Customer Reviews

Jungian Reflections within the Cinema: A Psychological Analysis of Sci-Fi and Fantasy Archetypes

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This book does a good job to describe the major Jungian archetypes in the beginning, but in actually uncovering and explaining them in various movies (etc.) it falls a bit short. The book seems to provide plot summaries more than pychoanalytical explanations (how many of us need a decription of what really happens in star wars??!!) You should buy it if you are new to both Jung and Sci Fi, and if not both then borrow this book form your library!!

I found the correlations between Jung's archetypes & the sci-fi film contents to be striking. As I read through the text, I found that there was a great deal more in Star Wars than I first thought. Its more than just a series about good and evil. Its also about a farmboy who comes of age to become one of the greatest Jedi Knights in the galaxy...but first he must reconcile the bad relations he has with his apparently deceased father, Anakin Skywalker. I didn't realize just how much of the father-son relationship (or lack of one) permeated the movie until I read Iaccino's approach to Star Wars.

But Iaccino doesn't stop there. Each Chapter is full of useful information and psychoanalysis. For instance, Iaccino links all of the Star Trek films around the Creator archetype; Battlestar: Galactica & Logan's Run are flights away from robotic races & computer-controlled societies; the Back to the Future trilogy is all about alchemic travelers who find their place in society; Superman and Batman have to come to terms with their divided natures or become psychotic in the process; Indiana Jones & The Highlander are on quests to find their own Grails; demon children abound in The Omen & Its Alive.

Wow! I can hardly wait for Iaccino's next text. If you are a lover of classic sci-fi or are interested in a new psychological approach to an old topic, you must read this text. I also refer you to an earlier work of Iaccino's, Psychological Reflections of Cinematic Terror (also published by Praeger press). Good job, Dr. Iaccino.