I love stories. And I crave movies that sweep me away… and not just for sake of distraction. Stories help heal my inner cast of characters: that chorus of voices, literature, musings, and memories that are woven together into the tapestry that is my life. And I feel like if I consciously let the greatest of these stories affect my heart and mind, Ican heal the past and learn something toward making a better future too. The story form of healing is a godsend to people who’ve felt burned by people…
Genre fluid?
In bookstores and movie lists, “Science Fiction and Fantasy” are two genres lumped together. I have never understood this because they seem so vastly different. But I’ve recently gained new appreciation for a routine figure in the fantasy genre: the dragon. And now, in a Jungian sense, dragons feel psychologically helpful in facing our shadow selves. Dragons represent what we need to grapple with – those fire breathing, fearsome parts of ourselves– in order to truly live and protect our personal kingdom.
Dragons also give me food for thought on how to out-picture my psyche’s messes, grudges, and bad feelings, and work with them creatively toward a better end. And I can tell you, I’ve had a year of taming mine…
Dragons are like the frightening and difficult things in our minds and hearts that, quite literally, drag on.
And yet, I don’t love fantasy literature. I just can’t buy into worlds of mossy lore and lands of flying critters, slimy creatures with hairy, flaring nostrils, and yucky, organic, root-bound angles in tones of green, brown and grey. Same goes for warlords, trolls, elves, and smelly barbarians. Sorry fans of fantasy, most fantasy lit leaves me feeling kind of pungent with a head full of names I don’t want to remember.
Whereas science fiction is of the stars…
(Dragons resume lower down in this post)
Synesthesia in space
But to be specific, I love warm science fiction1, where everything that happens is character-driven, and relationships make things work (or not). In my favorite science fiction, saving your friends, your federation and rebellion partners, and protecting your favorite planet (or two) is job one. Maybe the stories takes place in the future, an unclear distant past, or both simultaneously. Time is usually fluid, described in nebulous “star dates,” or else uber-important in calculations or ramifications because time travel becomes necessary to fulfill a purpose.
The shaping of time and space is common in sci-fi – just another day at the office, so to speak. So corrections to errors are always possible, no matter how far away in time or space.
I love space-centric stories for their exploration of the unknown. The unknown is a fruitful space, with loads of down time between chasing lights.
Science fiction is often set in the future, often in space, under the sea, or sometimes even present-day Earth. Sci-fi works for me, in part because it carries cooler tones, tends to be a bit less rocky, dirty and smelly, and the finest aspects of humanity are showcased in evolved form: technologies, arts, and even new kinds of love. Hey, we are all in it together after all, so we may as well get along (think barroom scene in Star Wars and Captain Kirk getting it on with green women).
Yet if a story doesn’t have people acting like people, I’m out. I think this is because all stories feel to me like they ‘could’ be real human interaction, whether dramas or comedies, every story I see or read feels like it is a play of parts of myself, hopefully finding a fine and good resolution at the end. In great works, they always do.
I think this is why storytelling is such an amazing art form, but I’ll cover that another time.
How stories inform us2
healing drag-on psychological yuck
So recently I started appreciating dragons as interesting archetypes, incredibly powerful when seen clearly. This came up as I noticed how a few difficult and confusing occurrences in my life have quite literally, dragged on in memory, providing difficult, yet fruitful learning. In my case it was the concurrent loss of a friend, and being ousted from a job I’d invested my heart into. But in both cases, I had unresolved rage. Rumination commenced.
In the greatest stories, you’ll notice a hero usually slays, cages or tames a dragon who is threatening the kingdom. This is so much like us facing our own shadow sides: feelings and awarenesses come up inside of us that, if we act on them, can threaten the fabric of our communities. For instance, if you feel a fury about something, giving into the emotional state may tear your little world apart. Fury is not acceptable in polite social circles or competent kingdoms.
Yet as dragon stories demonstrate, if we are courageous enough to face our psychological fire-breathers head on, we can gain mastery of them and establish in ourselves a kingdom of peace. Dragons can be dangerous, but when they are integrated in courageous ways, they, and the tamer become fearsome members of the community.
If you think of dragons as representative of ruminations, upsets, or injuries that “drag on” inside, wreaking havoc in our relationships and happiness, then you can also emotionally explore what would happen if you faced one straight on. For a passive fix, I suggest finding a recommended, high-quality movie or show that showcases this energy. Or else, read some quality literature and see how the story plays out…
What if you faced a psychological drag-on directly? Would you cage it up? Or find an ally instead?
Things we can’t let go of, or don’t let go of, can cause us distress. This includes; ideas, identities, hurts and fears, patterns, beliefs and even relationships – they are all kind of like dragons. If we haven’t done the emotional and spiritual work of facing them, they can rear their ugly heads and upend the peace in the kingdom.
Dragons are dangerous (and fabulous) precisely because we need to interact with them as we struggle with transformational growth.
I find it interesting that in the last decade or so, popular movies and shows have come along that feature harmonious ways of interacting with dragons: taming them, partnering with them, utilizing them, etc.3 I think this is because our western culture has shifted to allow for people to be complicated and flawed, as long as they are ‘working on it’ or have it ‘under control.’
Societal norms still need us to behave in kind, tolerant ways, and to practice kindness and understanding, protecting the least among us and being good stewards of earth. But social norms have also opened up to also allow for us to know our own traumas and weaknesses too, even speak to them in therapies, every day social interactions, and the arts. Fortunately the positive aspect of what we get as we face our dragons is more creativity, truer self expression, and hopefully another level of healing.
If only we’d look at them, face the fears, we’d live to slay (and tell stories) another day.
A Drag-on Practice
Jot down 3 grudges, worries, or stuck points that encourage you to stew in anger, indignation, fear, or confusion.
Circle the one that you replay the most. Notice also the story you tell yourself about it: is there a dragon in the story? Does it seem embodied as a person, a situation, a part of self, or a problem?
Try visualizing this negative identification as a most terrible dragon and write down in detail the three most awful things that would happen to you if you faced it head on.
The hardest work is already done at this point. Awareness of “the worst” is usually quite liberating. But the next step is one of healing…
Who would you be if that dragon were relatable? How would you relate to it? Would that be okay? Are you courageous enough to do so?
If you don’t feel like doing this 5 minute writing exercise, so be it. Instead you could look at the literature, shows, movies, and stories in your life through the eyes of heroes and dragons, knowing these stories have helped and healed our culture for thousands of years and can help you too.
- Here is a list of some of my favorite warm science fiction, in no particular order: Star Trek, Silo, Arrival, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Interstellar, Contact, The Martian, Firefly, Guardians of the Galaxy, and maybe even Severance (though this show skews a little “cool”). There are many more and I welcome hearing your favorites. ↩︎
- Inform is an intentional word here: concepts can come into our form and help make us who we are. ↩︎
- Game of Thrones, How to Tame You Dragon kids’ films in particular. ↩︎
