The Hero's Journey: A Jungian Analysis of a Documentary Film Murderball

Abstract

the disabled athletes’ development towards individuation consists in recognizing and coming to terms with the archetypes that represent different stages in their life-cycle. The archetypes of the shadow, the wise old man and the mother necessitate a process of harmonization and assimilation that force the athletes to acknowledge their capabilities and to confront their potentialities instead of continually repressing them. They willingly accept their current positions. Here, it is worth mentioning that Zupan, has achieved celebrity status. He says: Breaking my neck was the best thing that ever happened to me. I have an Olympic medal. I’ve been to so many countries I would never have been, met so many people I would never have met. I’ve done more in the chair,… than a whole hell of a lot of people who aren’t in chairs. (Murderball, 2005) In this moment, Zupan has completed the Jungian journey of individuation. By accepting his own status quo, he finally acquires the ability to transcend the limitations of being human. This process of individuation acknowledges the presence of a realm of psychic activity within the mind that lies beneath the persona. This leads to the understanding of dual personalities: the conscious and the unconscious which involves an encounter with the unconscious aspects of the self. The goal of individuation is to “forge into an indestructible whole, an ‘individual’” (Jung 522), achieving a status of self-hood and embracing all layers of the psyche, including both the positive and negative attributes of each layer. Individuation became the process by which Jung promoted the idea of becoming a whole and mentally stable individu