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Prisoner's cinema
Visual phenomenon involving seeing animated lights in the darkness
Visual phenomenon involving seeing animated lights in the darkness
Prisoner's cinema is the phenomenon of a "light show" of various colors that appear out of the darkness. The light has a form, but those that have seen it find it difficult to describe. Sometimes, the cinema lights resolve into human or other figures.
The phenomenon is reported by prisoners confined to dark cells and by others kept in darkness, voluntarily or not, for long periods of time. It has also been reported by truck drivers, pilots, and practitioners of intense meditation. Astronauts and other individuals who have been exposed to certain types of radiation have reported witnessing similar phenomena.
Scientists believe that the cinema is a result of phosphenes combined with the psychological effects of prolonged lack of exposure to light, and others have noted a connection between the form the lights take and neolithic cave paintings.
Popular culture
The pilot episode for the original Twilight Zone series, "Where Is Everybody?," depicts elaborate, fully realistic hallucinations by a test subject undergoing prolonged isolation and sensory deprivation as part of research into human space travel.
Melvin Moti produced a short film The Prisoner's Cinema based upon a scientist's description of visions from several days of sensory deprivation.
References
References
- Walker, J.. "The Amateur Scientist: About Phosphenes: patterns that appear when the eyes are closed". [[Scientific American]].
- Demirchoglian, GG. (1973). "On the effect of ionizing radiation upon the retina in man and animals". Life Sciences in Space Research.
- Fugelsang, C. (April 2006). "Phosphenes in low earth orbit: survey responses from 59 astronauts". Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine.
- Murchie, Guy. (1998). "The Seven Mysteries of Life: An Exploration in Science and Philosophy". Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
- Stone, Andrea J.. (1995). "Images From the Underworld: Naj Tunich and the Tradition of Maya Cave Painting". University of Texas Press.
- (2008). "Melvin Moti: The Prisoner's Cinema". [[Kadist]].
- "Melvin Moti: The Prisoner's Cinema". MIT [[List Visual Arts Center]].
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
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