Why the Gnostic Movies are an American Trend?

The fact that the film be a Gnostic tendency eminently American is the result of a peculiar mix of religion and mysticism with origins in popular literary forms in that country since the eighteenth century Puritanism passing through periodic revivals of religion and mysticism as Mormons and Pentencostal at the turn of the nineteenth century to the techno-mysticism originated in the 60s.

In any discussion of cinema, when I explain the existence of the film Gnostic (the existence of a trend of films which feature is the recurrence of themes inspired by the mythical narratives of classical Gnosticism and its variants and eclecticism - alchemy, esotericism etc.). A question arises : why the overwhelming majority of films Gnostic comes from the American cinema and Hollywood? Actually, this question is contained two questions: first, why the United States and, secondly, how these narratives Gnostic, who have messages of rebellion and mistrust of the status quo, can reach the mainstream Hollywood? Synthesizing: why the United States alone we find this phenomenon of "gnosticism for masses"?

Answering these questions requires understanding the history of the broad genre of fantasy literature and the different destinations in Europe and the United States and with a complex series of migrations from one continent to another.

We understand that the first flowering of Gnosticism in modern times (in the fantasy literature that incorporates elements of the supernatural, the grotesque and nameless) was in the Romantic era between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Europe. This revival comes at a combination of speculation and pragmatism esoteric Gnostic esoteric in Romanticism. Figures such as William Blake and Percy Shelley drank in Gnostic sources, kabbalistic and alchemical, challenging the status quo. We understand how narrative of Romanticism as a revolt against the rise of rationalism in the eighteenth century.

In this period we find in Europe the second variant of fantasy literature: the Gothic. Its Victorian ghost stories may have been the first form of fictional literature to penetrate the popular culture.

In Europe, this great and romantic literature, especially in France and Germany, will serve as a vehicle for the advancement of artistic vanguards such as Surrealism and Expressionism. In cinematic terms correspond to the period and European Cult Movies Gnostics, as described by Erik Wilson ("Secret Cinema: Gnostic visions in film"). For him, Gnosticism European cinema has gone through two very different periods: the first car period we have movies that are "reactionaries warnings" against the Gnostic desire to transcend the subject (The Revenge of the Homunculus - Otto Rippert's, 1916 - on the tragic consequences an alchemical experiment unsuccessful; The Golem - Paul Wegener's, 1920 - showing the tragic results of Kabbalistic magic).

The gnostic themes return later, this time through film non-commercial or labeled as cults that endorse values that ancient heterodox films condemned. Blow Up (Antonioni, 1966) is an exploration of the Gnostic as culture consumed by appearances supplants reality. Confusing form and content through a narrative highly ambiguous and hallucinating that bothers both the film's characters as the audience, 8 ½ (Fellini, 1963) explores the Kabbalistic belief that a human ideal can be achieved by the device, the creation of Adam kinematic; Zardoz (John Boorman, 1974) a true gnostic fable where in a post-apocalyptic future, the protagonist attains enlightenment to discover that he believed in God (Zardoz) was in fact an artificial creation of an elite imperfect and decadent, and The Man Who Fell to Earth (Nicholas Roeg, 1976) presents an alien who comes to Earth looking for water for his dying planet. Unable to fulfill its mission ends prisoner of a network of corruption in a corporate America. Different from old movies, these films Gnostic cults criticize the status quo, suggesting that postmodern culture is a desolate world of illusions that produces conformity.

The American Religion

Meanwhile, the United States, the fantastic and the supernatural can be found almost entirely in the popular cultural forms. It has its origins in the so-called "Providences" (Puritan anecdotal narrative forms that described the miracles that illustrate how the divine manifests itself in everyday life), stories about African conjures and bizarre facts and present scandals in tabloids, magazines and paperbacks. In a brief moment in the high North American literature (in literary period called the "American Renaissance" in the early nineteenth century) that the fantastic and grotesque amalgam of popular culture would provide inspiration for great writers like Poe, Dickson, Emerson and Hawthorne.

Victoria Nelson, describing the "strange story of the Fantastic U.S.," notes that the religious fervor and mystic suffers constant revivals:

"The Great Awakening in the mid-eighteenth century has been accompanied by at least three other embodiments according to Robert Fogel: the second at the turn of the nineteenth century, with religious and philosophical implications of Transcendentalism in high literature but also in the many manifestations of popular literature, including the Spiritualist movement, Theosophy and new religions and cults like the Mormons and the Gnostics "Christian Scientists" and "Shakers." The third Great Awakening, Fogel says, occurred between 1890 and 1930 and we are still in the middle of the quarter that began in the 1960s "(Nelson, Victoria. The Secret Life of Puppets. Havard University Press, 2001, pp. 76-7 ).

All this religious and mystical amalgam resulted in what Harold Bloom called "American Religion": Gnostic strain that originated in a combination of sulismo Baptist, Pentecostal and Mormismo advocating a kind of "self-deification" through a personal encounter with the Sacred.

"Joseph Smith describes these sacred novelistic adventures in the Book of Mormon, to produce, as John Brooke has observed a particular Americanization of theology Renaissance to join aspects of hermeticism, Gnosticism, alchemy and magic to produce a popular 'totally full' alternative to Christianity "(Nelson, Victoria. IDEM).

Robert Fogel noted as well, we're in the middle of the fourth awakening mystical religious American utopias originated in primitive and tribal acid rock and psychedelic '60s. A peculiar reading Zen-Taoist mysticism of nature, a revival of the myths of the Earth and the praise of their natural cycles, combined with a Christian socialism, communal myths and, paradoxically, combined with the push of transcendentalist hallucinogenic journeys and altered states of consciousness.

Associated with the slight movement of Gnosticism in science from the universities of Pinceton and Pasadena during World War II, the principle among physicists, cosmologists and biologists, then spread to other areas, mainly through the theory and cybernetics information, we have the appearance of a typical American phenomenon: the Tecnognosticismo. That is, the mystical belief technophiles and the possibility of transcendent experience and experience the Sacred through the development of communications technology and information. As Theodore Roszak said ironically, is the technology as "shortcut to Satori" technology as the quintessence of overcoming the human condition (finitude, contingency, mortality, physicality and existential restriction) without the need for discipline, meditation and asceticism.

Great Awakening in this room we have, finally, the meeting of the whole tradition of "American Religion" in the sense given by Harold Bloom, with the strength of the techno-industrial complex U.S. military.

Gnosticism for the Masses

Since the popularization of techgnostics technologies and radical change of all sensory and perceptual environment with everyday devices such as Internet, graphical interfaces, virtual reality etc.. we have a new sensitivity to religious and mystical. On the one hand, we have the personnel autodivinização search for the sacred replaced by technologies spiritual self-help (represented by different means of film and audiovisual productions), and secondly, the popularization of the myths of classical Gnosticism not only to make a critical reflection on the fate of man before the tecnognose (Truman Show and The Matrix as examples) how to address particular forms of gnosis which are distinguished from self-help (Stay, The Fountain etc...)

As we have seen in a previous post (click here to read), this fourth Great Awakening produced a split in the resurgence of Gnosticism in the twentieth century: on one hand the Kabbalistic Gnosticism (represented by the Faustian pursuit of technology as a faster way to search for the post -human and the absolute transcendence of the spirit and quick compared to the prison of the body) and on the other, the Alchemical Gnosticism (the belief that the matter should be redeemed and not simply overcome and that the termination of this technological vision is more a Faustian shape of the Demiurge imprison humans in the illusions of the material world).

Surprisingly, this locus has been the production thematization recent Hollywood movie. This observation leads us to one final question: what makes directors and producers of the film industry to have this sudden interest in Gnostic thematic universe, particularly the alchemical? Why are these mythical narratives of antiquity were stranded in the synopses, scripts and the tables of mainstream Hollywood film producers? Why Hollywood embrace this particular Gnostic view that questions technoscientific Gnosticism?

A clue to begin answering this question may lie in considerations of Boris Groys on a "metaphysical turn" of the recent Hollywood production: gods, demons, aliens and thinking machines encountering heroes driven mainly by the question of what can be hidden behind the perceptible reality. This theme would hide a metaphysical claim self-referential. Movies like Matrix or Truman Show thematize own media production. We consider the real heroes of these films as media critics.

"Hollywood, therefore, reacts to suspected manipulation aesthetics that it is addressed to reactivating a metaphysical suspicion even more ancient and profound - the suspicion that the world could be a noticeable film shot on a remote metahollywood. In this case, Hollywood films would be "more real" than reality, as it usually does not show nor the artificial character of its own or what is beyond him. The new Hollywood movie, instead, shall, to reflect on their own procedures, a new metaphysics that interprets the act of creation as a studio production. "(Groys, Boris." Gods Enslaved - a metaphysical twist of Hollywood, "In: More! Folha de Sao Paulo, 03.06.2001, p. 5.)

While the European cinema is concerned, as usual, with "Too Human", Hollywood entered the current phase metaphysical or self-referential. With the proximity of digital technology involved in the traditional film business by extinguishing its own medium (film), or eliminating its own specificity that distinguishes it before other media, perhaps this time Hollywood be giving an answer to that technoscience the attacks. Perhaps this is the trend towards the metaphysics of the movie business now is to bring to the screen the ancient Gnostic suspicion that the world perceived to be an illusion and that a "metahollywood" high tech is the new Demiurge denounce the scruples of technoscience Kabbalistic - the secret project of combining the film industry with new technologies.

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Dicionário de Comunicação apresenta o verbete "tecnognose"

A conjunção entre Gnosticismo e Ciência (a princípio na Cosmologia, passando pela Biologia e, mais tarde, concentrando-se na Teoria da Informação e nas novas tecnologias computacionais) tornou-se a verdadeira porta de entrada para as mitologias gnósticas no século XX. O verbete "tecnognose"apresentado pelo Dicionário de Comunicação da Editora Paulus lançado recentemente define este conceito, fundamental para compreendermos como o gnosticismo vai manifestar-se nos produtos audiovisuais e cinematográficos contemporâneos.

Reproduzimos abaixo o verbete apresentado pelo
Dicionário:

Tecnognose

(S.f.) # Etim.: Do grego téchne “arte”, “ofício” + do
grego gnôsis “conhecimento”, “sabedoria”.

O progresso tecnológico pode ser caracterizado unicamente pela necessidade instrumental de busca por soluções econômicas para o mundo dos negócios. Porém, paralelo a este discurso, encontramos outro de natureza diversa, isto é, de motivação mística ou espiritualista: onisciência, ubiqüidade, superação de limites pessoais, utopias (“estrada para o futuro”, “o futuro é agora”) e toda uma série de nominações transcendentalistas que, para muitos autores, apontam para uma secreta afinidade entre tecnologia computacional e pós-religiões tradicionais. New agers, cyberpunks, desenvolvedores de programas e demais tecnófilos parecem conceber o ciberespaço não apenas no restrito aspecto da racionalidade instrumental, mas como um espaço sagrado que traria imortalidade e onisciência numa fusão gnóstica entre o self e o divino reino da informação. Se a história da racionalidade ocidental é marcada pelo embate contra o mito, temos uma mudança de rumo inesperada: o misterioso e o mítico penetram no próprio discurso atual da ciência e da tecnologia. No cerne das narrativas atuais que defendem a supremacia da ciência e do poder sem limites da tecnologia, encontramos uma fala “parasitária” promovendo o mistério e o mí(s)tico: uma fala “gnóstica”. Esta afinidade entre gnose, tecnociência e cibercultura foi sugerida por diversos pesquisadores de diferentes linhas como Hermínio Martins e Erik Davis. Por Gnose nos referimos ao conjunto de seitas sincréticas combinando idéias cristãs, neoplatonismo e as religiões de mistérios pagãs que florescem nos primeiros tempos da difusão do Cristianismo (séculos II e III DC). A eliminação do corpo e a virtualização da subjetividade propiciados pelas novas tecnologias computacionais parece favorecer esta espécie de “religião da tecnologia”. Esta fala seria mais do que parasitária, ou seja, devido a determinadas circunstâncias sociais e culturais do século XX, o gnosticismo teria se tornado o verdadeiro imaginário tecnológicoä que redirecionou a história da tecnologia, fazendo-a ingressar na etapa atual das próteses e simulações. A afinidade entre gnosticismo e tecnologia presente nas ciberutopias atuais apontaria para aquilo que Heidegger já havia pressentido: a essência da tecnologia não é técnica, mas metafísica. Diversos autores, entre eles Raymond Ruyer e Theodore Roszak,
detectaram e mapearam a semente do misticismo nas comunidades científicas, sejam
acadêmicos ou tecnófilos. Ruyer afirma que este movimento gnóstico surge discretamente nos meios científicos das universidades de Princeton e Pasadena nos EUA durante a II Guerra Mundial. A princípio entre físicos, cosmólogos e biólogos para, em seguida, alastrar-se por outras áreas, principalmente através da Cibernética e Teoria da Informação. Já Roszak rastreia este mesmo movimento na formação do Vale do Silício na Califórnia e entre as comunidades de
tecnófilos que participaram da revolução do computador pessoal e da Internet. Todos eles, com forte influência dos movimentos contra-culturais da Costa Oeste dos EUA, fortemente influenciados por utopias gnósticas que, mais tarde, tornaram-se Ciberutopias.
Wilson Roberto Vieira Ferreira


MARCONDES FILHO, Ciro (ORG.) Dicionário de Comunicação. São Paulo: Paulus, 2009.

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Series Lost, Last Season: Trick of the Script or Archetypes Gnostics

Lost ends with fans divided: on one hand, those who felt betrayed by the writers of the series and the other, those who do not bothored with puzzles not explained by the series. But the interesting thing Lost is not in cartesian anxiety for solutions that could solve the script to the end, but the great symbolism and mythologies that arise precisely in those gaps in the narrative.

Of all the discussions on Internet forums and groups for fans of American television series Lost, opinions are divided roughly into two trends: the first saw the series as a great writers' scam: polar bears appear in rainforests , Egyptian hieroglyphics that appear in the ruins of an ancient civilization on the island, the Others who spoke in Latin, polar bases speaking in Portuguese, etc., all puzzles and numerous others were released without explanation in the plot. The final solution is indeed expected, that all were already dead (suspected flashfowards expanded with the sixth season), seemed a Deus Ex-Machina "(term for arbitrary, nonsensical or plausibility in the narrative, to resolve dead- found in scripts exit misguided).

The second argues that the trend should remain mysteries, they were part of the charm or the assumptions of the series Lost. The mysteries left without explanation just did emphasize that the riddle of the island is very old, as old as mankind itself, therefore, impossible to be explained in six seasons in a television series. Indeed, the denouement (or the final question from Jack: "We're going where?) Would be just the tip of the iceberg, the visible aspect of a cosmic story that goes beyond human comprehension. In summary, the mystery behind this enigmatic church where the protagonists of the series come together in the end, apparently a Catholic, but the stained glass windows (with the symbolism of all the main currents mystic-religious - Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, Buddhism etc.. ), a particular church, the ecumenical character (see picture below).

Let's forget, so all the little mysteries and riddles posted throughout the seasons of the series (indeed, it is living the screen writers). Let us put aside our tendency cartesian want a screenplay to exhaust all the explanations and close in on itself. We will concentrate on major archetypes and symbolism works by the series: characters stranded on an island trying to escape, each with a past from which they also wanted to escape, to forget. All together synchronously on a flight that will not end. A crash will make them fall on an uncharted island somewhere in time and space. All (the island and their lives) in a sleep state.

We are dealing with an archetype of the Gnostic TRAVELER, altered state of consciousness that will enable the gnosis (lighting) through the state of the suspension (revocation of rational thought, something close to the mantra or meditation). Jacob, Desmond, Locke and in the end, Jack, were believers, renounced their rationales for engaging in repetitive mantras to "save the world" (push buttons, defending caves with lights etc.)..

In episode 16 (in my opinion the most important of the entire series because summarizes the genesis and comogonia Island), we have the strong symbolism of Gnostic Light and the cosmos that imprisons everyone. Children of a mother killed by the Demiurge (a woman who holds the secret of light that keeps the existence of the island) are trapped on the island. Her stepmother tries to keep them at all costs on the island saying that nothing exists outside it. Like the Gnostic mythology, the cosmos is one that imprisons us constructu consisting of empty forms set in motion by the particles of light present in every human being. When the stepmother has the mystery of the Island (Light confined in a cave that holds the existence of the Island) says: "This light is also within each one of us." Everything's brother Jacob wants is to "go home". He discovers that this island is not the place (like humans in the physical cosmos) and joins a group of "scientists" ("men who are concerned to know how things work") who want to steal that Light (open the "cork" which borders on the island at all).

Here begins a new archetypal symbolism explored by the series: Gnosticism vs. gnosticsimo cabalistic alchemy. As discussed in previous post (see below links to related posts), the Gnostic narratives symbolize this anxiety in human flesh to transcend and overcome physical limitations and existential spirit. Two solutions are presented: on one side of techno Kabbalistic link (the "tecnognose") represented by the series Dharma Project and manipulative claims of his brother Jacob and antagonist (the "black smoke") to escape the island from the moment that able to sink it (erasing the Light of the "heart of the Island"). The past has to be simply discarded, forgotten. The flesh, the physical existence, it should simply be ignored and discarded, with nothing to learn from your memory (pain, suffering, etc.)..

On the other hand, the transcendent alchemy: Jack in the end restores the Light on the Island, shortly before his death. Simultaneously, in flashfoward, revealed by his father the truth: they all died (each time) and met unconsciously that kind of parallel existence (or limbo). Each one has lived the most important period of his life on the island, all together. Thus, as explained by Jack's parents, all are there together, living in that limbo, to remember and then forget. They must understand the past (forgive each other, for example, as it did with Hugo Linus) to proceed forward, overcoming and continuing in their spiritual journeys.

As in alchemy where the matter should be redeemed and not simply discarded in Lost are all in a suspended state waiting for the moment of enlightenment (gnosis) that, as we have seen, appeared at times as intuitive flashes, deja-vus. The illumination came from the redemption (understanding of what happened on the island). The mere destruction of that island, as desired by the "black smoke" no, would provide this understanding.

Summarizing: the penultimate and final episodes of last season for at least managed to tie loose fragments of Gnostic elements throughout the narrative (multifaceted reality, reality seen as a constructu, suspension, paranoia, confusion between reality and psychic projection etc...)

Therefore, the interesting Lost in anxiety is not the Cartesian solutions that could solve the screenplay to the end, but the great symbolism and mythologies that arise precisely in those gaps in the narrative.

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Ad-Gnosis: The Spiritual Engineering in Advertising

After the advertising reaching the subconscious and behavior with behavioral and subliminal techiniques, and unconscious with the psychoanalytic approaches, we are now the apex with a true spiritual engineering: the "Ad-Gnosis" (Advertising + Gnosis). In addition to the behavior and unconscious, the next target is the very spirit in archetypal approaches increasingly sophisticated in Advertising.

The idea of this post originated in a question raised by a student in the class creenplay Structure in the course of Publicity and Propaganda Universidade Anhembi Morumbi. We were discussing the use of archetypes in the scripts of several advertising films we review. Where, then, stop the movie from mobile operator "Oi" titled "Fashion". The film compared the fashion of old (who squeezed or restricted in corsets, bodices, etc..) With the current (which cherishes freedom of movement and choice). At the end of the film, the slogan "Freedom is a fashion statement." The issue raised is the slogan would be a contradiction: but being fashionable is to follow the trend of the majority, so there is no freedom. Immediately came to my mind the "Newspeak" language created by Big Brother in George Orwell's 1984 dystopia where contradictions were emptied in a banal language ("war is peace," and so forth). But when discussing archetypes, the issue is more complex than the discussion on plans semantic field of linguistics.

The film's publicist Oi worked with the archetype of the explorer, focusing on the aspect of his Shadow: the fear of being arrested, confined, limited the possibilities to learn and enjoy new experiences, being alienated and disconnected from others. That is, a kind of atavistic desire (transcend, move beyond etc.) Translated by cellular telephone service, and mainly confined in an adversarial slogan, where the yearning for freedom runs out on the immanence of fashion.

But there is a deeper aspect: a static economic system and cartelized, where products are increasingly similar, the only way to inject energy and élan in the system is through the trapping of the most spontaneous of individuals - Light and Spirit translated by archetypes exploited by advertising. It's what we call "Ad-gnosis."

Cartelization of the archetypes

Since the crash of the New York Stock Exchange in 1929 (where the capitalist world economy was almost down the drain) there is a tendency for an increasing monopolization and cartelization of the broad areas of the economy. The price war of a competitive economy (deep reason of the crash of 1929) was replaced by control of prices and demand (the desire for consumption) through cartelization and Publicity. In this new scenario, the products become progressively more and more identical: the management practices, production processes and technology are becoming increasingly similar among firms inside a cartel or inserted into gigantic transnational groups.

The differentiation between the products becomes a threat to the momentum of inertia of the consumer market. Successive strategies are being employed by advertising in order to simulate differences and competition. Of testimony linking celebrities Hollywood star system products, through the symbolic associations of status and prestige, until, in the '50s and '60s, to the tactics of subliminal inspiration and even psychotherapy (exploring compulsive, impulse, vicious and psychological dependence) increasingly Advertising has been perfecting a kind of engineering spirit. With Globalization and the radicalization of the concentration of firms in less transnational groups, the tactics of the differences of simulation products on the market necessarily need to become much more sophisticated in risk of all the imagery of consumption (sophistication, competition, technological innovation infinite and satisfaction) between a state of inertia. After reaching the subconscious behavior and behavioral techniques and subliminal, unconscious and with the psychoanalytic approaches, we now have the apex with a true spiritual engineering: the "Ad-Gnosis" (Advertising + Gnosis). In addition to the behavior and unconscious, the next target is the very spirit in archetypal approaches increasingly sophisticated in Advertising.


We can identify the origins of the development of engineering in the creation of deep technical VALS (Values, Advertising and Life Style) segmentation, developed in the late '70s by the American futurist Arnold Mitchell and finally improved in early 1990. The method was based on market segmentation by psychological profiles: individuals would be less motivated by individualistic or behavioral factors and more by ideals, values and lifestyles that could be classified into eight types: Innovators, Survivors, Believers, Thinkers, Strivers, Experiencers and Makers. This guided the publicity seeking "value-added" products such as philosophies, missions, goals, etc.. and no more "hard" style of the imagery of status and prestige.

But it just was not enough. It was necessary to achieve a more "mystical" or "magical" more in tune with the times "New Age" in which we live.

Carol Pearson, PhD in Psychology and Professor of Leadership Studies at Maryland University in the U.S. will find, from the studies of archetypal symbolism of the psychoanalyst Karl G. Jung, twelve models of unconscious symbolism, she said, motivate the human species: Innocent, Explorer, Sage, Hero, Outlaw, Magician, Regular Guy, Lover, Jester, Caregiver, Creator, Ruler. Initially aimed to serve as a tool for organizational engineering tactics, comes to the world of marketing and advertising concepts as guiding screenplays and video advertising as a strategy of creating the image of brands.

In their book "Awakening the Heroes Within: Twelve Archetypes That Help Us Find Ourselves and Transform Our World" (Harper SanFranc bait, 1991), "Magic At Work: Camelot, Creative Leadership and Everyday Miracles" (Doubleday, 1995), "The Hero and the Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands Through The Power of Archetypes "(McGraw-Hill, 2001)," Organization Mapping the Psyche: A Jungian Theory of Organizational Dynamics and Change "(CAPT: Center for Applications of Psychological Type, 2003) is clear that human motivation is the primary concern of organizations, business, marketing and advertising.

In Jung's archetypes are symbols of the collective unconscious, symbols updated by various means (mysticism, religion, legends, myths, until you reach the most mystical of contemporary advertising) where are clumped aspirations, hopes and great metaphysical and existential questions of humankind. Experiencing an archetype is to tune in the network of unconscious meaning, even for brief flashes, like a deja-vu.

In Gnostic terms, archetypes are the manifestations of these particles of light in each one of us that connects us to our true spiritual origins (the process of gnosis), envisaging the possibility of transcendence of the material cosmos constrains.

In Ad-Gnosis these particles of light or spirit is translated as "motivation" as an energy source to be merged and imprisoned in narratives and images that set into motion the imagination of the consumer who is living with the threat of stagnation and entropy: the discovery that in the end, all products are equivalent and that the differences are merely of signs or imagery.

For example, if the advertising films about soap powder housewives are represented by the same cliche characterology (thin, brunette, long hair, around 30 years and even look to suit the child that appears unclean feet to the head etc. .), the archetype is what will capture the "motivation" of the consumer, injecting spontaneity and energy design in static and empty.

• Related Posts: "Because We Know You Have Something Special", says the Demiurge

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The Joker and The Synchromysticism

"I warned him" said Jack Nicholson after the death of Heath Ledger, the interpreter of the Joker in The Dark Knight (2008). What I meant Nicholson with this warning? Like the archetypal psychopath, the Joker summarize not only as the thought-forms become autonomous and powerful current in pop culture but also, as Hollywood becomes the main catalyst of these psychic energies.

The post below appeared in the blog of Jason Horsley Aeolus Inc. In this post, we have a practical example of analysis of what he calls "Synchromysticism": a proposal for analyzing not only the product film, but film production and audiences by reference of Schizophrenia, Shamanism, the development of archetypes (Jung) and Theosophical concepts like the "thought-form" of Blavatsky and Leadbeater. This post is the first part of its analysis surrounding the death of actor Heath Ledger and the last character who performed it, the Joker from Batman film series. For Horsley, the Joker is the archetypal psychopath, a Thought Form capable of owning contemporary actors and audiences, most of the autonomous entities manipulated by the Hollywood industry. Horsley dangerously transits between conspiracy theories and mysticism as a reference tool to understand phenomena of communication today.

However, it is worth following his arguments critically. At least, it can be fun. Soon we will publish the second part of the analysis Horsley about Heath Ledger and the Joker:

The Hollywood Entity Smogasbord

After Heath Ledger’s death, Jack Nicholson made the cryptic remark: “I warned him.”

What exactly did Nicholson warn Ledger about? It seems likely, given the context, that Nicholson was referring to the potentially deranging effects of playing a psychopath with such extreme qualities as the Joker. The Joker is not merely a psychopath but an archetypal psychopath: in the ranks of popular cultural thought-forms or 20th century tulpas, he is practically a god. (Research for the first Batman movie claimed that the bat insignia was the second most recognizable symbol to kids, after the smiley face.)

If I am right in presenting the idea that fictional creations become semi-autonomous, even semi-conscious, entities within the Imaginal realms, via the psychic energy we give to them (an idea Neil Gaiman plays with in Sandman, and Alan Moore with Promethea), then presumably, the more popular a character becomes—the more narratives are spun around it—the “stronger,” the more powerful and autonomous, the tulpa would become? Think of Father Christmas or Jesus Christ. Whatever odd mix of myth, legend, and historical fact lies behind these characters, they are profoundly real in their effects, and not just in our psyches but through our actions. Parents even pretend to be Santa to maintain the illusion.

In The Manson Secret, Peter Levenda touches on the parallels between method acting (the Stanislavsky method) and the creation of “alters” via mind control programming—in other words, between the assumption of roles as a performer, and the fragmentation of the psyche as seen in multiple personality disorder, etc. In the old days, however—and even today in more shamanic cultures—what we term schizophrenia and “MPD” would more likely be understood as a kind of entity-possession. When trauma—either induced via abuse or other forms of “handling” or self-induced via drugs, magikal rituals, or acting techniques—creates an opening or fracture in the psyche, external forces can enter in and assume control of that psyche. One could also say that, by tapping into the unconscious mind, suppressed and disowned aspects of the psyche—both daimonic and demonic—emerge and take over consciousness. The shamanic view sees the forces as external and demonic, the psychological view sees them as internal, pertaining to the psyche. But the basic description is the same, as is the end result: loss of control, madness, despair, or, in rare cases, initiation and illumination, and maybe an Oscar-winning performance!

I already described how actors might be chosen as vessels or conduits—“strange attractors”—by which psychic energy could be drawn off and redirected toward the creation of thought-forms. These thought-forms would not be under the control of the actor, much less the audience (whose psychic energy they are made up of), but rather that of a third, unseen element: a power, let’s say, hidden behind the scenes. Thus these thought-forms would seem to be autonomous, since they are being directed by an outside intelligence independent of their apparent source. Something similar may occur in the cases of MPD and indeed, of actors submersing themselves in a role. It almost indubitably does occur in the case of mind control victims.

When an “alter”—a fragmented aspect of the psyche that has been compartmentalized and become independent—is created, it is effectively cut off from the controlling intelligence of the psyche. Since nature abhors a vacuum, something is inevitably drawn to fill the space, to take hold of the disowned fragment, and to steer and direct it, perhaps even to inhabit it. So in behavioral modification, a subject’s fragment “alter” is programmed and trained as a spy, assassin or sex slave, and this becomes its whole identity and function. Essentially it is then acting upon—as an embodiment of—the will of another, external agency. The same can be said, in religious terms, when demons possess a body and “oust” its soul: a person becomes split into two or more personalities, one of which remains unconscious of the other, and so they begin to act out their “Shadow” in aberrational ways. We say of such a person that they are “possessed,” or are “not themselves,” or simply that they are “out to lunch.” Shamanically speaking, entities (which may themselves be thought-forms created by the person, or by others connected to them, such as “ghosts,” “ancestors,” and suchlike) await such an opportunity to assume control of a person’s psyche and inhabit their body. This can occur in dramatic ways—crimes of passion, mental breakdown, etc—or in subtler but far more prevalent ways, such as compulsive behavior, substance addiction, sexual abuse, and suchlike.

Of all the feeding grounds we might imagine for entities, it’s hard to conceive of a richer, more abundant and varied one than that of Hollywood—where compulsive and extreme behavior is the norm, and where the creation and assumption of alternate personalities and the weaving and pursuing of fake narratives—the deliberate disassociation from reality—is the nature of the business.

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Faith and Gnosis in "The Road"

The Road (2009) is a film post-apocalyptic genre that you never saw. Unlike films with the same theme as The Book of Eli (2010), the faith of the protagonists is not in God or sacred books. Faith lost must be sought in the "heart fire", the Gnostic quest for remembrance of what was lost and that is not in this world, but somewhere in the idyllic "South". Warning spoilers in this post.

The world as we know it was destroyed by some unspecified apocalyptic event. The result is the progressive death of the planet: With the exception of humans, animals and plant kingdom are dying in the midst of earthquakes and a persistent rain falling in a world ever more gray and cold. Without food, groups are organized into gangs in search of fuel and other human beings to be cannibalized. Those who have not resorted to suicide struggling not to be caught by these gangs and survive without eating their peers.

A man (Viggo Mortensen) is his only son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) for the company in this arid land. The mother (Charlize Theron) is killed, and the only hope of surviving the winter is eternal cross the country towards the coast and head south. Along its path will face the constant threat of gangs and cannibals the dangers of a planet that is dying.

This plot seems familiar: another post-apocalyptic movie in the line of Mad Max or the recent The Book of Eli (aka, as the Americans like to destroy your country in the movies!). But his narrative glacial and precise, with a constant atmosphere of terror by recurrent signs of widespread cannibalism, makes "The Road" a movie post-apocalyptic as ever seen.

But mostly, the theme of hope and faith is approached by a Gnostic bias, which makes it a different movie for the genre. The film is an adaptation of the book "The Road" (winner of the Pulitzer Prize) from mahout McCarthy whose work seems to have great influence of Gnosticism in the book like Blood Meridian (his film adaptation is planned for 2011), a western that, according to Leo Gaugherty , "is a gnostic tragedy, a rare union of ideology with the tragedy Hellenistic Gnostic" ("Gravers False and True: Blood Meridian the Gnostic Tragedy" Southern Quarterly 30, No. 4, Summer 1992, pages 122-133).

On The Road father and son (important detail, the film has no character name) struggle to find safe places and keep warm. His father fiercely protects her son, and a disturbing scene shows him how to kill if necessary - presumably if he is captured by cannibals and can not escape. But he also tells his son that they are "carrying the fire", a phrase that is repeated several times in the film. This "fire" is both the literal fire to cook food and keep them warm, but also the hope that they have for humanity. More than that, is a Gnostic symbolism.

As the man talks about his son: "If he is not the word of God God never spoke." The father and son must carry a particle of light in the heart, particle, according to the Gnostic mythology, is reminiscent of our true home in the Pleroma. Beings who are exiles in a cosmos in the fall, we should keep this particle (gnosis) that we bring back to our true origins.

Constantly in the movie his son is concerned with how to distinguish good from evil men. As in Blood Meridian, here the antagonism Manique and Zoroaster: the division between "good guys and bad guys" is not one of Manichaeism Hollywood, but the fundamental cosmic conflict over the ownership of these particles of Light Avoid being cannibalized by "Bad Guys" is to prevent the Demiurge (craftsman of that post-apocalyptic world.) take possession of the particles that give a life to a world in decline.

Therefore, the way the topic of faith and hope are addressed by the protagonists is typically Gnostic. Unlike the movie "Book of Eli" where faith is given by the words of the Bible memorized by the protagonist (antagonist fight to take possession of the holy book, too, remember his words), here faith is approached as a gnosis, a dipping process which seeks to close in the heart of light that the particle will be
the benchmark for discerning between Good and Evil Throughout the film there are several religious references (Verse of the biblical book of Jeremiah - "Behold the Valley massacre "- graffiti on a bridge in ruins, the protagonists take shelter in a church also in ruins, like poles tilted crosses were stuck on land razed etc.).. Religion is placed as an additional detail of a scenario in ruins. It remains the protagonists an intimate search. No more faith in God, but only in yourself. It is the typical path of Gnosis.

Unlike his father who was molded by years of desperation became pitiless, fierce and distrustful of anyone who crosses the path, the son, is still rather innocent and naive, but aware of the evils of the world. Each dialogue cynical view of the helpless father is contrasted by the hope of finding the child and may still exist within all people.

Curious in the film is that no character be named. This has a double meaning in the narrative. On one hand, in a post-apocalyptic world names are useless, the men become animals like cattle herd for the cannibals. Second, in this circumstance actions speak more acts that names or social roles that may result. The name is not a person and is not necessary for you to connect with them as something "real." Our actions are what defines who we are and says, not our names. More Gnostic theme, and perhaps the main theme of the film: more important than names and social roles are the actions and the heart that will indicate whether you keep the particle of light lit inside. In one scene, a man asks if Mortensen is a doctor, he replies: "I am nothing."

After reaching the coast and the father dies, the boy will find a family that will adopt. The final dialogue between them is the synthesis of the Gnostic message contained in the film: the human beings as the exiles who have a recollection of his true origin. The wife says to the boy: "I am so happy to see him. Did you know that we have followed you? I have seen with your father. We are very lucky. We were very worried about you. Now we do not have to worry about anything else. "

The boy not only found in the intimate human kindness. This line of dialogue is emblematic of a deeper meaning close Gnostic: anthropos as it declined for the cosmos dominated by a Demiurge that imprisons us, we are observed by Sophia (a character who talks to the child is female) accompanying our progress and falls, waiting for the memory of what was lost in the wake.

Symbolism of Water and Cardinal Points

In "The Road" have different symbolism and iconography, but two stand out in symbolism fundamental to the narrative: the beach (or "coast" as referred to in the film) and the south cardinal point

The final important dialogue, as his father's death, occur on the beach. In our research we can see that the water element is recurrent in Gnostic movies: does not appear as a mere ornament or geographical context. Participates as an active element of signification, as part of decisive changes in the actions of players or interpretation of the story.

"The symbolic significance of water can be reduced to three dominant themes: source of life, a means of purification, regenerescência center. These three themes are in the oldest traditions and form the most varied combinations imaginary "(CHEVALIER, Jean and GHEEBRANT, Alain. Dictionary of Symbols, José Olympio Editora, 2009, p.15).

On the beach, the son sees his father's death (symbolically marking the death of the bonds of anthropos, the son, with the physical cosmos that traps) and the final encounter with Sophia ("now we do not have to worry about anything else," he says) .

The survival strategy of the players is to go to the coast and then sail to the South The cardinal points have an elaborate symbolism in various cultures. Many beliefs about the origin of life, the abode of the gods and the dead, the cyclical etc. organized around the axes cross-shaped cross. Analogical thinking for the opposition creates a bond: the South is opposed to the North but the South leads the North. This principle of discontinuity is the basis of cyclical processes of chain initiation of death and rebirth. For many esoteric traditions each direction is associated with an angelic being.

The South is associated with the angel Mikael, who helps the pilgrim to travel safely. Like the protagonists of "The Road" looking at the journey through the devastated lands lost faith and flame (gnosis) in the depths of human nature.

Credits:

• Original title: The Road
• Length: 112 min.
• Type: Feature film / Color
• Distributor: Paris Filmes
• Producer: Dimension Films, 2929 Productions, Nick Wechsler Productions, Chockstone Pictures, Road Rebel
• Release year: 2009
• Country: USA
• Director: John Hillcoat
• Screenwriter: Cormac McCarthy, Joe Penhall
• Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, Molly Parker, Michael K. Williams, Garret Dillahunt, Charlize Theron, Bob Jennings, Agnes Herrmann, Buddy Sosthand, Kirk Brown, Brenna Roth, Jack Erdi, David August Lindauer

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Conspiracies, Schizophrenia, Synchromysticism ... Some Hypotheses to Explain the Gnostic Film

Anywhere where I expose my research on the film Gnostic insistent question arises: Hollywood is turning to Gnosticism? Screenwriters, directors and producers gnostics are invading the American film industry? Then everything could be a big conspiracy? The answers are not so simplistic. Even more, we know that the "revival" today is just another throughout history (the alchemists in the Middle Ages, the Neo-Platonism in the Renaissance, Gothic and Romantic literature in the eighteenth century etc.).

To help answer these questions, we will try to do a mapping of the main hypotheses about why the current convergence between movies and Gnosticism:

1 - Conspiracy Theory: This event thrives mainly on the Internet. Gnosticism is associated with a movement called "Satanism" or "Luciferianism" who was behind the globalization or the "New World Order" (NWO). The main goal of globalization is not political and not economic. This was all just a means to achieve the larger goal: the proliferation of neo-paganism with the destruction of the three great monotheistic religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Because the Gnosticsmo face the monotheistic God as a Demiurge Gnosticism and oppose forms of religious revelation (as opposed to faith in God, Gnosticism proposed faith in yourself) are evidence of its purposes Satanists. In this struggle for hearts and minds would be in the vanguard of this Hollywood giant conspiracy to submit on movie screens worldwide protagonists who seek more faith in themselves than in God. Writers, Directors and Producers would be part of this conspiracy that would aim to build the road within the philosophical and mystical which covers the New World Order. This hypothesis is primarily evangelical and fundamentalist Christian groups in the U.S., the same groups that defend the civilian weapons as a way for people to organize militias to counter the NWO.

If this hypothesis first part of a mistaken understanding of Gnosticism (secret societies, neo-paganism, cosmos without God, nihilism, atheism, etc.) on the other, it seems that movies Gnostics take some advantage of these delusional conspiracies: embedded in their narratives References of these urban legends as in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind when Joel (Jim Carey) is an impulse to take the train to Montauk and missing work. Why Montauk? It is a subtle reference to the famous conspiracy theory of the Montauk Project, whose content has to do with the very theme of the movie. The Montauk Project was a secret project undertaken by U.S. military intelligence experience with psychological intervention through drugs and electronic equipment for espionage and interrogation.

2 - Sincromisticismo: hypothesis proposed by Jason Horsley (philosopher and critic of American cinema), especially in his book "Secret Life of Movies: Schizophrenic and Shamanic Journeys in American Cinema. London: McFarland, 2009. " For him, cinema is the way people experience it the other three areas of experience that society alienates us: the search for religious purposes or "signs", the shamanic or animistic way of dealing with the Nature and schizophrenic inability to distinguish between reality and fantasy. Both the experience of producing a film or watch it already is schizophrenic, on the assumption that the social structure itself is already schizoid, although not so admit. The recurring themes of the films Gnostics (loss of memory, identity, the boundaries between reality and fantasy, sanity and delusion, paranoia, etc.) would be symptoms of a condition that the company concealed and movies would be one way to experience them. By offering a "shamanic reality" (be in two places at once), the film would become the most schizoid of all media. In other words, to communicate with a schizophrenic society, writers and directors need to resort to a language also schizoid. What we think, then, the 3D movie experience?

The paranoia and schizophrenia, the raw material of films not only Gnostics (as, for example, "Fight Club", "Memento" and the recent "Shutter Island"), but the actual Gnosticism (the representation of the human condition such as an exile in a hostile cosmos) would be the very way to communicate with a company also schizoid. Horsley does not deal with schizophrenia as a disease that needs to be treated in the psychiatric sense. The Sincromisticismo asserts that the search itself by religious revelation is schizophrenic and that the company, denying that his own nature and confine the schizophrenic experience in psychiatry, denies people the experience "shamanic" the sacred. Therefore, the films would not be the means by which people want to escape reality through myth, but to experience it even though the company denies.

3 - The Gnostic film as a reflection of a historical moment - the hypothesis of the ideas of French historian Marc Ferro. For him every film is a document because it would represent the imaginary of a given society or historical period:

"The imagery is both history and history, but the cinema, especially fiction films, opens a great way toward the fields of psychosocial history ever achieved by the analysis of the documents" (FERRO, Marc. História.São Film and Paul: Peace and Terra, 1992, p.12).

No matter if the film refers to an immediate or remote past, since it always goes beyond its content. So if there is a connection between cinema and society, that is, if the film can be considered a repository of contemporary social thought and now know that this imagery is strongly marked by a technological development driven by techno-utopian nature of Gnostic, perhaps can understand why the recurrence of elements of gnosticism in the cinema. Strongly connected with the social imaginary of the end and beginning of new century, the film industry today, particularly the U.S., reflects not only the technological vision transcendentalist (Tecnognosticismo) and also existential issues, ethical and spiritual imagery resulting from such .

4 - Gnosticism as attitude and "psychological ambience." This hypothesis can be summarized in the phrase of Stephan Hoeller (writer, researcher, scholar and religious leader): "Every good artist is half gnostic." For him, the constant rebirth of Gnosticism throughout modern history (Gothic and Romantic literature in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, modern and avant-garde art, in actuality, the Hollywood cinema) runs under the systematization and transmission of the Gnostic philosophy. Rather, Gnosticism historically been characterized by syncretism, obscure origins and transmission trouble for the disappearance of key documents and texts. For Hoeller, the strength of Gnosticism refers to:

"A certain attitude of mind, a psychological ambience (...) a certain kind of soul is by its very nature, Gnostic. Whatever their geographical environment, cultural or spiritual this inevitably gravitates to a Gnostic worldview. When that ideological bias is the stimulus of some element of transmission Gnostic, is bound to emerge a rebirth. "(HOELLER, Stephen. Gnosticism: occult tradition. RJ: New Age, 2005, p. 155-156).

Be a writer, artist or researcher, the very critical attitude towards society already produce a "psychological ambience" provides for the reappearance of themes or archetypes of Gnosticism. On this view, writers like Philip K. Dick or mahout McCarthy (whose works attract the interest of writer / producers in recent American cinema) are Gnostics, although they have not realized it. The critical attitude towards the world to describe dark aspects of society and politics by inserting them into cosmic conspiracy goes far beyond the traditional historical materialist critique: outlines a critique of metaphysical. This "psychological ambience" would be given by Conspiracy Beliefs about secret societies that dominate the world originated in the mentality of a society atomized, passive in the face of an incomprehensible complexity of technology that dominates everyday life. That would be the environment from time to time to setup to create conditions for the recurrence of elements of Gnosticism.

These are the four main lines of assumptions that underlie current research on Cinema and Gnosticism. Excluding the first case (with obvious mark of the political right and religious fundamentalism), the other may be different aspects of one reality. Seems not mutually exclusive but complement each other.

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The "Ocean of Gnosis" in "Stranger Than Fiction"

Stranger Than Fiction (2006) explores the deep symbolism of the "Ocean of Gnosis" and the limits of a Writer / Demiurge, unable to solve the limits of time and becoming. It's the old battle of man against Gnostic Demiurge one that wants to impose a narrative fatalistic, gnosis that struggle for the awakening of free will within the realm of necessity.

Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) is an IRS auditor who leads a lonely life, rigid ruled by numbers (it always counts the number of times you brush your teeth vertically and horizontally) for his wristwatch and routine. His apartment is as impersonal as a hotel room with no personal objects, photographs, memories or disorder.

But one morning, Harold starts hearing a voice narrating his actions, "a modest element of his life as normal could be the catalyst for a new life." Immersed in daily data and figures for the first time creates a target level (or awareness of spiritual transcendence?) In your life: Who is this omniscient narrator? That plan comes? Harold becomes haunted by that voice off, until you discover your purpose: to chronicle the impending death of Harold.

After quitting to seek therapeutic support, Harold seeks an unorthodox solution: seeking the assistance of an eminent professor of Literary Theory, Professor Jules Hebert (Dustin Hoffman). From there the film provides an interesting narrative irony: more than concern for his mental state, Harold realizes that his life seems to be inside a larger purpose, as the narrative of a literary work. So with the help of Julius, must find out which plot and literary genre is concerned, for by doing so, discover how the outcome would be deadly to avoid it.

The voiceover is the writer Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson performed on - famous for killing all the protagonists in his books). His initial images in the film are symbolically suggestive (the protagonist observes the top of buildings such as the Gnostic Demiurge creating a cosmic plot to confine the protagonist anthropos).

Initially, two elements of the films Gnostics are present in "Stranger Than Fiction": the strength and regularity of the reality that crumbles to find that everything is a literary narrative and an arbitrary Demiurge and ironic deconstruction of filmic narrative itself - in story is constantly creating target levels, for example, discussion of the very elements of the script of the movie (Dramatic Irony, God "ex machina" etc.). and the search for Harold and Julius to determine to what genre the film that the viewer assists falls (comedy? Drama? tragicomic?).

Karen Eiffel is the Demiurge who is so intoxicated by the power to kill his players, enters into crisis and suffering a creative block: do not know now how to kill Harold creatively. As in the Gnostic mythology, all the power of the Demiurge is not able to solve the major flaw of his material universe: the becoming, over time. The publisher sends an assistant to help her overcome the lock and press it on the deadlines for delivery of documents.

For the Gnostic myth, the Demiurge imprisons man in his physical cosmos with one main goal: steal the light particles, reminiscent of the true top of the Pleroma plan contained in the human, this plan that is beyond the powers of the Demiurge. This is represented in shyness and naivety of Harold, who will increasingly writer Karen fascinated by its own protagonist to the point of reluctant to kill him. Gradually, freeing them from the rigidity of the bureaucratic world and right things (in that it discovers the artificiality of the world we lived).

That purity of feeling the "first look" is symbolically worked with several biblical symbolism of Genesis. The apple in the mouth of the exit Harold rushed to the bus stop every morning, the meeting with Anna Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal - baker audited by Revenue) that offers cookies taste which will further open up to Harold a world of new sensations (the original sin of biblical Paradise), the attraction to an old Fender guitar in the same color of the apple in his mouth every morning is Harold so.

Moreover, the character Anna Pascal occupies an important role to gnosis Harold. As in the Gnostic mythology female character of Sophia occupies an important role to bring wisdom to the physical cosmos, the character of Ana Pascal offering the "apple of original sin" (cookies) that opens the mind of Harold.

The "Ocean's Gnosis"

The main theme of the film is the gnosis of Harold. He has an empty life, bureaucratic and repetitive (typical characterization of the character "The Traveler" in the Gnostics films) in the process of gnosis should be through a game (the process of discovery of the plot metalinguistic narrative of his life) where the boundaries between fiction and reality are confused, like a journey through which the protagonist wakes up. Such ambiguity is the open path to gnosis.

This gnosis Harold begins on symbolic scene where Harold flips through the cards from the drawer of a huge file room Internal Revenue. The voiceover of Karen Eiffel narrates "The sound of paper against the separator was the same tone of a wave to break on the sand. And when Harold noticed it, he realized that the waves had already heard enough to be what he envisioned as a deep and endless ocean. " Here we have the symbolism of the "Ocean of Gnosis," the core of many metaphysical teachings Sufis (Sufism, mystical and contemplative stream of Islam that Westernized through Hinduism), for example, the Muslim mystic and poet Jalal Al-Din Rumi. For him, we see God not through teaching but the "heart", as if we were "in an ocean."

Harold knows he is dying, the struggle against this fate narrative imposed by writer / demiurge. As in the movie "Blade Runner" (film 1982, based on the novel of the Gnostic writer Philip K. Dick where a replicating robot struggles to find its creator to claim for longer life), Harold meets his creator, writer Karen Eiffel. Shocked, she confronts her own creation.

Professor Julius Harold and read the original writer and come to the conclusion: Harold has to accept death, after all, the new book is a masterpiece of Karen Eiffel. Again, the use of meta-narrative of the story: as in any screenplay, the protagonist must sacrifice for a greater cause in this case, the masterpiece of Eiffel. Julius Hebert, Professor of Literary Theory, Harold tries to convince the inevitability of death. It's about a "Greater Plan, the outcome of a great literary work, the high point of career Writer / Demiurge.

With so many biblical references and mystical that the film does, is the inevitable comparison with the Passion of Christ. Harold, as Christ knows who will die. Jesus Christ must die for a cause greater (the salvation of mankind) and Harold must die because of a "Greater Plan" means the necessity imposed by a clever narrative. But we are in a movie Gnostic: as in Gnosticism not where Christ came to save us (his death had nothing to do with it), but for the "cure" (bring gnosis to show that being in the world is not to be him ), Harold did not come to earth to die for a "Greater Plan", but to achieve gnosis.

By discovering the "oceanic feeling" in the banality of everyday gestures, Harold bringing the element of chance in causal narrative: the fragment of the clock halts bleeding which would be fatal to the protagonist in an accident ironically genial prepared by Eiffel. Again limiting the power of the Demiurge: the time, represented by the broken clock.

"Stranger Than Fiction" explores Gnosticism in both content and in form: the reality that imprisons Harold as a "constructu" arbitrary and deconstruction of metalinguistic own itinerary along the filmic narrative.

Credits:

• Original title: (Stranger than Fiction)
• Release: 2006 (U.S.)
• Director: Marc Forster
• Actors: Will Ferrell, Denise Hughes, Tony Hale, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Emma Thompson
• Running Time: 113 min
• genre: Comedy
• Studio: Mandate Pictures / Three Strange Angels / Crick Pictures LLC
• Distributor: Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment
• Director: Marc Forster
• Screenplay: Zach Helm
• production: Lindsay Doran

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Why Gnostic Movies Are An American Trend? (Final Thoughts)

While the Fantastic in the Old Continent has always been associated with the artistic avant-garde, the U.S. will permeate the forms of popular culture came in the twentieth century, creating a "sub-zeitgeist" represented by a whole literature of comic books, magazines, pulp fictions and filmic genres like sci-fi, horror and fantasy. The process of mass fantastic culminates with Gnosticism pop movies like Matrix and Thirteenth Floor where gnosis associate with the new computing technologies.

Continuing the previous post (click here to read), we reach the following conclusions about the marked differences between Europe and the United States not only about the developments of the elements of the Fantastic in art as the destinies of several Gnostic movie:

1 - While in Europe the Fantastic was always associated with great artistic and literary avant-garde (Romanticism, Gothic, Expressionism, Surrealism, German Expressionism in film etc..) In the U.S., by contrast, the Fantastic from the start associated whether popular cultural forms (Puritan narratives about miracles in everyday life in the eighteenth century, bizarre or sensational stories in magazines and pocket books of the nineteenth century - which will equip authors like Poe and Emerson - rebirths mystical / religious as Mormons and "Shakers" at the turn of the century, again the Fantastic in comics and pulp fictions in the 40 and 50 and the new religious mystic rebirth in the 60s with all utopianism and communalism.

2 - If the Great Art in Europe was identified with elements of the Fantastic, different from that in the U.S. the major artistic events in general indificaram with the realistic narrative with a strong influence on journalism as Ernst Hemingway, Mark Twain, Truman Capote etc.. Indeed, the whole process of rationalization of American culture just confining the Fantastic basically three different popular genres: science fiction, horror and fantasy. Thus, it creates a kind of "sub-zeitgeist" popular, as distinct from High Art, which will go through the whole underground culture of that country until last explosion mystical-religious '60s. Thereafter, the Fantastic will proliferate in video-games, role-playing games, interactive game web etc..

3 - Within this cultural process of rationalization, Fantasy has always been represented as an illusion, a dream, where a strategy of a character another trick to make him believe he lost his mind. From the '70s (as a reflection of the room "Great Awakening" mystical psychedelic 60s) the film begins to explore these elements of the fantastic in a serious and sophisticated:

"American films of the post-Star Wars begin to show interesting, sophisticated and ironic images. The 80s saw, for example, a furious Babylonian god trapped in a cold apartment in New York, without benefit of rationalizing a plot in the movie Ghostbusters (1984) Ivan Reitman, written by Dan Ackroyd and Harold Ramis; also saw the postmodern zombie mannequin in the movie Beetlejuice (1988) Tim Burton written by Burton and Caroline Thompson; saw the tragic story of the boy metal Scisorhands Edward (1990) by the same director and written by Michael McDowell. In all of them noticed a change in form and trans-formation and designed especially with the emphasis more on
technology than on the metaphysical dimension of the phenomenon "(Nelson, Victoria. The Secret Life of Puppets. Havard University Press, 2001 p.97).

4 - In addition to stage European Gnostic cult films (such as Zardoz starring Sean Connery and The Man Who Fell to Earth with David Bowie in the '70s) in the U.S. mix Gnostic (religious, mystical, alchemical and esoteric) comes to Hollywood mainstream in 90s in popular movies that will compose the model of Gnosticism pop whose films like Matrix represent the culmination of this trend.

5 - The fourth "Great Despartar" religion and mysticism converge with new computer technologies as demonstrated by Theodore Roszak. Gnostic Movies of the 90s will represent this utopian encounter between technology and transcendence gnosis in emblematic films like The Thirteenth Floor and The Matrix. We could propose the hypothesis that the popularization of "sub-zeitgeist" gnostic-mystic-esoteric is rationalized by Hollywood. Unlike the past, the Fantastic is removed from the confines of traditional genres (science fiction, horror and fantasy) to emerge as a drama in movies like The Game (1997) or as a western Dead Man (1995). But the price to be paid is the emphasis on gnosis in technology, placing in the background metaphysical or philosophical aspects

6 - With the crisis of the dot com companies in 2000 and reflux of a whole messianic imagery of the Internet and new technologies, as well as the crisis of self-help technologies inspired by computational models (self-knowledge as a process of reprogramming Software cerebral), we have a new way open to the elements of the fantastic within the Gnostics movies for the masses. In this century we have the recurring question of the "technologies of the spirit" (self-help and self-knowledge) and a new approach to gnosis with no more emphasis on technology but as an inner journey of the protagonist confined in hallucinations, delusions and divisions esquizofrências induced a Demiurge. The list of films Gnostics is extensive, but we can highlight the following examples: the powerlessness of psychiatrists in Stay (2005), Shutter Island, (2009) Identity (2003), the perplexity of the therapist and pedophilia author's self-help books in Donnie Darko (2001), the manipulative therapy as digital erasure of memories in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), the failure of technology the company that sells "lucid dreaming" by not providing the irruption of the unconscious in his client in the film Vanilla Sky (2001). In all these films the intimate process of reform should not be confused with self-help and spirituality, opening room for a metaphysical emphasis to gnosis.

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The end of the matrix model of Pop Gnosticism

From the bombastic release of Windows 95, we had the speculative boom of the potential of the Internet and computing technologies. Parallel to this, the growth of motivational techniques and self-help explicitly modeled on computer programming. In 2000 we break companies "dot com" and the Nasdaq stock exchange and, thus, the deceleration of an entire ciberutopia. Movies Gnostics reflect this change with the crisis of the Matrix Gnosticism pop and change in pursuit of gnosis, increasingly focused on internal conflicts of the protagonist.

For the French historian Marc Ferro every film is a document because it would represent the imaginary of a given society or historical period, "the imaginary is both history and history, but the cinema, especially fiction films, opens a great way toward the fields psychosocial history ever achieved by the analysis of documents "does not matter if the film refers to an immediate or remote past, since it always goes beyond its content.

Strongly connected with the social imaginary of the end and beginning of new century, the film industry today, particularly the U.S., reflects not only the technological vision transcendentalist like, well, existential issues, ethical and spiritual resulting from such imagery.

Perceive a clear change in the gnostic themes in movies final passage of a century to the beginning of new century. The years 1999-2000 mark a change of representation of the unreality of the world in which the protagonist lives.

In the first period (1995-1999) we have a simulated world by powerful technologies omnipresent and omniscient, able to create a counterfeit of reality so perfect that is indistinguishable from the original, at least for the perception of the protagonists. We have in this first phase the classical Gnostic narrative of a world created by a Demiurge (the technology) to trap human beings. The narrative presents a Manichean character (in the sense attributed to the Gnostic narratives of Mani) and we see an explicit and dramatic confrontation of the divinity of man against a crazed by the spiritual power and technology.

In Mad City (1997) we see a whole supra-reality created by the media circus surrounded the kidnapping unwitting that imprisons the protagonist. The film highlights the technological power of the omniscient and omnipresent media versus innocence and purity of the protagonist, seduced by character goal of TV monitors placed within the actual scene of action (Sam saw himself in the museum where they kept the hostages) . Truman Show (1998) reinforces this view of media technology, capable of simulating a world to create a new Adam. Explicitly inspired by the exprience tecnognóstica Oracle (The Oracle Project was to put in huge hangars of glass, erected in an area cm Tucson, Arizona desert, four men and four women, 3,800 plant and animal species and simulations of the five major biomes of the planet Earth. There were monitored for two years for two thousand electronic sensors and assisted by paying 600 thousand), this film is a clear example of the representation of technological vision utopian and end-of-century transcendentalist.

Pleasantville (1998) the power, not just technology, but magic of Mr. TV technician transports players to a TV series of the '50s, a microcosm of perfect simulation of reality of Adams and Eves media. Indirectly, The Game (1997) will touch on that theme by presenting a company with such technological omnipotence and omniscience that is capable of interfering with TV broadcasts open (making the program interact with the protagonist) and produce a kind of game that also interacts with real life.


Matrix and The Thirteenth Floor (1999) explicitly represent the imaginary tecnognóstico the end of the century. Technoscience approach and mysticism to make computer technology as a means to spiritual transcendence possible. The metaphor of the units that are autonomous and self-learners to gain awareness in simulated worlds and the possibility of transcending consciousness of a simulated world for less than one are explicitly tecnognósticas. In both films we see creators of simulations Demiurgos become intoxicated by the power which, again, seek to extract from prisoners or the innocence of new energy "Adams."

The obvious symbolism of Gnostic Manichaeism is Dark City (1998). Demiurges again (this time an alien race) imprison humans in a city-lab to get them the essence of the human soul. The city is a gigantic scenery recreated from fragments of human memories of all times, as well as Seaheaven of Truman Show is a copy of a copy of the advertising imagery.

Although no explicit reference to the technological universe, Being John Malkovich (1999) is a true parable of the destinations that seek mediation of identities, or avatars, represented by the figures of the puppets and the interior of the head of John Malkovich. It is the media-technological context formed by the pursuit of fame (if you can only stay 15 minutes in Malkovich's head, a wry reference to Andy Warhol's famous phrase about fame) and identity by means of avatars in virtual environments like Second Life.

The Crisis of the "Matrix Model"

The "Matrix model" of Gnosticism pop seems to end in 1999 with the actual movie Matrix. In 2000 we have a slowdown of utopian euphoria in relation to computer technologies with the bankruptcies of companies "dot com" and the revelation that most of these companies never had profit and that the utopian model of an Internet socializing with potential within capitalism had his days are numbered. According to Erik Davis, we have a loss of techno-euphoria:

"The collapse of the bubble the 'dot com' visionaries put back into their comfortable homes, and that's return to the real 'was further cemented by September 11. Utopian euphoria and dizziness post-human are out; stability and family values are in. Instead of ambition for the dissolution of borders, we see, at least in American politics, the restoration of anxiety for the defense of borders: nation, intellectual property, the Christian religion. " (DAVIS, Erik, Techgnosis: Myth, Magic and Mysticism in the Age of Information. London: Serpents Tail, 2004, p. 400).

Simultaneously, from Memento (2000), although Fight Club 1999 is already a harbinger, we have an amendment on the nature of the illusory world in which the protagonist is a prisoner. Now, the origin is in the mind of the protagonist himself. The illusory world may be the result of a neurological disorder or psychological (loss of short-term memories as in amnesia or schizophrenia on Identity (2003), internal conflicts (the feeling of guilt as in Stay, 2005) extrasensory powers (the gift of ubiquity as space-time in Donnie Darko, 2001) or diving into an inner world of memories as in Vanilla Sky (2001) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).

The importance (or fear) symbolic of the new technologies and simulated worlds seems to deflate. This movement of "return to reality" seems to also reach the movies Gnostics. If, as Erik Davis noted, Gnosticism pop of "Matrix Model" had a paradoxical reinterpretation of Gnosticism (as in Gnosticism the world to be transcended is the material in the film world that imprisons the man is the mediations, the simulations and transcendence is the return to physical reality), after 2000 we have films Gnostics a return to a closer view of the concept of Gnosis: as individual salvation and inner transformation. All the Gnostic mythical narrative (Fall and Rise) is transposed into the protagonist in search of the hidden self that was trapped and that is still part of the Fullness.

Although all the films this is the Gnostic theme of faith in yourself (which is opposed to Catholicism where faith can only be in God), only after 2000 have a deepening of this aspect of gnosis. In the Matrix model "faith in yourself" is treated quickly, close to the philosophy of self-help (get rid of fears and personal limitations). Although the simulated worlds are technologically the arrest of the protagonist, technology plays an important role for this release: a simulation technology that produces consciousness and transcendence in The Thirteenth Floor or simulation games that help fights in The Matrix Neo overcome their fears and liberate consciousness.

In contrast, the crop of movies Gnostics post-2000 have these true "technology of the spirit" of reaching a critical way of being ridiculed. They are not only powerless to allow the inner reform, but they are in real or Archons Demiurgos that trap the protagonist. The powerlessness of psychiatrists and Identity in Stay, the puzzlement of the therapist and pedophilia author's self-help books in Donnie Darko, the manipulative therapeutic way of erasing memories in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the failure of technology company that sells "Lucid Dreams" by not providing the irruption of the unconscious in his client in the film Vanilla Sky. The criticism presented to these "technologies of the spirit" recalls Mani's warnings to avoid the temptations of consoling religion and hedonism as ways to combat the melancholy anesthetic. In Donnie Darko the followers of the pedophile writer of self-help are presented almost as religious fanatics and the technique to erase memories in Eternal Sunshine is actually a way of eliminating feelings of guilt for the client to live life so hedonistic.

As already presented Sfez (Thomas Sfez, Critical Communication, 2000), these "technologies of the spirit" have a secret alliance with the new computer technology to compare the human psyche to a software, hardware and a brain human interiority as a machine governed by the same principle as expressive of such networks: network, paradox, simulation and interaction. These "technologies of self" arrive at the crest of the wave euphoric over the Internet and computer technology and simulation. Apparently, the criticism of the technology of the spirit in movies Gnostics post-2000 line up to reflux technoscientific utopian dream.

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Mister Maker: The Gnostic Flavor for Kids

Hit of the children's channel Discovery Kids, Hit of the children's channel Discovery Kids, mister maker shows, behind the narrative innovations, a surprising flavor Gnostic: symbols that refer to a new children's metalinguistic sensitivity. Currently, the narratives for children are becoming increasingly content ironic, parodic and consciously reflective. The Gnostic mythologies seem to fall well within this universe.

Mister Maker comes out of nowhere in an infinite background white. He pauses, shrugging his shoulders and thinks ... eureka!!! Uma idéia! An idea! Then begins to produce several miniature objects: sofas, shelves, tables, window, curtain, to build a small stage design. The high notes with pride, his own creation, with its open arms enveloping her. Suddenly, a special effect like a star dust and shines involving Mister Maker, bringing it into your own work. The small stage design becomes the setting within which Mister Maker submit their inventions for kids and crafts.

This opening program Mister Maker of children's channel Discovery Kids, has a suggestive symbols at least an openness unheard of for a children's program of this kind. A kind of narrative of Genesis is told to know where it came from the universe run by Mister Maker.

There is a flavor that Gnostic symbolism. He is the Demiurge (the Gnostics hybrid form of consciousness emanating from higher planes, creator of the material cosmos as an imperfect copy of the fullness of the Pleroma), the architect of the scenery and objects and characters from the show. He suddenly appears in an infinite background (he was not created but "emanated", according to Gnostic mythology).

Just as the physical universe created by the demiurge is imperfect (chaotic, fragmented and finite) for being the result of a cosmic accident, the universe of Mister Maker is uneven, disorganized and prone to riots (such as the "doodle-drawers", because they are protesting floods). Of course, all this for the fun of children.

It is also symbolically suggestive framework "Minute Make" where Mister Maker runs against the clock to build one of his inventions. After a minute, Mister Maker back the time (or "tape") to explain the steps now to slow and understandable. The time and becoming are the major flaw of the cosmos created by the Demiurge:

"The scriptures say that the Gnostic Demiurge projected lap times as a poor imitation of timeless eternity. The order, the greatness and legitimacy of the cosmos are adulterated, and more than likely, under the semblance of order and progression casual unchanging cosmos is chaotic and haphazard "(HOELLER, Stephen. Gnosticism: the occult tradition, RJ: New Age, 2005, p. 201)

Although he created the universe, he is a slave of time and becoming. Ironic situation for children: the creator of all racing against time, often pilloried by a madman who goes cuckoo clock. At the end of each program, Mister maker says, "my time to making art is over, but yours is just beginning." Racing against time and time as becoming, finitude, limits. Mister maker wants to teach more than how to make art and toys: want to show children the inevitability of time and the finitude of its creation.

The Platonic World of Forms

Part of geometric shapes that create designs also draws attention. There is a Platonic symbolism: the precession of the perfect forms over the material world. Snore forms on top shelf Mister Maker, waking them. Then they jump from the top (the "World of Forms" platonic) fall into a dizzying speed (emphasis added special effects with the cries of the forms in effect doubled amplified and echoes). On the floor they dance and identify with. In the end, one way to identify again, light and form a figure with its shape, or having to count how many times the form is submitted twice, and then ascend, back to the top level of the shelves.

Jean Baudrillard would talk about the precession of simulacra: the perfect forms precede reality. They are just waiting for the creator / the demiurge awaken to hold the "big bang", the appearance of concrete forms in the physical cosmos.

Genesis, creation, emanation, demiurges, all this for kids? Of course we're not trying to prove that the existence of a Gnostic conspiracy to manipulate children and unsuspecting parents. But if Mister Maker handles symbolism (or archetypes) with a Gnostic flavor to an unpublished children's program of this kind (crafts, arts and toys) that might be the indicator of a change in sensitivity of the new generation: the predominance of a conscience "goal". After all, Mister Maker not only makes toys and art: he is the architect of the universe itself where to move (the end, puts the whole scene back to a box and everything returns to infinite depth).

From Epic to the Meta-narrative

The children's content in the media no longer have an epic narrative (focusing on action and heroism - knights, witches, pirates, steam trains, etc..) To acquire a metalinguistic narrative, reflective, ironic. This phenomenon has been appointed by the British historian Peter Burke. For him contemporary children's characters such as "Captain Underpants" adventure mixed traditional with irony and metalanguage:

"(...) The tricks with which to play, how to change the letters on the menu for lunch in the school canteen, to be as old as their own canteens of schools. In other respects, however, the stories are not even a little traditional. They may even be described as postmodern, thanks not only to the recurring references alternate universes, but also, especially, love the parody of the author and especially for the Self-reference. The hero, Captain Underpants is a parody of Superman, a guy more chubby than athletic, singing praises to cotton underwear while flying in their mission to bring the villains to justice "The captain is also presented to the reader how to create George and Harold, who spend much of their time, both at home and at school, writing and drawing comic strips about it. His comic books are reproduced in the series, so that
readers see themselves sucked into a world of comic within a comic book. So really postmodern, the division between fiction and reality will lose clarity as the stories unfold. " (BURKE, Peter. "Post Modern Children" in http://blog.controversia.com.br/2009/03/28/crianas-ps-modernas/ )

Pink Dink Doo "and" Charlie and Lola "are animations for children who are also examples of this shift in sensibility. Pink creates stories for her younger brother, scoring and creating all the time meta-narratives. In the second part of the episodes, there is a sort of quiz show with questions about the story invented by Pink. Self-reference and conscious parody permeate episodes.

Back to Mister Maker, it seems that the Gnostic narratives seem to fall very well in this environment, "goal" of children's culture postmodern. After all, think that our universe is not a stable and enduring reality, but an artificial construct that there has always been the work of a demiurge clumsy and imperfect, seems to sharpen the postmodern sensibility.

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