- Examining and working with positive or negative qualities,
which first were “outside of ourselves but on the screen”
and now are recognized as our own.
Stages of projection of our disowned parts:- Watching a character outside ourselves in a movie.
- Beginning to like or dislike a character, their behavior, or
certain attributes that we do not recognize in ourselves. - Examining whether a character, their behavior, or attributes
might be part of our not-yet-fully-recognized positive qual-
ities or repressed “shadow” self. - Exploring ways to become more whole by embracing the
projected positive qualities in order to realize our full
potential as well as acknowledging our repressed “shadow”
self to move toward emotional healing and inner freedom.
Using Film Characters to Understand Ourselves
To illustrate how our projections onto movie characters can be
used for self-discovery, meet Evelyn and Eric, individuals in
one of my cinema therapy groups. When I assigned the movie
Grand Canyon (1991), they came back to our next meeting
excited about the film and the characters. First, I explained to
the group the idea of projection and what we can learn about
ourselves through our awareness of our projections. Everyone
was curious to learn how to use the movie characters for self-
understanding and growth. Evelyn remembered that the film
had already moved her deeply years ago when she saw it for
the first time.
All group members agreed that one important aspect of the
movie was how chance happenings could fundamentally alter
our lives forever. Grand Canyonis full of characters and events
that made the group think of their real life. They saw the film
as confronting them with the big question of why we are all
here and showing us that we never know what tomorrow has in
store for us.“No form of art goes
beyond ordinary conscious-
ness as film does, straight
to our emotions, deep into
the twilight room of the
soul.”
Ingmar
Bergman130 E-Motion Picture Magic