Psychedelic visual imagery in present-day music videos: what happens in a world where frets are clamped with a revolver

Psychedelic visual imagery in music videos is examined as a recognizable aesthetic category that originated from 1960s film techniques used to depict altered states of consciousness. Over time, this aesthetic lost its direct association with psychedelic substances and became a pervasive feature of the contemporary media sphere. The author traces the historical roots of psychedelia and analyzes fourteen music videos released after 2000 that employ such imagery. The findings are systematized into theoretical generalizations about how psychedelia is represented in today's media, showing that the visual style persists as a cultural and artistic device independent of its drug-related origins.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The article examines psychedelic visual imagery in music videos. The "psychedelia" concept, primarily associated with a certain class of psychoactive substances and the altered states of consciousness they cause, is studied as an attribute of the present-day media sphere. In relation to the subject, it manifests itself in the form of recognizable visual aesthetics. The article traces the origins of psychedelia as a broad aesthetic category. The author attributes this to the visual techniques of the 1960s, which filmmakers of that era used to cinematize the experience of psychedelically altered consciousness. The aesthetics formed at that time became eventually recognizable and, having lost its direct associations with the use of psychedelics, penetrated the media sphere, in particular music videos. The article reviews fourteen music videos released after 2000 that use psychedelic visual imagery. At the end, the data is systematized, and several theoretical generalizations are made regarding how psychedelia is represented in the present-day media sphere.