Visible Mind: Movies, modernity and the unconscious

In his view, fantasy is the portal to the dead that are still speaking within us.

The human mind perceives, forms concepts, learns, makes judgements, feels emotions, uses language, remembers, invents, dreams, desires. How can so much complexity be captured in a single image? Clearly, some aspects of mental life must be prioritised at the expense of others. But which ones? And after those choices have been made, does the 'picture

Here are a few pitfalls to avoid. Jung pioneered the idea of archetypes, so let’s go and find archetypes in films, for example the shadow, the anima and the wise old man.

In this sense, the cinema is one way that contemporary society keeps the symbolic life and mythological world alive.

The art-house films of David Lynch are frequently referred to as ‘dreamlike’ because, like dreams, there’s often a dearth of logic to their cause and effect. Those who enjoy such stories are more likely to be expert readers, those lucky enough to have been born with the right kinds of minds, and raised in learning environments that nurtured the ski