During cinema’s silent-film period, many filmmakers believed they were pioneering the creation of a universal language composed of moving images that could be understood by all of humanity.
In many cases, the moving images incorporated into their films expressed what C. G. Jung regarded as humanity’s universal language: dreams—specifically, dreams containing archetypal images and motifs that infused the dreamer with experiences of awe, wonder, and terror. Jung referred to this as a numinous experience.
This workshop will present examples of films from throughout the history of cinema that express the “numinous factor,” using images that capture the appearance and sensations associated with the language of dreams.
It will also explore films with strong archetypal motifs, most notably the hero’s journey, and examine how these films dramatize a heroic figure guided by the Objective Psyche toward the fulfillment of fate, destiny, and the process of individuation.
