human experience. E-Motion Picture Magic employs that
power as a tool to increase consciousness.A “New” Idea As Old As History
As with most “new” ideas, many aspects of cinema therapy are
not really new. The use of movies for personal growth and
healing carries forward a long-standing connection between
storytelling and self-reflection that in all probability dates back
to the beginnings of spoken language.
Many cultures throughout human history have recognized
the transformative and healing effect of the act of telling and
listening to stories. E-Motion Picture Magic, and cinema ther-
apy in general, trace their roots directly to bibliotherapy, which
is the use of engaged readingin order to gain insight into one’s
psyche. The practice of bibliotherapy may go back as far as the
ancient Greeks where the door to the library at Thebes bore the
inscription: “The Healing Place of the Soul.”
Stemming from the invention of the printing press (1450)
and the invention of the novel (mid-1600s), the rise of popular
literature made it increasingly easier for individuals to “hear”
well-crafted stories more frequently.
Beginning with the spread of psychoanalysis during the
first half of the twentieth century, analysts began prescribing
specific reading material, often novels, for some of their
patients. In 1916 the term bibliotherapy made its first appear-
ance in psychological literature. During the explosion of the
self-help movement in the 1960s through the 1980s, the main
focus shifted away from the use of fictional books to nonfiction
self-help manuals. Even so, in 1983, James Hillman empha-
sized the practice of using fiction in therapy in his book,
Healing Fiction.^1
Cinema therapy was mentioned in psychological articles as
early as 1990, and in 1993 Marsha Sinetar published the first
book that specifically discussed the use of movies as a tool for
personal growth: Reel Power — Spiritual Growth Through Film.^2“Practitioners have long
recommended books, plays,
poetry, and visual and
performance arts as a
means of teaching
concepts of mental health
and providing corrective
emotional experiences.”
John T. Pardeck4 E-Motion Picture Magic