. I do love pranayam.
@Spookah- Great notes! You're right that Wilson was a very tolerant person, and I try to imitate in my "real life" dealings with others. Because of the small audience, I feel freer to let my inner curmudgeon write for me here. The past few years have been very instructive in teaching me how to connect with people who have radically different views.
I'm glad you also felt the impact of Joe, I didn't really move for a few minutes after the ending. It is a pretty nihilistic film and you're absolutely right that no one comes out looking great. The humor of the free love escapade is a really great counterpoint to the horror of the end.
I find it interesting that both Crowley and Ezra Pound had violinist mistresses who had a big impact on their lives. I met Pound's mistress Olga Rudge at the Pound Centennial in 1985 as well as her daughter with Pound, Mary.
ReplyDeleteDo you agree, Eric, that Leila Waddell was Crowley's most important Scarlet Woman? That is awesome you got to meet Olga Rudge and his daughter. I named my daughter after Joyce's.
ReplyDelete