# Kenneth Anger [Wikipedia Link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Anger) ( 1927 – 2023 ) ## Description American filmmaker whose short, densely symbolic films fuse homoerotic iconography, occultism, and pop spectacle — from *Fireworks* (1947) to *Scorpio Rising* (1963) and the Thelema-inflected *Invocation of My Demon Brother* (1969) and *Lucifer Rising* (1972–81) — and who also wrote the scandalous Hollywood exposé *Hollywood Babylon* (1959). ## Key Tags #trance-film #ny-underground #queer #occult ## Essential Works - *Fireworks* (1947) - breakthrough autobiographical trance film of homoerotic desire and violence, made at age 17–20 - *Scorpio Rising* (1963) - biker/pop-culture film juxtaposing Nazi and Christian iconography with rock-and-roll soundtrack and homoerotic imagery - *Hollywood Babylon* (1959, book) - gossip-and-scandal history of early Hollywood ## Details A committed follower of Aleister Crowley's Thelema, Anger built his mature films (*Invocation of My Demon Brother*, *Lucifer Rising*) around explicitly magical/ritual content and collaborators drawn from the countercultural occult scene (including Anton LaVey and Marjorie Cameron). Lifelong friend of [[Curtis Harrington]], with whom he shared roots in the pre-war Los Angeles avant-garde and occult film milieu. ### Concepts and Theories - [[Symbolism, Theology, and Occultism]] - Thelemic and occult ritual are the organizing principle of his mature filmmaking ### Creative and Technical Practices %% none yet %% ### Collaborators - [[Curtis Harrington]] - lifelong friend since the 1940s Los Angeles avant-garde/occult film scene (active 1940s–2000s) ### Institutional Affiliations and Associated Movements %% none yet %% ## References ### Primary Sources Bibliography Anger, Kenneth. *Hollywood Babylon*. J.-J. Pauvert, 1959 (English ed. 1965). Anger's own scandal-driven history of early Hollywood. ### Secondary Sources Bibliography Landis, Bill. *Anger: The Unauthorized Biography of Kenneth Anger*. HarperCollins, 1995. Biography covering his life, films, and occult milieu.