CrackpotoberFest 1: Premium 47 - Novels as Spycraft 8 / Paranoiac Films 5 - Girl, Interrupted, or, Dr. Strangelove’s Daughter on some MKULTRA Shit

[originally published on Patreon Oct 1, 2022]

Today's the first of four horror (or quasi-horror) films for CrackpotoberFest 2022 - Girl, Interrupted, both the memoir and the film. I discuss Susanna Kaysen and her father, a very interesting figure. I talk about McLean Hospital, Jim Watson, spies at McLean, and Kaysen's later career. 

Then, I go over some interesting themes that Girl, Interrupted the film injects into the narrative - some potentially spurious, some maybe not. To wrap up, I discuss the history of MKULTRA projects at McLean and the general area. CrackpotoberFest only gets weirder from here.

Songs:

Knockin’ Round the Zoo by James Taylor

White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane

Downtown by Petula Clark

Angel Baby by Rosie & the Originals