Essay on Jungian Archetypes and Mythology in FF7: (needs to be ported to the wiki!)

Written by: Hell_Fire Mythology is the core of story telling. Throughout history, many of the great narratives have been based on the ancient stories of the past. Many people may view myths as false, but it is these mythologies that act as metaphors and provide us with symbols of a life we long to experience (Milum, 2003). Man doesn’t make these myths up, but instead lives them. Carl Jung described them as symbolic expressions of the unconscious, and that while dreams express the unconscious of the individual, myths express that of the collective minds of societies, cultures and races (Johnson, 1987). Mythology is also about archetypal encounters. Jung extensively researched the archetypes of the collective unconscious, and believed them to be the inherited part of the psyche. They act as “genetic blueprints for ideal types of behaviour transmitted from generation to generation which help us act in appropriate ways in various circumstances” (O’Shaughnessy, n.d.) These archetypal figures are inscribed into the characters present in mythology. Take the nursery rhyme ‘Humpty Dumpty’ for example. The archetype of the King is characterised by hierarchical authority and the loyalty that others see in him. Humpty Dumpty was the king of his castle, sitting on the wall, above everyone else, overlooking his kingdom. He then fell from the top, through all the hierarchal ranks, and crashed to the bottom of society only to have his loyal followers try and piece him back together. This nursery rhyme/myth is a basic example of Jungs view of Archetypes in mythology. ‘Humpty Dumpty’ is only a simple nursery rhyme, but it still manages to project the link between archetypes and mythology. What then of more complex narratives, particularly those seen in cinema today? The film that I’m going to examine is Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005) directed by Tetsuya Nomura. Within the film, several Jungian Archetypes can be found, living inside the characters; Cloud, Sephiroth, Tifa, Jenova and Aerith (known as Aeris in the english translation). Not only does the understanding of these archetypes help us understand the characters and their relation to the plot, but they also give the characters a deeper function and construct new levels of symbolism. This is particularly evident when related to mythology, religion and etymology. I’m not going to go into detail explaining the roll of the hero Archetype, but I think it’s necessary to give an overview of it in relation to the story. The main character, Cloud Strife, adopts the archetype of the Hero, and just as Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1972) outlines, this archetype struggles through the ‘Heroes Journey’. Cloud grew up as a lonely child, often frustrated by not being the person he wanted to be, and not being strong enough to save the ones he loved. In the past, this pushed him to become stronger, but after being denied access into the elite army named SOLDIER (and forced to be a regular soldier), he cut his ties with everyone he loved due to his self disgrace. The story of Advent Children highlights his emotional struggles, and his inner quest to forgive himself, and move on with his life, which finally happens at the conclusion of the film. Now that the Hero has been explained, the Shadow archetype in the film, Sephiroth, can be examined. In the past, Sephiroth joined SOLDIER and quickly raced up the ranks. He was a powerful, idolized warrior who inspired many people, particularly Cloud, who both admired, and desired his power. This was all up until Sephiroth discovered the truth of his existence. Before his birth, Sephiroths biological mother was injected with the cells of the mysterious Jenova, a virus like entity who fell from the sky and tried to destroy the planet thousands of years ago. These cells that live inside him were in fact the key to his unnatural powers. However, he doesn’t accept that Jenova caused the disaster, and chooses to follow in her footsteps: to destroy the current world, and create a new one. Thus he, and others who share his ideology, refers to Jenova as ‘Mother’. I should note that Sephiroth was defeated by Cloud two years before the events of the film, and that Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz are the remnants of him, and are on a quest to unite their ‘Mothers’ (Jenovas) cells with themselves in order to summon Sephiroth, which they successfully do at the end of the film. Write (2007), Describes the Shadow Archetype as: “[The] Shadow implies the dark side of the hero. Indeed, often the shadow is the reverse of the hero. The shadow is the ultimate opponent the hero must face; however, the shadow is more than that. The shadow represents the evil lurking within everyone” On the surface, the Shadow archetype is simply the main challenge that the Hero must face, which is certainly the case in Advent Children, demonstrated by the final action scene. However, Write also suggests that the Shadow is the unconscious part of our personality and that the latent thoughts of the Hero are possessed by the Shadow. In a literal sense, Sephiroth is the dark side of Cloud, as they are both infected with Jenovas cells. While their initial aims were to both be the greatest, Sephiroth soon grew to hate the world, and everything in it, and strives to complete Jenovas goal. Here is a movie quote from Sephiroth that highlights his evil intention: “What I want Cloud, is to sail the darkness of the Cosmos with this planet as my vessel, just as my mother did long ago. Then one day we’ll find a new planet, and on its soil we’ll create a shining future.” While he may take on characteristics of the Shadow in the film, Sephiroth used to be a role model, someone to strive to become. When Sephiroth learned of his existence, his latent personality traits became clear and his [then] Hero archetype was shadowed, thus becoming the villain. Zoon (n.d.) also points out that “The Shadow can be the darker side of the Hero that he is trying to suppress”. This is indeed apparent in the film. Cloud is in fact suppressing his true emotions, and is failing to move on. Everything that happened in his dark past: the fact that he is a biological experiment just like Sephiroth, how he was unable to stop Sephiroth killing Aerith, and unable to save his friend and co-soldier Zach from being murdered in front of his eyes, were all a result of Sephiroth. Cloud is trying to suppress his dark emotional past, and is unable to forgive himself. He is also perhaps suppressing Sephiroths frame of mind regarding Jenova and the end of the world. Characters in narratives are not restricted to just one Archetype. Sephiroth is a deeply constructed character who takes on several. His most apparent is the Shadow, but the Warrior archetype can be seen in him as well. According to O’Shaughnessy (n.d.) the Warrior archetype is made up of “aggressive energy… knows what he wants and how to get it….is trained… and is emotionally distant”. These are clearly characteristics of Sephiroth. Indranet.com (2007) expands on this and states: ”The Warrior serves the King…If the Kings and Magicians in our lives don't do a good job, our Warrior will be activated in its shadow aspect, falling easily to rages and bullying; or it will barely be activated at all.” Sephiroth served his King to the end, the King being Jenova. His goal was to follow her desires and fulfil her wishes, even their methods were different. In Sephiroths eyes, Jenova did do a good job when she came to the planet all those years ago, thus the warrior Archetype wasn’t shadowed into a coward or a weakling. The final battle highlights his loyalty to ‘Mother’, and his physical strength. I’ll also add that because only Kadaj was able to absorb Jenovas cells, only one third of Sephiroths power was reborn. Had Yazoo and Loz been there, then they would have successfully summoned Sephiroth at his full strength. Tifa Lockhart is another fairly obvious archetype in the film. She has many characteristics similar to the Lover. Her name alone supports this. Tifa, which is derived from Tiferet, means balance and love. The tiferet is also symbolized by a love heart in Tarot. The word Lockhart implies that her emotions are kept locked up. She has romantic feeling towards Cloud (as I’ll explain later) but can’t find a way to fully let them out. Lilly (2006) describes the Lover archetype as “This is the archetype of love — love of others, love of food, love of art. Also, the excesses of love, and the denial of love. People famous for their passion. The lover is defined by desire and rapture.” Prior to the film, Tifa was romantically competing with Aerith for Clouds affection. Realistically, many people in society would not take kind to this situation, particularly to the one who you are competing against. However, this archetype shines strong in Tifa as she instantly befriends Aerith and treats her with the upmost respect. The end of the film confirms this. On the airship after the final battle, Tifa gazes into the water drop, which was a mixture of Lifestream (which is the planets life energy) and rain (the combination representing Aeriths purity), and says “Somehow, I knew you were there. Thank you.” Tifas love interest, Cloud, has not been able to get over Aerith and commit to anyone else, but Tifas kind heart still shines in Aeriths direction, clearly characterising the Lover archetype. This Archetype also comprises of the desire to love. Through the film, Tifa is committed to an internal struggle of desire. She has nothing but kind feeling towards Cloud and wants nothing more than to break his emotional barrier and have him express his feeling to her. His suppressed emotions are also preventing her from letting out her true feelings. Although it’s implied that he has feeling for her too, he blames himself for Aeriths death, and allows that to consume his life. In one of the final scenes, Tifa and Cloud share the ‘look’. Cloud says “I’m back” then shortly after, two close-ups of relief are shown by Tifa and Cloud. This is then followed by a very symbolic sequence where Cloud subconsciously notices Aerith and Zack at the entry of the church. Aerith says; “You see, everything’s alright” and he replies “I know, I’m not alone, not anymore”. After the many years of holding in his emotions and blaming himself for his past, he is finally able to move on with his life. There is no longer an emotional block sitting between Cloud and Tifa. Perhaps now, Tifas desire to love, and to be loved, can be fulfilled. Now that Tifa and Cloud have been examined, I feel it’s important to explain how their respective archetypes present a deeper level of symbolism in the film. There’s a wolf that appears on various occasions throughout the film. This is a symbol of Clouds regret and guilt towards Zach and Aerith spawning from his inability to save their lives. As mentioned before, Cloud has allowed the events to consume his life by not letting go. This is the Shadow side of Cloud, the side that he is trying to suppress. Only when he finds a way to overcome his guilt and regret, will this symbol disappear, which happens at the end of the film. The final archetype that I feel is very important in the film is the Mother. In Advent Children, Aerith displays it in its pure form, while Jenova is its shadow. Angela (2007) claims: “Mother is about creativity and the very act of creation. It is also about nurturing, guiding, and supporting. Often mother demonstrates tenacity, protectiveness, resourcefulness. One of the great lessons of the mother archetype is the process of life and mothering. It is important to create, nurture, empower and release….. “ Aerith has the ability to heal the planet, and create a better world, thus she is the very act of creation, as mentioned above. The Geostigma disease that infected the people of the world was eliminated in the end because of her fusion of the Lifestream, and the rain. The world that was corrupted by Jenovas cells was purified by Aerith. Guiding and support are two other characteristics of her. Aerith guides and supports Cloud all the way through the film. A clear visual example of this was when she extends her hand and helps Cloud defeat the summoned monster. This Mother archetype can take Aerith and her symbolic role to deeper level. She can be seen as a symbol of purity, growth and prosperity, in a world that doesn’t allow it. The atmosphere in Midgar (the city) reflects this. The dominant colour of clothing is grey and black, and you would be challenged to find a living plant anywhere. The city is overly industrial, and lacks beauty. Aerith is the only key to turning this world into a naturally prosperous place. The church is a prime example of this. Before she was killed by Sephiroth, she used to tend to the flora inside the church. That and her home (which isn’t shown in the film) were the only two places in Midgar that thrived with beauty. Even though she’s dead, the vegetation in the church remains alive. In addition, the few shots that she does appear in are colourful and full of natural beauty, presenting her as the mother of life. Finally, we have Jenova, the initial cause of conflict within the world. It doesn’t take long before her first ‘Mother’ reference is spoken by Kadaj. Angela (2007) adds “Great Destruction as well as great creation are a potential of the shadow side of the mother“.Jenova is an entity, a virus, neither male or female. However she takes the form of a female when she descended to earth over 2000 years before the film. Great destruction was in fact her goal as she came to the planet to contaminate it, and destroy it. Aerith and Jenova are polar opposites and take on the characteristics of the Mother and its Shadow. It could be read that these two are the true Hero and Shadow in the film, but Campbells “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” would suggest Cloud and Sephiroth fit these positions more accurately. Nevertheless, the two hold the true power of creation and destruction, and are referenced as ‘Mother’ by their respective sides. Despite Jenova being the ‘Mother’ to Sephiroth and his three remnants (Kadaj’s gang), Aerith is still called ‘Mother’ by Kadaj when he mistakes her for Jenova, and when Cloud wakes up after the final battle with Sephiroth. Here, the symbolism of the name “Mother” becomes deeper due to the Mother Archetype and its Shadow. These archetypes I’ve just discussed, and many more, are not only present in modern narratives, but span back into ancient mythology. Samuels (1986) states; “The myth is a metaphor for workings of the archetype”. He continues to explain that the historic gods and goddesses that are present in ancient mythology, are representatives of the basic archetypes and that in these stories, the archetype is in its most clear form, free of conscious intervention. Relating this to Greek mythology, Hercules could be seen as the Hero, with Zeus as his father and King. Aphrodite was the goddess of love, taking on the Lover Archetype, and Hades, the god of the underworld, is the Shadow. These are four basic Archetypes found in perhaps the most well known mythological characters. While the characters in Advent Children could undoubtedly be related to these characters, I believe to Norse myth of Ragnarok is the mythological base of the film and the characters within. The following explanation Ragnarok is taken from ancientmythology.com (2007): “Ragnarok, in Norse mythology, was the predestined death of the Germanic gods. A three-year winter led to a final battle on the Vigrid Plain, where the gods and the frost giants fought the epic final battle. Ragnarok marks the end of the old world, and the beginning of the new, current world. Odin, who had previously attempted to prevent Ragnarok from occurring, led the gods….. The frost giants were led by the fire god Loki and assisted by the unworthy dead who came from Hel, and by other monsters.” This myth claims that a long winter lead to a final battle. In Advent Children, there was a two to three year gap between the last battle against Sephiroth, and the events of the film. The opening shot of the present, over the Northern Crater highlights the winter and symbolizes the dawn of the new battle. In addition, the very word Ragnarok means the end of the world. Sephiroths goal mirrors this; to destroy the world and mark the dawn of the new one. However, Odin is there to stand in Loki’s way, and fight him just as he had in the past. This draws parallels with Advent Children’s final battle. Clouds previous attempt in destroying Sephiroth for good was obviously unsuccessful. Now once again, he is leading a team or warriors into another battle. Finally the myth states that the frost giants and unworthy dead were led by Loki. Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz were lead by Sephiroth, and assisted by the dead who took the form of the smoke monsters and the giant monster from the sky. From this, we can see that Odin and Loki’s Archetypes and actions are similar to that of Cloud and Sephiroth. However, that mainly just draws similarities with events rather than characteristics in the Archetypes. Looking deeper into these mythological characters, it’s surprising to see just how alike they are to the characters in Advent Children. Ancient-mythology.com states: “The Vikings admired Odin's love for the battle, as he was known as the ‘father of the slain’ ”. The group’s admiration for Cloud was just the same. Cloud felt that a true battle would help him move on. This is confirmed when Vincent says: “He can handle this alone. Kadaj is a remnant of Sephiroth. Think of him as a sort of larval form”. Tifa continues: “Then you’re right. It’s his fight now…..Two years ago, think of the fight we all had when we fought that last battle. It’s only been a couple of years, but already that feeling is gone. But Cloud, I think he’s found it again.” Like Odin, Clouds release was found through battle. It helped him get over his past. Another point worth mentioning is Odins/Clouds relationship with Freyja/Tifa. It’s not confirmed (and neither is Cloud and Tifas feelings towards each other) but it’s suggested that Freyja was in a relationship with Odin. Through the film, and through Clouds past, it’s suggested that he has feelings towards her too. If Cloud and Odin can be identified with the Hero archetype, then we can certainly draw similarities between Sephiroth, Loki and the Shadow. Loki was a fire god who opposed the other gods. At this basic level, fire is a symbol of passion and destruction. One could call Sephiroth a passionate man. He had a passion to carry out his and Jenovas will, which would lead to destruction. The first image we receive of Sephiroth is very symbolic in regards to this. It is an image of Sephiroth standing in burning flames. This image was from the past when he discovered the reason for his existence and single-handedly burned down a town. Loki was also known as a mischievous god, who constantly switched sides. If the sides present in Advent Children are good and evil, then Sephiroth did just this. He was the SOLDIER, on the ‘good’ side, that was looked up to. This all changed when he discovered the truth. Sephiroth now chose to pursue Jenovas goals, and switch to the ‘evil’ side. Loki also had three children that fought along side him. Sephiroth didn’t directly have children, but his three remnants were Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz. While on the topic of mythology, I think it’s important to point out some mythological connections through names and their relation to religion. The word ‘Advent’ means ‘An anticipated arrival’. Christian mythology sees this as the second coming of Christ. The arrival in the film was Sephiroths, whose name is Hebrew for “The Return to God”, and this is his second awakening. Coincidence? I think not, particularly when his goal was to essentially become a god. Baptism is also symbolized through Cloud pouring water onto Denzels head. In Christianity, this is seen as a way to cleanse one of their sins and remove the evil within them. The evil in the film being the Jenova cells causing the Geostigma. Within every great story lies a mythology. Myths are expressions of the collective unconscious, and are experienced by mankind rather than invented. Johnson’s (1987) claim supports this: “Every great myth is a symbolic record of such a stage of growth in the life of people”. Within these great myths lie central figures that are inscribed with archetypal behaviours. These mythologies, along with their archetypes, appear in today’s modern narratives. The archetypes create new levels of depth between the characters, their roll within the plot, and the symbolism that they represent. Many of the characters in Tetsuya Nomuras Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children are indeed inscribed with common archetypes. Cloud is the Hero, while Sephiroth is his Shadow. Tifa is the Lover, and both Aerith and Jenova represent both forms of the Mother archetypes. Not only are these Archetypes also found in myths, for example; the gods of Greek mythology, but the entire events of the film and the roles the characters pursue seem to follow the Norse myth of Ragnarok. This mythology, as well as the character etymology, allows the film to be taken to a religious level as well, drawing on Christian beliefs. Ultimately, it is these archetypes that essentially add a deeper level to the films narrative, and the characters within. References: • ancient-mythology.com (2007). Mythology of the Ancient World. 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(2006). The Structure of Consciousness, Part One: Archetypes and Circuits. Retrieved October 20, 2007 from: http://tinyurl.com/27p56s. • Milum, L. (2003). The Hero’s Journey: A Campbellian Look at the Metaphorical Path to Personal Transformation. Retrieved October 20, 2007 from: http://www.mythichero.com/what_is_mythology.htm. • Morrow, G. (2005). Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Plot Analysis. Retrieved October 20, 2007 from: http://au.faqs.ign.com/articles/657/657331p1.html. • O’Shaughnessy M. (n.d.) Unpublished paper. Psychology, Psychoanalysis and Cinema Reader. Perth: Edith Cowan University. • Raffa, J. (1999). Archetypal studies: King Archetype. Retrieved October 26, 2007 from: http://www.souljourney.net/archetypestudies/king.html. • Rock, G. (1998). Archetypes, Myths, and Characters. Retrieved October 19, 2007 from: http://tinyurl.com/ypfxbl. • Samuels, A. (1985) Jung and the Post-Jungians. London: Routeledge. • Samuels, A. Shorter, B. & Plaut, F. (1986) A Critical dictionary of Jungian Analysis. Great Britain: Butler & Tanner Ltd, Frome and London. • Sharp, D. (1991) C.G. Jung Lexicon: A primer of Terms and Concepts. Canada: University of Toronto. • Spring (1979) Spring:1979. New York: Spring Publications. • Storr, A. (1973) Jung. Great Britain: William Collins Sons & Co. • Write, W. (2007). The Professional Screenwriter: Using Character Archetypes. Retrieved October 18, 2007 from: http://tinyurl.com/2hvkdm. • Zoon, A. (n.d.). Mythological Archetypes: And contemporary television programs. Retrieved October 20, 2007 from: http://annezo.net/fiction/archetype.html.