Rasheed and Erin: Thanks to Lucas and others Hollywood has adopted the
Jungian approach. Lots of movies are now written and made with myths
consciously in mind. There is one book in particular called THE WRITERS
JOURNEY. It describes the various archetypes and spells out the similarities
between cinematic story-telling and the psychological journey we all take in
life. Its really quite amazing even if it is a little too simplistic. Joe
Campell spells out the hero's journey as it appears in the world's
mythologies in a much more detailed and profound way in his HERO WITH A
THOUSAND FACES.
Or you can see film reviews written from a Jungian perspective at
http://www.cgjungpage.org/filmx.html
>===== Original Message From moq_discuss@moq.org =====
RASHEED:
>How does one go about "creating new myths?" Myths are born out of a
culture,
>products that simply develop over time. I think they in a way reflect the
>culture from which they sprang. Since the survival of a tv show or a novel
>depends entirely upon advertisting-saturated consumer opinion, there isn't
>much room for new meaningful mythology to blossom. That's why I think
there
>should be less emphasis on creating new myths and more emphasis on
>reconnecting with past myths that may give us better understanding of the
>present.
ERIN: I understand what you are saying but when I said new myths I didn't
mean
for them to cancel out or compete with old myths. Carl Jung looked for
universals in all myths to determine the archetypes that guide experience.
You can create a modern myth with those same universals. I think creating
new
myths help you reconnect with past myths by showing what was true then is
still true despite the change in times, characters ( that is what was true
for
a character in a toga speaking Greek is also true for someone wearing Gap
and
speaking English).
Without expressing my personal opinion whether it was a good myth or not (I
let you decide for yourself) somebody that was influenced by Jung and
Campbell
was moviemaker George Lucas. Here is G.B's summary of Jungian archetypes in
Lucas' Star Wars movies. This is what I meant when you can create a new
myth
with the same truths of old myths.
The anima or animus is the archetype through which you communicate with the
collective unconscious generally, and it is important to get into touch with
it. It is also the archetype that is responsible for much of our love life:
We
are, as an ancient Greek myth suggests, always looking for our other half,
the
half that the Gods took from us, in members of the opposite sex. When we
fall
in love at first sight, then we have found someone that "fills" our anima or
animus archetype particularly well!
Other archetypes
Jung said that there is no fixed number of archetypes which we could simply
list and memorize. They overlap and easily melt into each other as needed,
and
their logic is not the usual kind. But here are some he mentions:
Besides mother, their are other family archetypes. Obviously, there is
father,
who is often symbolized by a guide or an authority figure. There is also the
archetype family, which represents the idea of blood relationship and ties
that run deeper than those based on conscious reasons.
There is also the child, represented in mythology and art by children,
infants
most especially, as well as other small creatures. The Christ child
celebrated
at Christmas is a manifestation of the child archetype, and represents the
future, becoming, rebirth, and salvation. Curiously, Christmas falls during
the winter solstice, which in northern primitive cultures also represents
the
future and rebirth. People used to light bonfires and perform ceremonies to
encourage the sun's return to them. The child archetype often blends with
other archetypes to form the child-god, or the child-hero.
Many archetypes are story characters. The hero is one of the main ones. He
is
the mana personality and the defeater of evil dragons. Basically, he
represents the ego -- we do tend to identify with the hero of the story --
and
is often engaged in fighting the shadow, in the form of dragons and other
monsters. The hero is, however, often dumb as a post. He is, after all,
ignorant of the ways of the collective unconscious. Luke Skywalker, in the
Star Wars films, is the perfect example of a hero.
The hero is often out to rescue the maiden. She represents purity,
innocence,
and, in all likelihood, naivete. In the beginning of the Star Wars story,
Princess Leia is the maiden. But, as the story progresses, she becomes the
anima, discovering the powers of the force -- the collective unconscious --
and becoming an equal partner with Luke, who turns out to be her brother.
The hero is guided by the wise old man. He is a form of the animus, and
reveals to the hero the nature of the collective unconscious. In Star Wars,
he
is played by Obi Wan Kenobi and, later, Yoda. Notice that they teach Luke
about the force and, as Luke matures, they die and become a part of him.
You might be curious as to the archetype represented by Darth Vader, the
"dark
father." He is the shadow and the master of the dark side of the force. He
also turns out to be Luke and Leia's father. When he dies, he becomes one of
the wise old men.
There is also an animal archetype, representing humanity's relationships
with
the animal world. The hero's faithful horse would be an example. Snakes are
often symbolic of the animal archetype, and are thought to be particularly
wise. Animals, after all, are more in touch with their natures than we are.
Perhaps loyal little robots and reliable old spaceships -- the Falcon-- are
also symbols of animal.
And there is the trickster, often represented by a clown or a magician. The
trickster's role is to hamper the hero's progress and to generally make
trouble. In Norse mythology, many of the gods' adventures originate in some
trick or another played on their majesties by the half-god Loki.
There are other archetypes that are a little more difficult to talk about.
One
is the original man, represented in western religion by Adam. Another is the
God archetype, representing our need to comprehend the universe, to give a
meaning to all that happens, to see it all as having some purpose and
direction.
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