Reflections on Carl Jung (Part 4): Psychological Rule as ‘Fate’

Carl Jung’s theory of individuation is directly applicable to the Protagonist’s journey in a screenplay.

The more I study Carl Jung, the more I discover his ideas about psychology have a direct relevance to screenwriting (specifically) and stories (generally). This week, a 5 part series focusing on Jung’s notion of individuation, the achievement of one’s self-actualization through a process of integrating the conscious and the unconscious. This movement toward a state of what Jung called ‘wholeness’ is an enlightening way to think about what many in the screenwriting trade refer to as the Protagonist Transformation Arc.

In Part 1, we explored Jung’s theory of individuation which he described as the “psychological process that makes of a human being an ‘individual’… a ‘whole’ man.”

In Part 2, we considered the idea that the unconscious, the stuff of an individual’s Authentic Self, naturally seeks to emerge into the light of consciousness, and how we, as writers, can think of a Protagonist’s transformation as a reflection of this dynamic.

In Part 3, we delved into Jung’s notion that “one does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious,” including those negative aspects of the psyche known as the shadow.

Today we crack open one of the most important ideas Jung has as it relates to writing:

The psychological rule says that when an inner situation is not made conscious, it happens outside as fate. That is to say, when the individual remains undivided and does not become conscious of his inner opposite, the world must perforce act out the conflict.

— Aion, CW 9ii

When I first read this, I was stunned because I was immediately struck by how apt a description this is of the Protagonist’s journey. As per Campbell, when the Hero begins a story, they are “just making do.” However, as we noted in the last two posts, the unconscious presses to become conscious. From a writing perspective, we can look at that as the Protagonist’s Authentic Nature which has a natural propensity to break through the Old Way of Being and transform the Protagonist into their True Self. If the Protagonist does not deal with their starting state of Disunity… the Story Universe compels them into action.

That first jolt to the Protagonist’s psyche? The Call To Adventure. The Inciting Incident. Whatever we call it, there is a synergistic relationship between the Protagonist’s Inner World and the External World of the plot.

Looked at this way, we can think of the events which transpire in the plot as supporting the Protagonist’s change. After all, Joseph Campbell said the whole point of the Hero’s Journey is transformation.

This assertion by Jung may be the single most important idea when it comes to writing stories which embrace an active interplay between a character’s Internal and External Worlds. The events which transpire, what we as screenwriters call Plot Points, are not arbitrary, rather they provoke and incite the Protagonist to change. What we call Sequences are in effect a reflection of the Protagonist’s transformation, stage by stage.

An event happens.
The character reflects on the Event.
The character responds.

Another event happens.
The character reflects on it
The character responds.

And on and on, each test or challenge in the Plot compelling the Protagonist to change, indeed, steering the very arc of their transformation.

Andy in The Shawshank Redemption: Forced into imprisonment, it’s there Andy rediscovers his own humanity through his selfless acts toward others.

Red in The Shawshank Redemption: Pulled toward cynicism by the soul-sucking effect of ‘institutionalization,’ Red’s intersection with Andy fans Red’s flickering embers of hope, leading him to choose to ‘get busy living’.

Simba in The Lion King: Leaving home in self-imposed exile is Simba’s fate, the only way he can move from an infantile notion of what it means to be king to get in touch with and embrace his True Nature as King.

Bruce Wayne in The Dark Knight: The Joker upends Wayne’s attempts to extract himself from his superhero responsibilities, only in the end to become a true, yet unknown hero by saving the legacy of Harvey Dent.

The shift which occurs from Disunity to Unity state, which is the most common arc in movies, or any other trajectory (Unity to Disunity, Disunity to Unity Rejected, etc) does, indeed, act like Fate, what I call the Narrative Imperative. Again, it’s not arbitrary, rather it is grounded in the very nature of the Protagonist — “The seeds of change lie within” (Ovid) — and plays out in an synergistic relationship between Plot and Character.

Tomorrow we round off this discussion with Jung’s summary observation: Become who you are.

Comment Archive