Research Report Proposal (version 2)
Working Title
How has Jungian Archetype theory been applied to the Greek myth ‘Psyche and Eros’ and popular animated films such as ‘Coraline’?
Report Type
Extended standard essay (5000 words)
Background Research
I have long been interested in Greek mythology, as this is such a huge topic I thought it best to focus on one specific story, and chose the ‘Psyche and Eros’ myth. I used the book ‘Mythos’ by Stephen Fry as a starting point, Fry introduces the story ‘as the strongest candidate for First Ever Novel: The Golden Ass, by the Roman writer Apuleius. The story’s influenced so much Western thought, folk literature and art’ (Fry, 2017 p.160). Greek mythology is allegorical, it was used to explain the world when the world was very big and frightening.
Ancient stories such as this contain many archetypes, a theory developed by Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, born 1875. This suggested that humans had a collective consciousness; a set of images and beliefs that arose not through experience but through a pre-programmed ideology that transcended time and culture. One of the main archetypes in this story is ‘the mother’, ‘the loving mother or the terrible mother or goddess of fate. Jung considered the Mother the most important archetype because it seemed to contain all else’ (Butler-Bowden, 2018). This is represented by Aphrodite, who attempts to sabotage the love of her son in order to retain her status as the most beautiful woman to both gods and man.
‘The mother archetype occupies a central role in the unconscious life of every individual’ (Garud, 2001 p.7), and therefore plays a key role in story structure and narrative across all media. Another comparative example is ‘Coraline’, the difference here is that there are two mother archetypes are represented, ‘The other mother is, at first, Jung’s loving Mother but is quickly portrayed as the terrible Mother archetype.’ (Makowski, 1985 p.73)
The research question
I will be specifically looking into Jungian archetype theory and related theories such as Vogler’s ‘Hero’s Journey’. I will then apply them to the ‘Psyche and Eros’ myth in its different iterations and ‘Coraline’, looking at different interpretations and drawing my own conclusions. I will focus on the story structure, character and narrative rather than the how ‘Coraline’ has been animated, with reference to both the film and the book.
Overall aims
- Identify the key points of Jung’s archetype theory
- Apply these and analyze the ‘Psyche and Eros’ myth with a comparison to ‘Coraline’, with a key focus on the ‘mother’ archetype
- Identify other interpretations of these stories using other narrative analysis techniques such as ‘The Hero’s Journey’ with reference to ‘Beauty and the Beast’ as a modern interpretation of ‘Psyche and Eros’
Research methods
In order to achieve these aims I will begin with researching Greek mythology in a wider context and specifically the myth I want to cover. I will use online sources, books, and films to help with this, such as ‘Love and the Soul: Psychological Interpretations of the Eros and Psyche Myth’ (Gollnick, 2016), and ‘Persephone, Psyche, and the Mother-Maiden Archetype’(Makowski, 1985). I will then study other interpretations of the Myth, both directly such as paintings, poetry and stories. I will also re-read ‘Coraline’ as a primary source and look at other analysis of both the film and book. Some example sources I will be using are ‘A Jungian Analysis of Coraline’(Garud, 2011) and ‘The Chilly World of Coraline’ (Corliss, 2009).
I will also research in Carl Jung and his theories and any opposition to them, and ‘The Heros Journey’ (Vogler, 2007). To relate back to my initial study of Greek myths I will look at how mythology has influenced these theories.
List of suggested chapters
Introduction– Outlining what I want to achieve in the essay, the major themes and resources I will be using, and a brief summary of what is in each chapter.
Chapter 1: Carl Jung and Archetype Theory- Explaining what the theory is and why it is used, it’s criticism and how mythology has influenced it.
Chapter 2: The tale of Psyche and Eros- Here I will introduce the myth and analyze its different interpretations, with focus on archetypes and how these have changed throughout different interpretations such as ‘Beauty and the Beast’.
Chapter 3: The Other Mother in Coraline- Analysis of ‘Coraline’ and compare it to ‘Psyche and Eros’, how has a modern story used archetypes differently to an older story with mention of how animation has aided this.
Conclusion- A summary of my findings, and an evaluation of how I think the project has gone.
Potential Outcomes
From this essay I hope to learn more about narrative, character and story, and the different methods people have used to break them down and understand them. I hope to further my understanding of archetypes and motifs within animation so that I can use this is my own practice. I think it will be a valuable asset to my creative work and also my skills within academia and essay writing. The problems I think may occur will be finding reputable, academic sources to cite, but as the bulk of this essay will be research I think this will just take time and dedication. The conclusion I may draw from my research is that both the stories I am looking at use the ‘mother’ archetype in juxtaposing ways that subvert the audience’s idea of what a ‘mother’ should be. By doing this the stories change our expectations and the way we might see the world, leaving the reader/watcher with a feeling of having learnt a lesson or a moral of some kind.
Bibliography
Beauty and the Beast, (1991). Film, Directed by Gary Trousdale. USA, Walt Disney Feature Animation.
Butler-Bowden, T (2018) The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. Available at:http://www.butler-bowdon.com/arl-jung—the-archetypes-and-the-collective-unconscious.html
Cinderella, (1950). Film, directed by Clyde Geronimi. USA, Walt Disney Productions.
Coraline (2009). Film, directed by Henry Selick. USA, Focus Features.
Corliss, R (2009). The Chilly World of Coraline. Time.com. Available at: http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1877435,00.html
Elliot, A (2018). Adam Elliot Clayographies. Available at:http://www.adamelliot.com.au
Fordman, F (2018). Carl Jung. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Carl-Jung
Fry, S (2017) Mythos. Great Britain, Penguin Random House UK.
Garud, M (2011). A Jungian Analysis of Coraline. Available at: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~meera/documents/PSYCH175Spring2011AJungianAnalysisofCoraline.pdf
Gollnick, J (2006). Love and the Soul : Psychological Interpretations of the Eros and Psyche Myth. Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University Press.
Karas, M (2018). Greek Mythology. Available at: https://www.greekmythology.com
Kenn, J (2016). Don Kenn Gallery. Available at: http://johnkenn.blogspot.co.uk
Lewis, C S (2017) Till We Have Faces. San Francisco, Harper One.
Makowski, John (1985). Persephone, Psyche, and the Mother-Maiden Archetype. Chigago, Loyola University Chicago. Accessed at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1041&context=classicalstudies_facpubs
Multilingual Folk Tale Database (2018) Available at: http://www.mftd.org/index.php?action=atu
Pook press (2017). Beauty and the Beast: A history of the tale. Available at: http://www.pookpress.co.uk/project/beauty-and-the-beast-history/
Shakespeare, W (1913) Romeo and Juliet. London, Lippincott Company. Available at: https://www.stmarys-ca.edu/sites/default/files/attachments/files/Romeo_and_Juliet.pdf
Stiches and Glue (2018). Stitches and glue. Available at: https://stitchesandglue.com
Vogler, C (2007). The Writers Jouney. Michigan, McNaughton & Gunn Inc. Available at: http://craftywriters.club/reading/christopher-vogler-the-writers-journey.pdf
WRIGHT, G.A., (2010). Ancient Greece’s Excellent Adventure: Classical Myth on Screen and Online. Literature/Film Quarterly, 38(2), pp. 163-165.
Maddy Caulfield Animation 