The Initiation of Alice in Wonderland

It starts off talking about England at that time, how it was a world power and yet at home there was a major difference between the wealthy and the poor. The next topic is Lewis Carroll himself. It starts off with his recent ancestors. Next to be discussed are the Liddel's.

Alice is the Greek word for Truth. It goes on to say that some people say Carroll's outlook was more mystical than religious. He had become convinced he was a worthless sinner and undeserving of the priesthood.

It moves on to talk about his diaries and the missing sections. It then moves on to his involvement with photography. He took around 4000 images but only 40% or so remain. Half of those show young girls.

It talks about the nude photos of young girls that he took and points out that, at that time in Victorian society, nude young girls were considered to be innocent and beauty personified. The program then moves on to talk about Alice in Wonderland.

It talks about Alice in Wonderland syndrome. The narrator says that Lewis Carroll might have had temporal lobe epilepsy. He adds that the condition could explain away ghosts and people talking about seeing extraterrestrials. Quantum physics could also be brought into a discussion of Alice in Wonderland. It's also possible he used the book to express 'hidden mysteries.'

The film postulates that Carroll might have been using the fictional Alice as a way to examine his own spirituality without having to confront others who might disagree with him. He could have been a gnostic initiate. He might have been connected to the Rosicrucians and the Theosophical Movement.

Then it talks about the garden scene in Alice in Wonderland where Alice sees a rose 'tree' and relates this to the Cross and the crucifixtion of Jesus. The rose, it says, has been used as a symbol of arcane secrets. As to the Duchess' baby changing into a pig, a pig, says the narrator, is a sign of resurrection in Eastern mythology.

When Alice gets her crown she has mastered the world of her own self and has been crowned with wisdom. By drinking and eating things like the cake she can access various levels of her mind. Her journey in Wonderland and the Looking Glass world is similar to shaman's vision quest. Her journal is a ritual initiation.

Then it talks about transformation, initiation and the use of magic mushrooms. 'Along the way the initiate encounters various aspects of him or her self.' It talks about the Cheshire Cat. The next topic is Carroll's legacy. None of the Liddell family attended his funeral which can be interpreted as being related to his break with them some years earlier.

Then it moves on to an interview with the director of the film. He says Lewis Carroll was 'definitely a strange one.' He may have had OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.) If he did ask if he could marry Alice it wouldn't have been unusual for that time. She was eleven and the age of consent was twelve so it would have been possible. He says the books are about the initiation journey. He goes on to explain just what he means by that.

He also does not believe at all that Carroll was a pedophile and explains why. The suddenly it shows one of the really old silent films of Alice in Wonderland. After that are ads for other films the company did.


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