Good stuff from Jennifer Sodini and Jay's Analysis. The larger point here is that almost all movies have some symbolic message or messages they are designed to convey at a deeper level. The more we learn about how to look and what to look for, the more these movies reveal.
By: Jennifer Sodini and Jay Dyer
Collective Evolution
Nostalgia is defined as the “sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.” The feeling can sometimes be evoked from music, a pleasant memory of the past, or any sensory perception that was crystallized in time by a fondly experienced moment. An extremely powerful medium for evoking nostalgia is film, because it has the ability to touch our consciousness on multiple levels, as well as on a deeper, subconscious level we are not even aware of until we intentionally take a look back and analyze.
Fantasy and sci/fi films in particular tend to evoke the affectionate feeling of nostalgia, as well as whimsy, because of the fantastical dreamscapes and imagery they contain. Analyzing the deeper subliminal messages encoded within these films, we find there may be a “hidden hand” at work that intentionally orchestrated esoteric subplots whose roots can be found in ancient hermetic teaching/mystery school tradition.
Below I’ve compiled a list, along with Jay Dyer of Jay’s Analysis, which explains the subtext and symbolism of some of our favorite films.
So, how does The Neverending Story relate to these concepts? Let’s explore…
In The Neverending Story, the central symbolic image is the ouroboros. Protagonaist Bastian encounters a magician in a bookstore and attempts to read his occult wonderworking text, The Neverending Story, replete with an Ouroboros on the cover. As it turns out, Bastian is himself written into, and participates in, the process of creating this story. In literature studies, this is known as metafiction, where the narrative is taken to another level – an appropriate usage in this case, since the view of alternate worlds and and all possible worlds comes into play. This is significant because the film is working from a paradigm in which notions of a multi-verse ends up necessitating that all possibilities are eventually made actual. The Ouroboros symbolizes this concept in ancient religions, as well as in gnosticism and hermeticism with the notion of eternal return.
We discover that Bastian must ultimately must rename the Empress, giving her the name of his dead mother, who we find out is called “Moon Child.” Bastian screams “Moon Child!” when Fantasia is imploding, and “Moonchild” has the occult association with a novel by Aleister Crowley. Its usage also links the Empress with Bastian’s mother, or the feminine sophia archetype. Indeed, research into the scheme author Michael Ende drew up for Fantasia reveals that the Empress is the feminine embodiment of the spirit of Fantasia. She is then the “soul of the world,” or the anima mundi, in Platonic parlance. It is also interesting that she appears as a kind of Venus or Aphrodite, as well as being associated with vaginal imagery. She is the virgin queen sophia, who lacks the male principle – a role Bastian must fill when Fantasia is re-created after the chaos of the Nothing.
For example, moon imagery comes to the fore with E.T., and in the iconic scenes we can derive a deeper meaning: it is significant that it is under the moon that Elliot first encounters E.T. The moon has an important role in mythology, regulating the female ovulatory cycle, and is thus associated with femininity. In astrology, the moon has a direct influence on human actions, and here, as a possible “moonchild,” Elliot encounters what will be his familiar. My contention with E.T. is that he is more like a familiar spirit than an “alien.” In classical descriptions of the familiar, the spirit can be associated with an animal. Is Elliot a kind of “Moonchild,” referencing the Crowleyan mythology of a demonic insemination? Elliot is spoken of as chosen, and through E.T. will have magical powers.
Eastern dualist conceptions occupy a prominent role in the film, where the Skekses represent the left hand path of severity and cruelty, control and empire, while the “gentle mystics” represent the “gentle ways of natural wizards.” The Skekses are harbingers of technology and power, harnessing the Dark Crystal for the purpose of advanced control mechanisms and even brainwashing, while the mystics are in tune with nature and the forest. The Mystics chant the Buddhist “Om,” further reinforcing the eastern religious conceptions, while the Skekses are busy enacting the “Ceremony of the Sun” for the passing of the Emperor, which brings to mind ancient imperial Egyptian theology and its identification of Pharaoh as son of Ra.
Read the rest of this article at - https://jaysanalysis.com/2015/04/26/the-hidden-meaning-behind-these-10-classic-fantasy-films/
Essence of 80s.
Collective Evolution
Nostalgia is defined as the “sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.” The feeling can sometimes be evoked from music, a pleasant memory of the past, or any sensory perception that was crystallized in time by a fondly experienced moment. An extremely powerful medium for evoking nostalgia is film, because it has the ability to touch our consciousness on multiple levels, as well as on a deeper, subconscious level we are not even aware of until we intentionally take a look back and analyze.
Fantasy and sci/fi films in particular tend to evoke the affectionate feeling of nostalgia, as well as whimsy, because of the fantastical dreamscapes and imagery they contain. Analyzing the deeper subliminal messages encoded within these films, we find there may be a “hidden hand” at work that intentionally orchestrated esoteric subplots whose roots can be found in ancient hermetic teaching/mystery school tradition.
Below I’ve compiled a list, along with Jay Dyer of Jay’s Analysis, which explains the subtext and symbolism of some of our favorite films.
1. The Neverending Story
Theosophy is a system of esoteric philosophy concerning the mysteries of being and nature, particularly concerning the nature of divinity. “The Secret Doctrine” by HP Blavatsky, published in 1888, is viewed by many as the text responsible for the New Age movement. The sister of Theosophy, Anthroposophy, developed by Rudolf Steiner, shares a similar ethos, yet can be more related to Spirit Science as opposed to New Age.So, how does The Neverending Story relate to these concepts? Let’s explore…
In The Neverending Story, the central symbolic image is the ouroboros. Protagonaist Bastian encounters a magician in a bookstore and attempts to read his occult wonderworking text, The Neverending Story, replete with an Ouroboros on the cover. As it turns out, Bastian is himself written into, and participates in, the process of creating this story. In literature studies, this is known as metafiction, where the narrative is taken to another level – an appropriate usage in this case, since the view of alternate worlds and and all possible worlds comes into play. This is significant because the film is working from a paradigm in which notions of a multi-verse ends up necessitating that all possibilities are eventually made actual. The Ouroboros symbolizes this concept in ancient religions, as well as in gnosticism and hermeticism with the notion of eternal return.
We discover that Bastian must ultimately must rename the Empress, giving her the name of his dead mother, who we find out is called “Moon Child.” Bastian screams “Moon Child!” when Fantasia is imploding, and “Moonchild” has the occult association with a novel by Aleister Crowley. Its usage also links the Empress with Bastian’s mother, or the feminine sophia archetype. Indeed, research into the scheme author Michael Ende drew up for Fantasia reveals that the Empress is the feminine embodiment of the spirit of Fantasia. She is then the “soul of the world,” or the anima mundi, in Platonic parlance. It is also interesting that she appears as a kind of Venus or Aphrodite, as well as being associated with vaginal imagery. She is the virgin queen sophia, who lacks the male principle – a role Bastian must fill when Fantasia is re-created after the chaos of the Nothing.
2. E.T.
Like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. is loaded with esoteric and conspiratorial clues and messages, but also has its own unique emphasis, providing 80’s youths with a new approach to the issue of other-worldly beings. That is also the theme of E.T., though with E.T. the imagery is intended to evoke the subconscious of the youth. Close Encounters is an adult’s story, while E.T. is for kids. Both films focus heavily on communication, language, and symbols, and involve complex usages of synchronicity, foreshadowing, and occult symbology.For example, moon imagery comes to the fore with E.T., and in the iconic scenes we can derive a deeper meaning: it is significant that it is under the moon that Elliot first encounters E.T. The moon has an important role in mythology, regulating the female ovulatory cycle, and is thus associated with femininity. In astrology, the moon has a direct influence on human actions, and here, as a possible “moonchild,” Elliot encounters what will be his familiar. My contention with E.T. is that he is more like a familiar spirit than an “alien.” In classical descriptions of the familiar, the spirit can be associated with an animal. Is Elliot a kind of “Moonchild,” referencing the Crowleyan mythology of a demonic insemination? Elliot is spoken of as chosen, and through E.T. will have magical powers.
3. The Dark Crystal
Set in a mythical world like Fantasia, The Dark Crystal is Jim Henson’s mystical puppet masterpiece. Focusing on the notion of a 1,000 year cycle, this world is premised on a Hindu theme, similar to the doctrine of Kali Yuga, where we are currently entering an age dominated by chaos, the demonic, strife, and discord. This is also similar to the notion espoused by other occultists that this is the aeon of the child, or of Horus, etc. Occultist Madame Blavatsky also formulated theories of numerous other races and worlds that preceded our own, and the Babylonian Talmud mentioned such ideas as well. It becomes evident that Henson, like Lucas, borrowed heavily from the mythology of various cultures in constructing this narrative.Eastern dualist conceptions occupy a prominent role in the film, where the Skekses represent the left hand path of severity and cruelty, control and empire, while the “gentle mystics” represent the “gentle ways of natural wizards.” The Skekses are harbingers of technology and power, harnessing the Dark Crystal for the purpose of advanced control mechanisms and even brainwashing, while the mystics are in tune with nature and the forest. The Mystics chant the Buddhist “Om,” further reinforcing the eastern religious conceptions, while the Skekses are busy enacting the “Ceremony of the Sun” for the passing of the Emperor, which brings to mind ancient imperial Egyptian theology and its identification of Pharaoh as son of Ra.
Read the rest of this article at - https://jaysanalysis.com/2015/04/26/the-hidden-meaning-behind-these-10-classic-fantasy-films/