Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome

Avant-garde filmmaker, Kenneth Anger’s 1954 (the first edition) experimental film, Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome, is a 38 minutes mythopoeic trip. We are shown images of mythical creatures and god like figures. One mythical demi-god like man eats jewelry and gold as if it were the most delicious chocolate. Perhaps this is a reference to Anger’s own distaste for worldly possessions just as his idol Aleister Crowley. He does not show much facial expression in reaction to the eating these treasures; but this does not mean that he does not enjoy them – rather he is so jaded and used to these treasures that they do not arouse a great pleasure as they used to. He is the ultimate hedonist. The reference in the title to “Pleasure Dome” conjures up visions of Kubla Khans’ own pleasure dome. Anger was obviously influenced by the dream-like nature of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem in regards to the hallucinogenic and psychedelic nature of the film. The film also showcases Aleister Crowley’s influences of Anger. The mythical beings are all indulging in orgiastic sexual interactions with each other as if the apocalypse were approaching. During these sexual experiences we are sometimes placed inside the mind of one of the beings; here we see hallucinations and kaleidoscope-esque depictions of the events taking place inside the pleasure dome. These hallucinations express his belief in sex magick and the fusion of spirituality and sexuality; again, another theme taken from Aleister Crowley. This film is a crazy trip of waves of colors, mythical, creatures, and erotic interactions that all culminate together to form the Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome.