All about hypnosis and related subjects in the media
“American woman, get away from me
American woman, mama let me be
Don’t come knocking around my door
I don’t want to see your shadow no more
Colored lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else’s eyes
Now woman, get away
American woman, listen what I say”
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058855/]
[amtap amazon:asin=B000ERVJKO]
History: “The Wild, Wild West” was a reaction to the spy craze in popular culture with a Western twist with a healthy dose of Jules Verne added. The series was an instant hit when it appeared in 1965: it didn’t hurt that there was a culture transition taking place between the fading Western genre and the new spy craze engendered by the James Bond films and TV series like “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” and “The Avengers”. But it also didn’t hurt that the two main characters, as well as some of their re-occurring opponents, were strong, memorable characters.
Colonel James West (Robert Conrad) and Artemis Gordon (Ross Martin) were Secret Service agents patrolling the West in their private railway train on special orders from President Grant. The athletic and dashing West (Conrad did many of his own stunts) paired exceptionally well with the clever and debonair Gordon as they battled insidious criminal organizations, would-be conquerors, malevolent scientific geniuses and hostile foreign powers to protect the United States in its difficult times after the Civil War.
Background: In junior high English class, one of the exercises was to take a card from a rack, read the article or story on it, then answer a series of questions based on that article or story. The racks were divided by reading level, and most of the students, including myself, were given cards from the average level reading level. The problem was that even then, I was reading at a college level (I read one of my older brothers’ textbooks, “Mythology” by Edith Hamilton, at the age of 8, and was then answering whole columns (in the form a question, of course) labeled “Mythology” while watching “Jeopardy” soon afterward ) and the selections I was given were rather boring. That was when I decided to try something from the advanced rack, and it turned out to be one of those strange hypnosis-related coincidences that pop up every so often in my life.
The article was entitled ‘Secrets of the Sleep Merchants’ and it described how carny stage hypnotists of the early 20th Century used tricks like chloroform or hashish to help induce their subjects. Everything was told from the point of view of the author describing how his father used these tricks. It was a remarkable coincidence, as by even then I had a strong interest in hypnosis. At that time, I decided I would find a copy of this article for myself, as this was only an abbreviated version, so I was sure that I memorized the title of both the article and the magazine it was in, “True, the Men’s Magazine”. Unfortunately, I soon discovered that the libraries didn’t collect the magazine. For years, I would periodically make a slight effort at locating the article or the magazine, with no success, searching at paper collectors conventions and approaching collectors, and, then, later, searching eBay: of course, it didn’t help that I could only remember the year of publication, 1955 (my birth year) but not the month.
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023582/]
Capsule Description: Thirteen women are marked for death, the revenge of one woman they denied entrance into their sorority and drove from the school. Armed with the mystic powers of her Asian ancestry, she uses the esoteric power of hypnotism and suggestion to drive her enemies to their deaths, stooping to mundane methods of poison and explosives when those methods fail.
History: The year is 1966. America is undergoing the throes of the British spy invasion. James Bond 007 leads the assault from the movie screen and book racks everywhere, supported ably on the small screen by “The Avengers”. America counters with its own home-grown television spy series. “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” and “Get Smart”, but who shall challenge the forerunner, the invincible 007 himself, on the big screen?
In answer to America’s call comes Derek Flint, superspy, martial artist, ballet master, speaker to porpoises, millionaire, gourmand, man-about-town, ladies man, etc. In effect, everything James Bond is, and more. Armed with his trick lighter, which can perform 82 different functions (83 if you include lighting a cigar,) his quick wits and flashing grin, Flint saves the world from potential conquerors and nuclear disaster in “Our Man Flint” (1966) and “In Like Flint” (1967).
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034829/]
Capsule Description: Bugs Bunny’s eternal nemesis, hunter Elmer Fudd, tries a new tactic this time: hypnosis. Using a book on hypnosis, he first hypnotizes a bear then tries to hypnotize Bugs, only to be hypnotized in return. Bugs turns the tables on him by commanding him to be a rabbit, but, when turning the tables, Bugs discovers that the tables can be turned in both directions.
[amtap book:isbn=0345295161]
History: I’ve known about Katherine Kurtz as an author since my college days: not only was I attracted to her writing for her “Deryni” novels, but also to her own backstory. Before she turned to professional writing, she was a member of the early Society for Creative Anachronism, eventually becoming its first Seneschal (the equivalent of being the national chairman of the organization) as well as being awarded the title of Duchess (meaning that she had been Queen of the Kingdom of the West twice.) She also published a fanzine called “Deryni Archives: The Magazine” which contained a wealth of supplementary information and stories that helped affirm my fascination for the Deryni.
Since then, she has developed into a popular and prolific fantasy writer, known primarily for her “Deryni” novels and her contemporary fantasy “Adept” series in collaboration with Deborah Turner Harris. She edited a collection of Deryni stories and other short story collections, also wrote numerous short stories and stand-alone novels, one of which is “Lammas Night”.
[amtap amazon:asin=B001YU5XZC]
[amtap book:isbn=0671698273]
History: When I was in junior high school, I worked as a volunteer in the library, because I was an avid reader and loved the access to books this position gave me. I was also becoming a fan of science fiction, transitioning from my earlier love of mysteries. And, most importantly, even in my early teens I had a deep interest in the subject of hypnosis, so I was hunting for books on the subject: I was already reading the books on hypnosis I could find in the local library, primarily the Melvin Powers books but a few similar ones. I used the local library because, as might be expected, books on hypnosis were not to be found in the school library.
However, I was mistaken, at least in thinking hypnosis-related books were only to be found in the non-fiction section: one of the SF novels I discovered there in the school library was “The God Machine” (1968) by Martin Caidin. Caidin is best remembered for one novel, which not only became a television series (which in turn spawned a spin-off series) but it was one of the few programs to immortalize a sound effect in the public consciousness. That novel, “Cyborg”, became the TV program “The Six Million Dollar Man”. However, Caidin was a very prolific author, with over 50 novels to his credit, including “Marooned” which became the basis for the movie of the same name, as well as being an avid aviator, airplane restorer and non-fiction author.
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