The world’s a stage… and we are all actors is a Shakespearian quote that describes the wretchedness of human beings. The lights and actions are on from the time we arrive and the curtain only falls when we exit the world. We wear masks, a persona, that is pretentious and tries to leave a good impression on the audience. Mostly we try to play the good guy. However, behind the mask lurks the villain, the evil guy. Carl Jung called it the Shadow. Most of us go around unaware or trying to ignore our shadow. The shadow is the evil twin, the demons within us. Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, we have the capacity to be good and an even bigger capacity to be evil. The human condition is a battleground of opposing forces, Michael and Lucifer, life and death, pain and pleasure, love and hate. Schopenhauer says that we are worse than wild animals. We are the only animals that experience schadenfreude, we can cause pain to others for the sake of causing pain. Other animals do it in the rage of battle or to appease their hunger.
The battle between the good and evil within is however convoluted. We often fear to face our shadow. We are afraid of the demons within. If we really took the time to look at our shadow, we will see ourselves in the scumbags of society. We will see how repulsive and despicable we are. We will see our potential for being evil and corrupt. But we often prefer to live in ignorance of our shadow. We choose to keep up the act. We rarely look inside. We are afraid to go fishing in the deep waters because we may come out with something other than fish. We may come out with crabs, crocodiles, or even scary half-human half-fish creatures. We don’t want to shed light on our shadow because it will reveal things we do not want to see.
To deal with the discomfort of our looming shadow, we often project our evil self on others. We subconsciously see and condemn our faults on others. We are unaware that the evil we see in others lies deep within us. The only difference is that we have not had the opportunity or power to be corrupt. It is easy to be humble when you have no power. The real test of character is how we behave when we have power. Power does not corrupt, it reveals. When we have power, the shadow can take over and go on a rampage or we can integrate it usefully.
How can we integrate the shadow usefully? Movies give us a clue. We enjoy movies that involve characters that are polar opposites. Beauty and the beast: heroes and villains; Movies about overcoming evil and beating the odds. We cheer on the hero when he is killing the bad guys. We are often moved emotionally when watching such movies even when we are well aware that the characters are not real. We can relate because that is the story of our lives. Something other animals are incapable of doing.
In movies, heroes are aware of their shadow and are able to tame it and channel it positively. They know when, where, and who to kill. Villains on the other hand are unable to tame their shadow and therefore kill indiscriminately. Heroes are able to kill the villain because they can relate to the motives of the villain. Heroes are actually villains who are aware of their shadow. The shadow is not just evil; it is also creative and potent. We enjoy movies because they appeal to the battle within us. They show us who we could be if we stopped acting. They have been stripped of the acting and façade that characterize our lives. Movies are real; our lives are fake, stranger than fiction!
Fabio