Thirteenth International Conference on The Arts in Society

Abstract

The paper will examine the progressive vs. regressive tensions in mainstream film by arguing that the trickster figure helps to break down binaries and stereotypes. While Neo-Freudian theories have long dominated film studies, a growing and more recent interest in Jung provides a new lens to revisit one of the most widespread archetypes and figures of myth, folklore and fairy-tales– but here as it operates in mainstream cinema. Specifically, the paper will attempt to create a link between Jung’s theory of “soul” and the way that the trickster in cinema can inject life and soul into previously “petrified” ideas, characters, and situations. Jung’s use of the term overlaps with many traditional ideas of the soul as both a source of identity but also as an expression and appreciation of “the numinous.” Jungian theory thus provides an interesting avenue for examining the role of cinema as a bridge between the inner and the outer individual, and between the individual and society. Because mainstream cinema is invested heavily in formula and stereotypes, its ability to provide progressive experiences is in constant need of the fluidity of which the trickster is emblematic.