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Reader question: What does it mean when a film is described as a “head trip”? My comments: Needless to say, the film is an exciting one, thought provoking, even frightening or disturbing. A film or movie is described as a head trip because it’s a trip that happens in the head, different from an actual trip to the shopping mall, to a park or to the mountains farther afield. A head trip, on the other hand, is an experience of the sensory organs in the head (or heart and mind). For example, if you watch a film of exploration of the Arctic or the tropical forests in the Amazon, it is a head trip. You experience the beautiful desolation of the Arctic of snow, ice or the rich diversity of life in the hot, humid, green and colorful Amazon without having to move your feet outdoors, without having to endure all the physical hardships involved in such a trip. Or travel. A head trip is, in short, a journey that happens in the head. It’s an experience of mind blowing ideas or strong emotions. Head trip is a relatively new coinage. Merriam-Webster.com dates its “first known usage” to 1970. That’s about correct. I once heard on audio Alan Watts using this expression in one of his lectures on either Taoism, Buddhism or Zen or something about religion or psychology. I cannot recall the exact lecture but, anyways, considering the fact that the philosopher died in 1973, the Merriam-Webster is about correct. | 
