A monthly cultural studies film session hosted by cultural researcher and author Viriya Sawangchot. This month will be on a 2007 Israeli-Canadian documentary film directed by Yoav Shamir describing the drug use of Israeli men and women in India. It follows Israeli soldiers who take their discharge bonus and travel to India, where many will take drugs to cope with extreme conditions they have had to deal with during their compulsory military service which leads to some of them experiencing drug-induced mental breakdowns.

Film screening followed by a discussion led by Israeli anthropologist Dr.Joshua Schmidt.

//Free Entry//

FLIPPING OUT
Shot over a period of two years by Yoav Shamir, Flipping Out offers a close-up look at former Israeli soldiers, most of them under the age of 25, as they follow this strange post-military odyssey with bonus of 4,300 US Dollars. From the guest houses of northern India to the beach resorts of Goa in the south, the film reveals the pervasive culture of drugs and hedonism that leaves some of these young people battling for their sanity. Approximately 90 percent will use drugs during their stay, and each year some two thousand of them will need professional help due to this drug use. The psychotic break with reality they experience is commonly referred to as “flipping out.”

DR JOSHUA SCHMIDT
A cultural anthropologist with an interest in contemporary popular culture, ethno-linguistics, ethnomusicology, tourism and wellness and visual ethnography, Dead Sea and Arava Science Center under the auspices of Ben-Gurion University, Israel.

VIRIYA SAWANGCHOT
A cultural researcher based in Bangkok, Thailand. He was an API senior fellow (2013-2014), Asian Public Intellectual program, Nippon Foundation, and has previously taught in Cultural Studies program, Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia, Mahidol University, Thailand.

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