Why Movies Plots Affect Us

In today's fast-paced world, movies have become an integral part of our cultural fabric, captivating and influencing audiences on a global scale. But have you ever stopped to ponder the profound impact that movies have on our collective consciousness? To truly comprehend the effects of movies, we must adopt a multidisciplinary approach, delving into theories spanning various relevant disciplines. In this article, we embark on a captivating exploration, weaving together insights from psychology, anthropology, and mythology. By peering through the lens of these diverse fields, we aim to shed light on the intricate relationship between movies, our shared human experience, and the profound connections that lie deep within our psyche.

The Interplay of Mythology and Movies:

At the heart of this multidisciplinary investigation lies the recognition that movies serve as a modern form of mythology. Just as ancient civilizations crafted mythical stories to make sense of the world, movies have emerged as a contemporary narrative medium, shaping our perception of reality and reflecting our collective dreams. This concept finds resonance in the teachings of Carl Gustav Jung, the eminent Swiss psychologist, who proposed the existence of a collective unconscious—a reservoir of archetypal images and symbols inherited from our evolutionary past.

Jung believed that just as our bodies carry the imprints of our species' evolution, our minds also bear the traces of this vast heritage. Within the collective unconscious resides a rich tapestry of mythic stories, representing the shared experiences, struggles, and aspirations of humanity. Movies, in their essence, tap into this wellspring of collective wisdom, projecting archetypes, narratives, and symbols that resonate with audiences at a profound level. In doing so, they invite us to embark on a journey of self-discovery, where the individual connects with the universal, and the personal narrative intertwines with the threads of our shared human story.

If we make the following assumptions:

1) That striving toward growth and transformation by working with and taking on life's challenges is part of human nature;

2) That sometimes this impulse, and our capacity to respond to it in a healthy way, is compromised;

3) That myths, as products of the collective unconscious, can help us re-access this capacity through modeling;

4) That movies express our evolving mythology;

5) That many typical screenplays, which mirror real-life transitions, are structured in a way that is similar to myths;

then this conclusion makes sense:

Watching certain movies can support our psyche's growth and transformation.

Christopher Vogler points out in The Writer's Journey that the ideas embedded in mythology and identified by Joseph Campbell in The Hero With a Thousand Faces can be applied to understanding almost any human problem. The stages of the Hero's Journey can be traced in all kinds of stories, not just those that feature heroic physical action and adventure, but also in romance, comedy, and thrillers, etc. "The protagonist of every story is the hero of a journey, even if the path leads only in his own mind or into the realm of relationships."[1]

Dorothy's voyage in The Wizard of Oz shows how film characters' stories are often similar to the Hero's Journey. On her quest she goes through phases of hesitation, fear, meeting mentors, becoming aware that she cannot go back, facing tests, obstacles, and crises, confronting fear, gaining new perspective, and undergoing inner change. For example, she brings back a new idea of home, a new concept of "Self."

In The Laugh & Cry Movie Guide Cathie Glenn Sturdevant describes the typical plot development according to modern rules of screenplay writing.[2] The main character commits to a quest after a surprising loss of innocence, goes through a phase of inner conflict about taking on a challenge, and reaches a point of no return. Then the film hero acts despite fear, releases old ideas, renews his or her commitment, acts without fear, sometimes revises plans into realistic goals, and concludes the original quest by resolving it from a new perspective.

These similarities justify the assumption that the patterns of many movie plots are born out of the aspect of the collective unconscious that is reflected in our mythology. The viewer is hooked into the same pool of consciousness as the screenwriter. Both tap into the following wisdom: The antidote for the ache lies in ceasing the resistance to our calling, finding the courage to face our worst fears, and consequently expanding our possibilities. Especially when we go through life changes, movies with these kinds of typical screenplays can help us access our courage to release the hurt that is stuck in the past and the fear and angst projected into the future. We follow the characters' process of letting go and learning to move into the present moment where we can take action with clarity.

For these film stories to be effective, they do not need to match our specific life circumstances. our mind translates the allegoric messages from the movie into the appropriate guidance for our situation. The transformative power of symbols and metaphors has long been utilized in psychotherapy. Depth psychotherapy assumes that the unconscious communicates its content primarily in symbols. Other therapeutic approaches, like hypnotherapy, for example, developed methods that impact the unconscious through metaphors and allegoric teaching tales because it is believed that they address the unconscious and bypass the conscious mind. Imagery that is stimulated through the symbolism seen in films increases feelings that otherwise have not been experienced in this way. With certain movies, this process engages insight and creative problem-solving by circumventing obsessive thought patterns.

Endnotes:

1. Christopher Vogler, The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 1998), p.13.

2. Cathie Glenn Sturdevant, The Laugh & Cry Movie Guide: Using Movies to Help Yourself Through Life's Changes (Larkspur, CA: Lightspheres, 1998), pp. 33-44.