Sean McCann returns to Psyop Cinema to unveil the Fidelio Experiment—which, we are quite confident, is not only the state-of-the-art in occult Kubrick studies but the key to unlocking the final secrets of the cinematic master. Sean first takes us through his long investigative journey, including his previous milestone, “The Butterfly Net,” and explains how…
The concluding episode of our series with Steven DeLay on the films of Terrence Malick. Thomas gives a speculative explanation for why Voyage of Time (2016) was so unwatchably bad. We have an extended discussion about the beautiful depiction of Christian martyrdom in Malick’s 2019 film A Hidden Life, which portrays the life of Franz…
Thomas goes on William Ramsey Investigates to discuss his essay “A Digital State: Ukraine as Cultural Engineering Laboratory,” written for issue #1 of Cultural Engineering Studies magazine. Thomas describes the dozens of music videos filmed in the last couple decades in Kiev by highly sus Western artists, which frequently feature occult and trauma-based mind control…
Brett goes on William Ramsey Investigates to discuss his essay “NASA and Hollywood: A DCF Research Report, Part 1,” written for issue #1 of Cultural Engineering Studies magazine. As Director of Research Operations for the Decoding Culture Foundation, Brett has looked deeply into NASA’s collaborations with Hollywood, through FOIA requests, archives, and direct communication with…
A clip of Brett discussing Oliver’s Stone’s autobiography, Chasing the Light, from an extended Patreon-exclusive prelude to our upcoming Oliver Stone series. Check out our Patreon to hear Brett run through Stone’s entire filmography (including many of his writer and producer credits) and give a very personal overview of Stone’s life and work.
In a new installment of their series on David Fincher, Thomas and Brett cover The Killer, Fincher’s 2023 hitman thriller starring Michael Fassbender. They discuss Fincher’s continued preoccupation with psychopathy and the dark self archetype, the film’s hints concerning deep state conspiracies and the Thelemic religion of Hollywood, and its surprising thematic connections to Fincher’s…
Thomas and Steven continue their analysis of True Detective, this time joined by Jasun Horsley for a conversation about season two. Finding the season significantly underrated, they talk about its mixed reception and contrast its approach to that of season one. Resuming discussion of Pizzolatto’s treatment of masculinity, family, and sexuality, they also find much…
Thomas and Steven conclude their analysis of Malick’s Weightless trilogy, looking at his 2017 film Song to Song. With this movie, Malick solidifies the Weightless trilogy’s status as authentically Christian (specifically, Kierkegaardian) cinema. Using the setting of the Austin music scene, it delivers a positive message concerning the emptiness of hedonistic contemporary culture and how…
We are joined by both William Ramsey and Sean McCann for a discussion that follows up on the analysis we did with them earlier this year of Leave the World Behind. Unpacking the surprisingly dull recent Alex Garland film Civil War, we also spend time talking about the much more lively film The Second Civil…
Thomas and Steven discuss the first season of True Detective, analyzing its iconic depiction of occult conspiracy. They talk about the series’ treatment of religion and philosophical pessimism, its approach to masculinity, and the thematic ambiguities of the show’s conclusion. While expressing appreciation that this masterpiece of television includes so many positive notes, they also…
Continuing their examination of the Weightless trilogy, Thomas and Steven explore Knight of Cups, Malick’s 2015 film that dreamily depicts a screenwriter’s search for meaning, as he wanders through the maze of Hollywood life. Analyzing the film’s gnostic and tarot reference points, they again seek to discern whether Malick is subverting standard Hollywood spirituality with…