Magic Trip- Allison Ellwood, Alex Gibney

History's famous bus ride across america and back has now been released in a documentary. It is the complete story from the beginning to end of the merry band of pranksters that spent weeks tripping on LSD while experiencing the freedom to explore the country. And what each of them found goes unexplained but remains a testament for all the wild and young people of the 60's, the flower children. The kids who found happiness in the hardest years in America by celebrating companionship, love, expedition, and the new chapter of life found in the hallucinogen experience.

In Magic Trip there is first hand footage recorded by Ken Kesey and his camera men. For those who are unfamiliar with Kesey, he was a writer whose claim to fame was One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Sometimes A Great Notion. He coordinated the plan to organize a few odd people to come together on a school bus and drive from California all the way to New York. And with them they carried massive amounts of LSD, the drug that will make you see a new dimension. Kesey was always a straight edge athlete and college graduate, but after a scientific experiment in Stanford his way of thinking was forever changed. This experiment involved scientists ordered by the government to study the effects of LSD on humans. Kesey agreed to take part in the tests and was put in a room to be recorded for an extensive amount of time. He was paid 25 dollars a day and out came the birth of a new era. The reenactment of the tests were one of the most interesting parts of the documentary. The recording went on for about ten minutes, and Kesey talked about things that didn't make any sense at all, but in his head was pure genius and eye opening observations.

The entire journey included historical moments that we've never heard about, with historical figures to tell the tale. Neal Cassady, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Timothy Leary, Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead all took part in this excursion through the unknown. There experiences may have seemed irresponsible and sickening at the time, but they opened the door up for the youth. A new society where the youth has a voice and can control the new trends that reflect their transgressive habits. The first separation of generations started with the flower children, rooted by the merry band of pranksters riding on the bus they called "further". Not going to a destination, but going beyond. A beyond that will strip you of what you think you know, and introduce you to what we struggle to explain.

This documentary is a must see for every American. A piece of history that will never be forgotten.

Grade: A-