Aldous Huxley: The Gravity of Light

Aldous Huxley-Gravity of Light [VHS]

"This is not a proper documentary. The project is not about a chronology of Huxley's life, but about his ideas," informs the narrator. No kidding. Director Oliver Hockenhull tackles a career of Aldous Huxley's thoughts on society, technology, and the complex relationship between the two, from his landmark 1932 dystopian novel Brave New World to his observations on his experiments with mind-altering substances in the late 1950s, and reconsiders them in the context of modern life. Woven through the snippets of a Huxley interview from 1957 are comments by U.N. advisor Dr. Jean Houston from a 1994 Huxley Symposium, dramatic skits (designed to explore ideas of communication, language, and identity), computer graphics, and a narrator whose remarks continue to reframe both the message and medium. It's a complex, dense cinematic essay, not always completely successful in explicating points and too brief to really expand the investigation, but a thoughtful and inspired attempt to grapple with intellectual ideas in a social context. Viewers looking for background on the work of the famous novelist, essayist, and social philosopher won't find much in the way of biographical information, but this meditative, self-reflexive look into his theories and thought is a fascinating approach to Huxley's work. --Sean Axmaker