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Sunday, November 17, 2013

Flags and Vexilloids from Altered States 1980


 Altered States is a 1980s flashback to the 1960s setup with a serious academic tone.  It is a hard core science fiction diddy with speculative gleanings on the atypical states of consciousness.

Here the protagonist of the story is a talented Ivy League Professor exploring the more than mysterious aspects of the human mind.  In the background is the University Pennant for Columbia University.

Dr. Jessup travels to Mexico where natives practice a sacred ceremony to connect with the 'original mind' before time.  Notice upon the wall is a Yin and Yang symbol, which is a profound symbol within Taoism.






In front of Low Memorial Library is the famous statue of Alma Mater holding a vexilloid in her right hand.  Alma Mater is quite the famous statue as it made an appearance in another altered vision of reality - the Ghost Busters in 1984.

Amazingly a Coke and Pepsi can appear in this film simultaneously, all by accident.  Like Yin and Yang these two corporate entities have established themselves across the shopping scape of the world.

Today putting these two products together in the same Hollywood film is taboo and may cause lawyers to manifest out of thin air, but in 1980 subliminal product placement in cinema was in its infancy allowing such rare and exquisitely bizarre abominations to take place.
 

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