March 6, 2021 | by David March.
Movies have often been seen as the perfect two-hour break from life, an escape into the lives of others that offer a respite from personal challenges and struggles. Sitting in a dark theater, it’s easy to become enveloped in the story of a silver-screen protagonist. The irony of this is that often what draws a person into a film is not the protagonist’s story, but rather one’s empathetic connection to their story. If a film connects with the struggles that an audience member (consciously or unconsciously) intended to leave at the door, in all likelihood it will resonate with them more powerfully.
When a movie clicks with us, we find ourselves rooting for the protagonist or hero of the picture. Arguably, no production studio has created a stable of more relatable characters than Disney. Loved worldwide, Disney has built an empire of heroes that many can relate to regardless of age, creed, or background. Far from being “mere children’s movies,” Disney doesn’t shy away from the darker aspects of human struggle. Indeed, Disney characters typically overcome immense personal challenges, which are made more palatable through a little song and dance.
Though Disney has no shortage of exceptional protagonists, it is the rags-to-riches story of Aladdin, as well as the flight from a patriarchal regime in Mulan that this article will use to examine Carl Jung’s Shadow Theory. Through the rose-tinted lens of Disney, this article will show why it’s imperative to confront one’s inner demons. For the only way to see oneself in a new light–to grow and change in a positive way– is to allow one’s inner protagonist and antagonist to confront each other.
Putting on our philosophy cap, we can see how the protagonists in Disney movies consistently follow what the celebrated professor Joseph Cambell called “the hero’s journey” The hero’s journey is a mythic structure that writers since the age of antiquity have used to shape their stories. It’s essential relevance to each of our lives stems from the fact that the hero’s journey parallels our own life trajectory. In other words, you, the reader, are the hero in your own life.
Campbell discovered the elements of the hero’s journey through his work in comparative mythology and religion. After encountering his work, it’s difficult to not see how this structure operates in Disney films and countless other examples of the narrative arts.
In my book Vision in Action, I explain how the hero’s journey offers the perfect blueprint for navigating a career transition. Doubts, internal conflicts, and other forms of adversity are all things that must be acknowledged and faced head-on if a person wants to renew themselves and establish a better position for themselves in the world.
“The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.”
From their respective society’s point of view, the protagonists we cheer for in Aladdin and Mulan are low-status individuals. When we first meet Aladdin, he is a poor boy who lives the life of a thief. He is chased by the law for stealing food and is the recipient of insults from other more well-to-do people. His life is fraught with hardship until, one day, he is unexpectedly tricked into journeying to a cave of treasure and wonders.
When we meet Mulan, we are introduced to an unexpected kind of heroine. Instead of a damsel-in-distress, we meet an outspoken, strong-willed but oppressed girl living in a remote unnamed village. To defend her village from invasion, Mulan devises a plan to steal her father’s armor and sword. By doing so, she hopes to honor her father’s legacy as an army veteran.
When viewing Aladdin and Mulan, we see that these characters are very much leading a life similar to the Biblical quote, “The meek will inherit the earth.”[1] Both protagonists are “diamonds in the rough”–everyday people with great potential who have not yet discovered their inner strength to lead fulfilling lives. They are like lotus flowers that grow in dirty waters.
Disney films are filled with unique characters who are interesting and layered, but also relatable. For example, Ariel in The Little Mermaid, is a dreamer obsessed with humans and determined to find a better life above the sea, while Simba, the young protagonist of The Lion King, learns about the differences between leading others in a respectful manner versus dominating them with brute force.
The stories of these characters are brought to life with catchy, toe-tapping songs that are threaded with hope and wistful lyrics. Though charming and gleeful, such interludes pale in comparison to their protagonists’ journeys of redemption, salvation, and self-preservation.
No one—whether it be Aladdin, Mulan, or oneself—can fully understand their fate, nor their self-worth, until it is put to the test by an infamous villain, which we will call the “Darkest Character,” an antagonist who flouts the norms of society.
On a symbolic level, the Darkest Character represents our need to face up to our own inner conflicts. Just as Aladdin or Mulan come to realize, no one can fully understand their fate, nor their self-worth, until it is tested through adversity.
“A dark man awaits with a dark purpose.” –Narrator about Jaffar from Aladdin
In Aladdin, the Darkest Character is the Sultan’s greedy advisor Jaffar, while in Mulan it is the shape-shifting witch Xianniang who lives in exile and works for the evil Böri Khan.
Is it necessary for a Disney protagonist to consistently experience conflict with a foe to achieve a storybook ending? Are these films a parallel to real life? To find the answer, let’s turn our attention to Carl Jung–the Swiss psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and founder of analytical psychology– who said, “I am not what happened to me; I am what I chose to become.”
Through the lens of Jungian psychology, each Disney protagonist must encounter an adversary to face their moral dilemma. Jungian psychology takes the stance that one’s struggles—your darkness—can only be known indirectly through projection. Therefore, antagonists unconsciously take unwanted emotions or traits they don’t like about themselves and place them on someone else.
Much like Aladdin, Jaffar is lonely and insecure. He wants to obtain the status of a Sultan, so he uses his insecurity to make Aladdin feel less than he is and feeds on his vulnerability. He then tricks Aladdin into exploring a cave of wonders, wherein he accidentally meets his ally, the Genie. Through Genie’s encouragement and Aladdin’s realistic but somewhat silly wishes to impress a princess, he ultimately beats Jaffar at his own game.
In Mulan, the evil, powerful, shape-shifting witch eventually comes to see through Mulan a reflection of herself as a good and worthy person. Here we see how projection can lead to a positive form of self-revaluation.
“When will my reflection show who I am inside?”
Given the dark character’s role in connecting the protagonist to the character of light, you may ask why the “character of light” doesn’t propel the protagonist’s journey forward? The answer is simple: a protagonist’s growth can only come to fruition when the lighter and darker aspects of the Self merge with each other. Doing this creates a sense of “psychological wholeness,” as Jung would call it.
If you examine many of the hero stories captured on film, you’ll realize that although the details may vary in their particulars, they share an underlying psychology–examples of Jung’s projection and Shadow theory crop up repeatedly throughout the history of cinema.
When experiencing a Disney protagonist’s psychological twists and turns, isn’t it interesting to note the Shadow-work at play? In Mulan’s and Aladdin, the first call to action each character receives is to confront the thing that scares them the most. For Aladdin, it’s exposing the truth of who he is, and for Mulan, it’s embracing her fears. Each character must introspectively move through the opposing forces of the Shadow, which leads them to find their own “internal treasure,” their real value and worth!
To better understand how to discover one’s internal treasure, let’s look below at a mandala.
The dragon at the center of the picture represents the Shadow. Each scale on the dragon is inscribed with the words, “Thou shall not…” Campbell notes how the dragon is a symbol for the dark forces that oppress each of us and keep us from fathoming our internal worth. Each of the dragon’s scales is a testament to an individual’s willingness to face conflict, embrace fear, and turn “Shall Not” into “Shall.”
If we were to apply the mandala’s image to Mulan, the dragon’s scales might read “thou shall not honor thy father and imagine yourself capable of becoming a warrior” while in Aladdin, they could be read as “thou shall not disclose your social origins for fear of not winning acceptance.”
The things we stand for as individuals are in direct opposition to our Shadow’s beliefs and values. Let’s say you are an individual that esteems love, connection, and community. Well, the Shadow feeds upon the fears and negative energies that are opposite of that and does this subtly. Typically, the Shadow uses projection to retaliate against your conscious orientation. The Shadow can place roadblocks or challenges along your journey through life for protection. If we don’t turn our focus inwards to shine the light of consciousness on it, the Shadow can run the show.
For example, when someone breaks another person’s heart, the Shadow’s defense is to build a strong fortress around the wounded heart. Yet, this fortress and this fear of being hurt again are but a temporary measure. One cannot dwell in its protection forever, especially if one pines for love and community. Eventually, one must emerge from its shelter to establish new forms of connection.
We are social beings, so at a certain point we must tell the Shadow to “put the gate down” and let some people in. To be trapped in a single-possibility mindset that presupposes “Nobody wants me” is no way to live. Instead of living in the past, strive to live in the present and absorb the feelings that arise through making yourself vulnerable.
Remember, it’s possible someone out there does care; it’s possible there are others that are living for love.
“But, oh to be free… to be my own master. Such a thing would be greater than all the magic and all the treasures in the world.” –Genie, from Aladdin
Now, we can begin to examine how the Shadow operates when it comes to the topic of depression. Think of the Shadow as a repressed trauma, emotional abuse, or a significant life event. Think of you as the Self.
Could a dark force or Shadow be orchestrating a spiritual battle between the light (your happiness and daily activities) and the darker aspects of the Self (your vulnerability and self-loathing)? If this is the case, could covering up symptoms of depression with pharmaceutical drugs be seen as a form of projection? Is taking prescription medication for depression similar to putting the “dragon to sleep,” or in other words, not having to deal with it?
Is it fair to the Self to go on each day, as planned, pretending that the medication is empowering one’s mind? For Aladdin, the “medication” was his inability to tell the truth, pretending he was someone other than a riffraff. For Mulan, it was her inability to take herself seriously and cope with her insecurities. When Jaffar and Xianniang hounded them, both characters were exposed to the dragon’s thou-shall-not scales, and at that moment, their journey to enlightenment was inaugurated.
You can learn to navigate the cave of depression with a therapist that can recognize the triggers causing your discomfort. A good specialist can help you to dive deep into the innermost cave, where the dragon that guards your internal treasure resides. In the context of the Disney films that we discussed earlier, Genie, can be viewed as a sort of fun-loving therapist-type-of-person. By contrast, Mulan finds in the Witch a dark force who ultimately heals her by harmonizing the dark and light forces inside of her.
“Who am I? Who am I? … I am the powerful, the pleasurable, the indestructible…” –Genie, from Aladdin
The key to success is to experience the darker moments of life and learn from our Shadow-work. Viewed from this angle, Disney films teach us how to push forward and alter the trajectory of our lives. Moreover, the main protagonists in Disney movies display courage and strength, which we must have to bring ourselves out of the darkness into the light.
To completely understand all of the nuances of the Self–to look directly at one’s demons and trauma–one must make contact with them. Never let a Jaffar rule your kingdom of Agrabah. Remember that Mulan would not have stood a chance to honor her heritage if she didn’t see the reflection of evil in all of the goodness that she had possessed all along.
Finally, I’ll leave you with the lyrics from a Trevor Hall song. In his low baritone voice, he sings, “You can’t rush your healing; darkness has its teaching.”[2]
Thou shall not go through the journey alone. Find the light!
[1] “Matthew 5:5 – Wikipedia.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_5:5. Accessed 19 Feb. 2021.
[2] “You Can’t Rush Your Healing – Trevor Hall
GET MY FREE TRAINING
Access resume-writing, career and personal development insights, straight to your inbox
Your information will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy