Down the Rabbit Hole: The Creation of Nonsense

Written by Laura Pires / Artwork by Julia Lawrence

The reality of Wonderland and its influence on society

Welcome to Wonderland, a fantasy full of grinning Cheshire cats, talking caterpillars and singing flowers. A place where the bizarre seems normal. This innocent story became the poster for drug use in the late 60s and 70s. Today much of this story is interpreted with subliminal messages of the use of psychedelics. While there are many conspiracies, Lewis Caroll wrote the story to entertain a young girl duringa boating trip, but the outlandish tales of Alice ripples through our pop culture atmosphere. Today, our society might interpret her story asone long psychedelic trip when in reality, it is a seven-year-old trying to navigate the adult world through her eyes and imagination. Alice’screation of nonsense through the idea of drugs is perpetuated through our media today in our favorite childhood cartoons and music.This raises the question, has the subliminal messaging of drugs in our media promoted the idea of the creation of nonsense much like Alice’s?

The conspiracy of subliminal messaging in Wonderland boomed in the late 60s and 70s as artists like John Lennon and Jefferson Airplane explored the connection between recreational drug use and the children’s book. The Beatles song “I am the Walrus” was inspired by an LSD trip and Alice in Wonderland; it was simply a song of madness. The nonsense that came from author Lewis Carrol’s “The Walrus and The Carpenter” and Wonderland inspired madness in the music. Another Beatles song, “Lucy In the Sky” was later revealed by Lennon to signify Alice in Wonderland imagery. The song speaks on the Eggman and the boat we see in the children’s story. Alice’s outlandish journey fully perpetuated this realm of artistic nonsense as many recognized the connection between drugs and the beauty of Wonderland itself. This pioneered other forms of media and art to get inspired by the creation of nonsense influenced by drugs.

Wonderland created a parallel between the outlandish and reality, allowing adults to navigate the world through the eyes of a child again when using drugs. The intersection of infancy and drug use allowed Wonderland to be captivated in media today. Movies like The Matrix play on the trope of “the rabbit hole” as pills became the drug that allows them into Wonderland. A line in the film says, “You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes”. Today society takes viewers down the “rabbit hole” each time revealing a new Wonderland. This continues in cartoons we watched growing up. The subliminal messaging of marijuana usage in Scooby-Doo or Pepe Le Pew in Looney Tunes speaks to the conspiracy of his connection of ecstasy. This continues today in social media, where the promotion of micro-dosing is used for wellness and expansion. Since the 60s, through film, music or art, people have desired to expand their creativity, meaning one must go through a journey much like Alice’s; an out-of-body experience. Alice in Wonderland has allowed the abstract and outlandish adventures we find in psychedelic trips or drugs to become art.

In terms of literal art, the creation of the absurd was inspired by much of what is seen in Carrol’s book. Alice’s whole journey involves distinguishing the absurd from reality, which is quite literally a psychedelic trip. However, people find the world she creates quite beautiful, allowing the eccentric to run wild. This narrative pioneered an era of surrealism in art. The absurdness of Alice navigating the adult world through the mind of a sevenyear-old inspired this movement. This artistic era represents much of Alice’s journey, as it uncovers the potential of the unconscious mind while juxtaposing reality.

Salvador Dalí displays his inspiration of the absurd through art by creating pieces that show Alice’s journey through Wonderland. This master of surrealism said, “I don’t do drugs, I am drugs.” The continuous correlation between absurdity and drugs allows our society to create a much more chaotic and darker side to art. In many innocent childhood stories, the use of drugs has perpetuated the idea of unveiling the dark side of the rainbow. With art like surrealism, madness in music and drug subliminals in TV, the intersectionality of drugs and art has shown a chaotic view of the innocence perceived at first. Drugs in society now perpetuate a sense of awakening that many yearn for and express in their art. Allowing true absurdity to shine through, drugs have perpetuated the narrative of awakening these underlying messages behind things that seem so innocent.