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A Scanner Darkly
- Thread starter Magicman
- Start date
Elf Machine
Rising Star
At the moment before breakthrough everything looks like that don't you agree?. A much better movie from the same director is Waking Life.
I want to read VALIS..
Interesting how so many people tend to think Scanner Darkly is about LSD. It was about heroin. Dick attempted suicide while here in Vancouver to speak at a convention..he then commited himslef to a drug clinic here specializing in heroin addiction as he though he would be safe that way...I think he was there for like 2-3 months with all these heroin addicts before he left and went back to california to write Scanner Darkly..
He may have been somewhat influenced by psychedelics and used some of that in his writing..but he only ever took LSD 2 times..the second time he freaked out and never took it again, and the first time he reverted back to a past life as a greek warrior or something like that..his wife apparently recorded him speaking in ancient greek, a language of which he never spoke.. Dick took lots of amphetamines though..
I think most of his later work that made him look like a nutjob, like VALIS was all sort of spontaneous experiences he had while sober(or actaully up for days on end on amphetamines)...
Interesting how so many people tend to think Scanner Darkly is about LSD. It was about heroin. Dick attempted suicide while here in Vancouver to speak at a convention..he then commited himslef to a drug clinic here specializing in heroin addiction as he though he would be safe that way...I think he was there for like 2-3 months with all these heroin addicts before he left and went back to california to write Scanner Darkly..
He may have been somewhat influenced by psychedelics and used some of that in his writing..but he only ever took LSD 2 times..the second time he freaked out and never took it again, and the first time he reverted back to a past life as a greek warrior or something like that..his wife apparently recorded him speaking in ancient greek, a language of which he never spoke.. Dick took lots of amphetamines though..
I think most of his later work that made him look like a nutjob, like VALIS was all sort of spontaneous experiences he had while sober(or actaully up for days on end on amphetamines)...
Magicman said:Know if any of the other books by the author were good? it was a book first , but alas i have not read it
Andgasp ,
Philip K Dick is awesome...
VALIS is a good story, and Do Android Dream of Eletric Sheep as well (Bladerunner).
biopsylo said:
Substance D.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE a scanner darkly. COmparing waking life and A scanner darkly isn't the right idea, but waking life is a better flick. Absolutely love it, and I usually hate passive media. ( iguess neither of these are really passive though, since they require thought.
Philip K Dick is one of my all time favorite authors! The book A Scanner Darkly is very good. The movie is as good as a movie can get about a book like this, so I applaud the director for it. However the book has a bit more depth and makes the transition of the main character from sane to insane very subtle and rattling at the same time. It made me wonder about how easy it is to slip into insanity and not know it.
Valis, The Transmigration of Timothy Archer, Ubik, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch are all recommendable and I've enjoyed them all several times, which is saying a lot because I rarely read books twice.
I didn't really get much out of waking life to be honest, maybe I was too tired to get it though. Must have fallen asleep at least 3 times during it.
Valis, The Transmigration of Timothy Archer, Ubik, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch are all recommendable and I've enjoyed them all several times, which is saying a lot because I rarely read books twice.
I didn't really get much out of waking life to be honest, maybe I was too tired to get it though. Must have fallen asleep at least 3 times during it.
Elf Machine
Rising Star
Waking Life digs deep. I like it much more as it touches on many existential ideas relevant to every person and everyday life. I suppose I was disappointed at Scanner Darkly because I was expecting something a little more like Waking Life and anticipated it for so long.
Waking Life is a collection of psychobabble, albeit fairly interesting.
A Scanner Darkly is based off a Philip K. Dick novel. two different types of films.
A Scanner Darkly is based off a Philip K. Dick novel. two different types of films.
VALIS is a must read. It really seemed to make A LOT of sense to me after reading mckenna, and this great little document by OpticusWrangler, which is very much in the same vein. http://home.earthlink.net/~herm/id21.html
somehow I can't believe that waking life can even compare to A scanner Darkly... But then PKDs books just resonate with me on so many levels, I guess it's no surprise I feel this way. I have to agree with benzyme on the psychobabble thing, and I really don't get the point. I didn't see anything particularly deep in it. Can someone explain this to me?
*shrugs*
some people get all hipster about dreaming and existentialism
some people get all hipster about dreaming and existentialism
A Scanner Darky is an amazing book, and the film is really quite faithful to the novel. Not the most popcorn style entertaining book or film, but both really quite profound and interesting in my opinion.
Heroin might be part of the inspiration for this fractal, but LSD is definitely involved to! Really want to read Valis as well.
My fave scene from the film, and one of my all time fave film scenes:
Heroin might be part of the inspiration for this fractal, but LSD is definitely involved to! Really want to read Valis as well.
My fave scene from the film, and one of my all time fave film scenes:
honestly, as much as I like Phillip Dick..A Scanner Darkly didnt really grab my attention..I could barely sit through the film..I just find other aspects of his life in general, alot of which is outlined in VALIS and others facinating..I never understoof the Scanner Darkly cult following, but thats just me, to each his/her own I guess.
The guy was just an insanely facinating person..I got sort of obcessed with the life of this guy at one point, trying to find out everything I possabily could, I still need to actaully read VALIS though..
The guy was just an insanely facinating person..I got sort of obcessed with the life of this guy at one point, trying to find out everything I possabily could, I still need to actaully read VALIS though..
If you enjoyed A Scanner Darkly then as Enoon has suggested, you MUST read The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch.
Other classics by him (and theres quite a few!) include Eye in the Sky, The Cosmic Puppets, The World Jones Made, and pretty much most of his short stories.
Its taken me over a decade to get my hands on every single one of his solo works and they are the kind of books you can read again and again-provided that you leave a couple of years between each visit to each novel.The convolutions of the guys (amphetamine-driven) thought-processes is most engaging :lol: :surprised :?
Other classics by him (and theres quite a few!) include Eye in the Sky, The Cosmic Puppets, The World Jones Made, and pretty much most of his short stories.
Its taken me over a decade to get my hands on every single one of his solo works and they are the kind of books you can read again and again-provided that you leave a couple of years between each visit to each novel.The convolutions of the guys (amphetamine-driven) thought-processes is most engaging :lol: :surprised :?
fractal, you absolutely MUST read Valis!!
Also the book A Scanner Darkly might grab your attention more than the movie. I have to say I only got really interested in the movie after I had a feel for PKD in general. The tragic and tortured nature of his characters and the loss of sanity that is pervasive throughout most of his stories just grabs me. A Scanner Darkly is no exception.
The name is derived from the Bible, "For now we see through a glass, darkly." - referring to our perception, which is of course one of PKDs main themes. Reality, perception, insanity... I was very moved when I read the book (A Scanner Darkly, not the Bible). The movie was good, but the book was what made the impression, even though the movie is extremely close to the book.
man, this makes me want to read more of his stuff...
cheers,
Enoon
Also the book A Scanner Darkly might grab your attention more than the movie. I have to say I only got really interested in the movie after I had a feel for PKD in general. The tragic and tortured nature of his characters and the loss of sanity that is pervasive throughout most of his stories just grabs me. A Scanner Darkly is no exception.
The name is derived from the Bible, "For now we see through a glass, darkly." - referring to our perception, which is of course one of PKDs main themes. Reality, perception, insanity... I was very moved when I read the book (A Scanner Darkly, not the Bible). The movie was good, but the book was what made the impression, even though the movie is extremely close to the book.
man, this makes me want to read more of his stuff...
cheers,
Enoon