Listening to the child-archetype
It is over 25 years ago that I wrote my thesis. And recently I started to re-read it. And while reading it I feel gratitude to my younger self.
I researched four children’s films from four different countries and cultures and looked for the presence of what Carl Gustav Jung has called the archetypes. Jung was a pupil of Sigmund Freud but disagreed with Freud on essential points. After Jung broke with the Freudian school, he developed theories that together are called the Jungian Psychology.
One of the most controversial theories he has launched is the theory about the existence of archetypes. Archetypes are images that, according to Jung, are present in the collective unconcious of every human being. They are present there through centuries of tradition, generation after generation. Jung says: “It seems as if the collective unconscious — as far as we can afford to judge it — consists of something like mythological motifs and images.”
It is precisely for this reason that myths are the essential exponents of the collective unconscious. All over the world and in different times of history, the archetypes have surfaced in different guises. The different shapes result from the environment and from historical circumstances. We can say that the archetypes are universal at their core, but that their external form is determined by culture-specific circumstances.
And in my thesis, I looked at exactly that. Are archetypes recognizable in children’s movies? And to what extent is there a universal visual language based on archetypes in the children’s films I studied? I watched children’s films from Burkina Faso, China, Israel and the Netherlands and started looking for differences and similarities.
What strikes me while reading my conclusions, is the sentence: “While comparing the four films we see that the child in each film is motivated by a longing for unity. The unity of his or her family and his or her community.” While comparing my findings to the child-archetype that is described by Jung, I understand that this longing is archetypical to the child.
What also strikes me is the observation that although the children grow up in different cultures and they look different, they share this archetypical quest, this archetypical longing for unity. Stronger said, the outer appearance of the child doesn’t in any way contribute to the archetypical characterization of the child and his/her quest. Their innerbeing does this even more. And although they differ in their actions, the similarity in their task is significant and obvious.
A third thing that strikes me while reading the conclusions of my thesis 25 years later, is that all children in the films that I researched are very explicitly posing questions: “Why are we competing with others? Why do we bully others? Why do we exclude others?” Questions that even today are hard to answer.
Another beautiful story element is that all children have helpers on their quest. Figures or characters that inspire them to fulfil their journey and to fulfil their longing for unity. They are wisdom-keepers that don’t seem to belong to the childrensworld since they have a certain authority. And they also don’t seem to belong to the adultworld since they hold a certain playfulness that most adults loose while growing up.
Of course there are also characters that we might call anti-heroes. They are making life difficult. They try to keep the child from their quest. But if they wouldn’t do this, the child wouldn’t be pushed to be strong and determined in following his/her purpose. It is the longing of the children and the other characters in the films, where we find the similarities. It constructs the basis for the narrative.
The beauty of the archetype is that it leaves space. It is not a rigid image that holds just one interpretation. The beauty of the archetype is that through our differences, our unity shines or the other way around. That through our unity, our differences shine and are seen. And if we listen to the child archetype we embrace our quest for unity and connection.
Reading back, I realize that the quest I took with the children and adults in these four films never left me. That it has formed the basis of everything I have come to do and experience in relation to the stories we tell and listen to. I found connection in difference and difference in connection. And this brings me to another aspect of the archetype. It has the power to communicate with our subconscious. This is why our stories are understood beyond borders and differences.
While developing as a filmmaker and storyteller since then, I became interested in creating stories across borders. This resulted in “The Kitchen Table Series.” This series consists of 15 films shot in 11 countries. In the movies, people sit at the table. They have an exchange about freedom and unfreedom. It is a simple concept that at the same time reaches deep into our common humanity.
To this day, the experience of working with filmmakers and storytellers from all over the world is close to my heart. With the team of About Freedom, the foundation in which these films were made, we decided not to get on a plane ourselves but to facilitate filmmakers on site in making their own story. During the process of co-creating these films, I often thought back to Jungs archetypes.
Observing an exchange of heart-to-heart stories and experiences between the generations felt like a deep recognition time and time again. “When Nelson Mandela was freed from prison, I wanted to hug someone.” This is what dissident poet James Matthews living in Cape Town, South Africa says in one of the episodes. “You grabbed each other, you danced. That was freedom.” Says Mr. Bachman in the episode recorded in the Netherlands. It is the longing for universal freedom that shines through all the differences that ofcourse are also noticeable in the series.
I often feel that embracing our own child-archetype and seeing the universality of it in all of life, might restore our feeling of collectivity and connection. Our feeling of belonging. I already shared that the children in the films I researched pose very important questions: “Why are we competing with others? Why do we bully others? Why do we exclude others?” These children invite us to have an important societal conversation. Maybe we can bring that conversation to our kitchen table.
