In 2001, Fatboy Slim released the music video for his song "Ya Mama." Various people casually play this song, and suddenly, they begin to move uncontrollably, spreading madness and chaos around them.
This video has always intrigued me, but only yesterday did I realize why.
It’s a vivid illustration of how people become possessed (in religious terms), consumed by archetypes (in psychoanalytic terms), or fall into psychosis (in psychiatric terms).
Carl Jung believed that within each of us, there are mighty objective forces. Objective in the sense that they owe us nothing and pursue their own interests.
Sometimes our goals align with theirs, and sometimes they don’t — then beware!
Psychologist Robert Moore often reminds us in his lectures that archetypes are aggressive and imperialistic, meaning each one longs to claim you entirely. The question is not whether your archetypes are active in your life, but how. The less aware you are of them, the more you dance to their tune.
The overpowering desire for power, alcohol, gambling, cleanliness, isolation, violence, control, promiscuous sex, or relentless work — all these are the consequences of twitching when the archetype beats the drum.
One function of humor is to help society recognize a frightening phenomenon and develop an attitude toward it. The video does this perfectly. At first, it was funny, but then it wasn’t.
The task is to study the "rose of the winds" within yourself with interest and respect.
Sincerely yours,
-Alexander
About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.
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