Prisoner's cinema
Encyclopedia
The Prisoner's Cinema is a phenomenon 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.
The "cinema" consists 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.
Scientists believe that the cinema is a result of phosphene
s combined with the psychological effects of prolonged exposure to darkness. Oster hypothesized that some reports of ghosts can be attributed to this phenomenon. Others have noted a connection between the form the lights take and neolithic cave paintings.
The "cinema" consists 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.
Scientists believe that the cinema is a result of phosphene
Phosphene
A phosphene is a phenomenon characterized by the experience of seeing light without light actually entering the eye. The word phosphene comes from the Greek words phos and phainein...
s combined with the psychological effects of prolonged exposure to darkness. Oster hypothesized that some reports of ghosts can be attributed to this phenomenon. Others have noted a connection between the form the lights take and neolithic cave paintings.
See also
- Closed-eye hallucinationClosed-eye hallucinationClosed-eye hallucinations and closed-eye visualizations are a distinct class of hallucination. These types of hallucinations generally only occur when one's eyes are closed or when one is in a darkened room. They are a form of phosphene....
- Dark retreatDark retreatDark retreat refers to advanced practices in the Dzogchen lineages of the Nyingmapa, Bönpo and other schools of Tibetan Buddhism.The time period dedicated to dark retreat varies from a few hours to decades. Dark Retreat in the Himalayan tradition is a restricted practice only to be engaged by the...
- EigengrauEigengrauEigengrau , also called Eigenlicht , dark light, or brain gray, is the color seen by the eye in perfect darkness...
- Floatation tank
- Ganzfeld effectGanzfeld effectThe Ganzfeld effect is a phenomenon of visual perception caused by staring at an undifferentiated and uniform field of color. The effect is described as the loss of vision as the brain cuts off the unchanging signal from the eyes...
- HypnagogiaHypnagogiaHypnagogia is the transitional state between wakefulness and sleep , originally coined in adjectival form as "hypnagogic" by Alfred Maury....
- PhosphenePhospheneA phosphene is a phenomenon characterized by the experience of seeing light without light actually entering the eye. The word phosphene comes from the Greek words phos and phainein...
- Sensory deprivationSensory deprivationSensory deprivation or perceptual isolation is the deliberate reduction or removal of stimuli from one or more of the senses. Simple devices such as blindfolds or hoods and earmuffs can cut off sight and hearing respectively, while more complex devices can also cut off the sense of smell, touch,...
External links
- The opening sequence of the TV series Magic ShadowsMagic ShadowsMagic Shadows was a 30-min Canadian television series produced by the TVOntario public television network hosted by Elwy Yost that ran on weekday evenings in the 1970s and 1980s....
includes an artist's depiction of "prisoners cinema" illustrating its rapid succession of half-formed figures and images (from 0:38 to 0:49 in the linked video).
External links
- Why does watching Phosphenes make me fall asleep? Salvatore Cullari, Lebanon Valley College