12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
E--Motion Picture Magic Gets Reel!, April 21, 2005
This review is from: E-Motion Picture Magic: A Movie Lover's Guide to Healing and Transformation (Hardcover)
German-born Birgit Wolz has had a long-time love affair with movies. As a young girl in Germany, she fondly remembers going to a movie with her grandfather as her first big adventure. "I was absolutely fascinated. For the first time, I experienced being engrossed in a bigger-than-life experience, the colors, the sounds and the story of a big screen motion picture."
This passion for movies sustained Wolz throughout the ups and downs of her young life, eventually overflowing into her professional life as well. "My personal interest turned professional after I began my career as a psychotherapist and first learned about the technique of using movies as a tool for psychological healing and personal growth."
Later, Wolz faced several significant losses, including a serious, disabling illness. "After a time, it became clear that I would live, but the question still remained as to how I would live," she writes. "I learned through this shocking wake-up call that I could never take anything for granted. All possibility of reaching the goals to which I had previously aspired seemed to evaporate. Relationships changed dramatically. My future suddenly appeared a complete blank."
Again, Wolz turned to movies. "During this time, certain kinds of movies seemed amazingly helpful, even transformative. I noticed with surprise that I started crying uncontrollably whenever I saw films that showed characters in tragic experiences. I made a point of going to movie theaters by myself and sitting in the last row. In the protective darkness of this environment all the blocked up tears started flowing in response to watching the characters' pain."
The author presents several interesting theories as to why movies have the ability to heal and transform us, and why they can serve as catalysts for communicating where day-to-day words often fail. One such theory involves accessing what Swiss psychiatrist Dr. Carl Jung coined the shadow.
The term `shadow' refers to those parts of ourselves that we learned to repress or deny. Over the years, our shadow becomes deeply buried in our subconscious mind, sometimes causing us to behave in ways we don't understand. But Jung also believed that the shadow contains a wellspring of strength, power and creative energy. He believed that if we could access our shadow, we could live more fully. Movies, with their inherent detachment, since we are observers only, can court the shadow, bringing it slowly and safely into the light, allowing us entry into those locked areas of our psyche.
E-Motion Picture Magic includes guidelines for watching a film with conscious awareness and an in-depth look at how the emotional distance movies provide can enable us to see how we relate and respond to various circumstances through identifying with a certain character. An extensive film index at the back of the book will help you find films that deal with specific questions or issues. Find movie recommendations for dealing with peer relationships, blended families, chronic illness, divorce, disability, depression, phobias, and more.
When the real world seems overwhelming, when answers or solutions seem out of reach, when you find yourself unable to move beyond your fear, or get in touch with your sadness, why not give the 'reel' world a try?
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent for professionals and general public, December 26, 2004
This review is from: E-Motion Picture Magic: A Movie Lover's Guide to Healing and Transformation (Hardcover)
I am a psychotherapist and use movies with individual clients as well as groups. E-Motion Picture Magic is well written and user friendly. Ms. Wolz does a nice job of offering both theory and practical information. I particularly like her sections on using movies to release negative beliefs and her exercises that help the reader increase self-awareness by noticing reactions to film characters. Last, but certainly not least, I really appreciate, and have already used, her thorough film index. I will refer to this book often.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cinema Therapy Loved by Teens, May 16, 2005
This review is from: E-Motion Picture Magic: A Movie Lover's Guide to Healing and Transformation (Hardcover)
As a psychotherapist I find Birgit Wolz's book to be helpful. I work mostly with teenagers and have found that both music and movies have been the most important ways to reach them. E-Motion Picture Magic offers not only a well written base of theory into the idea of cinema therapy, but provides the reader with a marvelous movie index that can be easily looked at based on the topic needs. Teenagers struggles often with the ability to express their inner selves, but quite easily talk about the plight of others. Movies and their characters provide a safe environment for teens to express their needs. The tools that Birgit Wolz provides in her book enable the therapist to more skillfully navigate with both groups and individuals. I fully intend on maintaining this book as a great guide in my practice.
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