Cemetery Acid Trip
Within the first minute of the scene; the editing is slow paced and lethargic, with the camera tilting slowly towards the sky and back down again, there is use of natural lighting and the shot type is continuous until the camera tilts, focusing on the run-down church behind them, this could be a symbolism of the absence of religion and the secularisation of America. The diegetic sound for the first minute is a press working win the distance and is a continuous sound until the 1 minute 44 second mark as the teenagers reach the peak of their high. The press overlaps with the dialogue in the scene. This creates a sense of disorientation as the overlapping sounds becomes louder and louder as they ingest the drugs. The girls taking the drugs through kissing is a symbol of sexual dominance as the boys become the girls access to drugs. As the drugs begin to take effect the speed of cutting increases significantly making the scene more jumpy and messy, the cuts of religious scripture, lens flares of the sun, the cemetery setting, the camera rotating with the clouds and the different figures creates the effects of the drugs. This causes the audience to seemingly partake in the drug use. This combined with the religious ideology creates a juxtaposition of the control of religion and the freedom and escape of drugs, it can also be the idea that drugs can often give a spiritual experience.
At 1 minute 15 seconds the camera begins to tilt further up the white building however the white of the church symbolises purity but with the dirt and wild plants due to neglect it is almost a violation of the building and what it represents, this symbolises the growing separation between the influence the church has on society and the American dream itself. The teenagers taking drugs at the base of the church is also an example of their disregard for the law and this paired with their obvious disregard of religion shows their rebellion and disregard for the law and the church, two foundations in society.
LSD is a psychedelic, these cause the user to have hallucinations and seemingly expand consciousnesses. The choice of this drug is a symbol of the freedom that the teenagers seek and was one of the more popular drugs in the 1960s. As the camera moves up into the sunlight a lense flare is used for the transition onto the next shot of the girl reciting scripture. At 1 minute 29 seconds the camera is titled up on a close up of the girls face reciting Matthew 17:23 this camera angle gives the impression of a power play between the girl and the viewer as it transitions into diegetic sound, It can either be perceived as the girl taking power over the viewer or the viewer becoming victim to the religious preachings. It is a power-play due to the positioning of the camera.
The contrast between the before and after of taking the drugs is that the cuts speed up, the diegetic sound becomes disorientating and confusing due to the overlapping sounds, this creates a drug like feeling as it makes the viewer experience the intensity. Which also helps the scene drag the viewer into it and makes the scene come to life and be believable. The use of quick cutting and jumping with the religious figures adds another layer to the drug induced haze of the scene as it creates the visual aspects of the high. This helps create the scene for the user as it overcomes another of the viewers senses. The sights and sounds of the scene combined with the natural lighting inspires an empathetic response that encourages the user to feel and experience the way the characters are feeling.
