The Shadow, The Unconscious, & Anime
The Unconscious Mind
Hidden within the deep recesses of the soul, mind, or psyche of every human being is the realm of the unconscious, a shadowy and mysterious place mostly filled with things deemed as taboo and unacceptable; a part of ourselves that is difficult to process and explain.
Like what the word itself suggested, the unconscious is a place outside the scope of our awareness. If our conscious mind is the one in the spotlight, the unconscious would be the blind spot. Many of our memories, urges, feelings and desires that were met with disapproval from our parents and the whole society end up repressed in that space, together with the other mental concepts we inherited from our ancestors, something we have in common with the rest of human kind. The unconscious mind is filled up with things that your conscious self normally does not want to be involved with. Also, lurking within the same realm is an enigmatic archetype the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung termed as The Shadow. The dark side of our human nature, as described by many who are familiar with Jung’s work.
And it is important for us to have an understanding of this concept because it is something that greatly affects our everyday lives. The Shadow, if left unchecked, has the potential to harm us, though we may or may not be aware of it. We can also see the integration of The Shadow portrayed in fiction and Anime more often than we realise and I find that really fascinating that’s why I made this video.
DISCLAIMER: Before we continue, I just want to say that I don’t claim to be an expert in Psychology. I’m just a random guy who makes Anime Blogs so please take everything that I’ll say with a grain of salt. I’m probably going to miss covering many small details about this topic but I’ll try my best to at least nail down the core ideas of The Shadow. I’m also building up my points from the ideas of many Psychologists. Some from Sigmund Freud, many from Carl Jung. If I make a serious and fundamental mistake with my interpretation, please be kind enough to point it out in the comments so other people don’t get misinformed. Now, back to our topic.
Meet our friend Bob
In order to further understand this concept of The Shadow, we will use the story of our imaginary friend, Bob, as an example. Bob in his childhood years was a very aggressive and energetic kid. He would push everyone else away from the playground slides and swings just so he could have more time using them for himself. On one occasion, in the neighbourhood playground, Bob had his favourite toy taken from him by one of his bigger playmates, Richard. Angered and annoyed at what was done to him, Bob mustered all the force available in his young body to push Richard forward. Richard’s hands let go of the toy as he fell on the ground. When the other kids in the playground, Bob’s parents and the parents of the other children saw Bob’s disagreeable behaviour, Bob was met with a lot of disapproval and was disciplined by his parents. In his young voice, Bob tried his best to explain to the adults the reason why he acted that way but the image of little Richard crying while nursing his scratched and bloodied knee on the ground was proof enough for them to think that Bob was the bad guy in the situation. ‘Don’t do that, that’s bad. If you keep doing that, bad things will happen to you.’ We have all been disciplined by our parents, guardians, and teachers before so as to how Bob was harshly disciplined by his, I’d leave it to your imagination. Bob was pressured by the community to shed off the part of himself that was prone to being aggressive and forceful. The same pattern of events will occur in Bob’s childhood years resulting for that trait of his to be shunned, repressed and swept away into his unconscious mind, where most unacceptable things end up in. Even after many years, with him growing up and starting high school, that aggressive part of him would still remain hidden and locked within- lurking in the shadows, just waiting for the right cue or trigger for it to resurface. That is his shadow.
After the harsh discipline implemented to him by his parents and the community, Bob grew up thinking that any form of being aggressive is bad. For him, any form of being forceful is unacceptable and repulsive because it became associated with the traumatic punishment he received in his childhood. And the sad thing was that he was not even aware of this happening in the background of his mind. That is why when Bob reached primary school, he grew up severely lacking in assertiveness, confidence, and confrontational skills and the fact that he was moulded by the community to be as harmless and tame as a bunny made him an easy target for bullying.
On Bullying
Before I continue, I just want to say that I don’t support bullying in any way shape or form. The act of bullying should be discouraged, prevented, and punished by the authorities and it is not the fault of the people being bullied why such awful things are happening to them. The fault lies with the bully and not the victim. But we all know that no matter how much we try to prevent it, bullying is still taking place at schools, workplaces and probably in most social establishments or organisations, and almost everyone, if not all, will experience a form of bullying at some point in life. The point that I’m trying to make here is that instead of letting people stay powerless and unresisting, I personally think that it is better to teach people how to stand up for themselves, know who to call or contact for help and have the mental weapons and defences against bullying. Also, I’m not advocating to teach people to be violent, what I want instead is for people to have to strength and knowledge to act accordingly in order to defend themselves and the people around them. I hope you guys don’t misunderstand my intentions in this matter.
Back to Bob. Everytime a bully would take away his toys or belongings, Bob wouldn’t retaliate nor even answer back to the people harassing him. He didn’t enjoy the thought of being bullied but the notion of pushing back, being aggressive and confrontational, things that Bob could’ve used to defend himself, has been drilled in his mind to be ‘inappropriate’ and ‘unacceptable’ by the people close to him in the past, that is why he continued being a powerless victim even in his teenage years. The cycle of bullying will continue and that will make Bob resentful and bitter at life as he grows older.
Unfortunate and troublesome things occur in everyone’s life and that in turn shoves many unacceptable thoughts and motivations into our unconscious, feeding The Shadow.
Different people will have different reponses in different set of circumstances, but in this particular example, Bob wouldn’t fully notice that he would start fantasising doing violent things to the people who harrassed and bullied him. He has been hurt and wronged. And he has done nothing wrong to deserve all this. The Shadow would whisper faintly to him, telling him how he deserved justice. It wanted revenge. These violent and dark impulses will be communicated to him by The Shadow, giving him unexplained urges and irritability in his head. The Shadow will use Mysterious Symbols in his nightmares and daydreams. From time to time, Bob would have these impulses to become verbally abusive and to lash out at everyone around him. And sometimes, to a small extent, he would be cold and cruel to the people he considers weaker than himself. And he couldn’t fully understand why he’s being like this because he is still not conscious of his shadow. He will try to further surpress these urges and will not fully commit on them because the seal from his childhood is still in effect . The Shadow has not taken over. Well, at least not yet.
The Shadow is dangerous. Because it grows, it gets darker, and becomes more powerful as more and more unresolved emotions and thoughts get brushed into it.
Once The Shadow grows large enough, it can take over a person. And that person will be more inclined to do horrible things once The Shadow gains control.
I think many of us here have already seen a person snap. To just explode in a flurry of negative emotions. To yell at the waiter in a restaurant. To punch the guy behind the counter. To slap a partner or friend in the face during a heated argument. To ram their car at the back of the car of another person who cut them off on the road multiple times. Then, afterwards, when that person’s head cooled down and the tension has been eased, embarassment would follow along with the realisation that that person messed up. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to do it. Everything just blacked out. I didn’t know what came over me. It’s like another person took over my body…’ These are sentiments I have personally heard from people who commited things they wouldn’t normally do, like what I mentioned just now.
The person didn’t know that for a few moments, something took over, and it was The Shadow.
The remorse followed but ultimately, the act has been commited, the damage has been done.
Though the situation seems bleak, there is still a way to save Bob from one day being taken over by his Shadow.
The secret lies with acknowledging The Shadow. To become aware of it. By realising that within us, the tendencies to commit unacceptable and inappropriate behavior exist and that under certain circumstances, we are capable of commiting harm and atrocities to ourselves and the people around us.
One must assimilate his or her shadow.
Let’s have Carl Jung explain this further:
Shadow Integration
In order for our friend Bob to integrate his shadow: he also has to be aware that he has one. He has to acknowledge it. And he has to understand that his Shadow, the repressed urge to be forceful and aggressive is not really a bad thing in its entirety. The Shadow is not a completely negative part of himself because Bob can be use it as an effective weapon. If only he allowed some of that forceful and aggressive energy to flow within him, he could’ve stood up for himself and ended the bullying before it even got consistent. In this particular scenario, the people around Bob, his family and community had always told him to become harmless and tame. And to not show anger in any way, shape or form. But in life, there are situations where being angry is justified. Outrage is the appropriate response if a moral wrong is being committed by an evil person to an innocent individual. And the potential to cause harm to others can be used as a deterrent for other people’s malicious attacks. The technique is for Bob to realise that in his childhood, he was capable of pushing back and being able to forcefully confront others. His Shadow is proof that he has the potential to become dangerous. To become a monster. He should not completely shun it nor let it take over him completely. The right amount of balance should be maintained with him having full control of himself. He should have been told by the community to show the right amount of aggression to fight to defend himself and the people around him from people who wanted to do them wrong. Gaining that mastery over his unconscious self is how he would assimilate his Shadow.
The Shadow is dangerous, however it can also be a source of energy and power. If one is successful in doing this, getting into terms with it, such a person can gain renewed strength and a strong weapon to combat the many challenges life presents to us.
But then again, Bob’s story is just one example of how people can assimilate their Shadow side. I just want to say that, as we all know, life is complex and we must be wise in choosing our own battles with regards to various situations. The form of the Shadow varies from person to person, it’s a case to case to basis.
Again, I just want to say that I’m not a expert and I am not recommending anyone to do anything specific. Using a made up example, I just presented own interpretation of Carl Jung’s Theory of The Shadow because I found it interesting and thought-provoking. I also want to say that Carl Jung’s work, although loved and accepted by his followers, is also highly debated, challenged and criticised by some people in the field of Psychology. It’s up to you to decide whichever side you want to believe in.
The Jungian Shadow in Anime
Like what I said earlier, the concept of The Shadow, along with Jung’s other Theories, is used a lot in Anime. Especially in the Shounen genre. Haven’t we ever heard of an individual having darkness or a monster inside of them that gets called out if they’re somewhat in danger or if they’re really pissed off.
Well, we have Naruto, Ichigo from Bleach, Mob from Mob Psycho, Yusuke from Yu Yu Hakusho, Asta from Black Clover, Meliodas from Seven Deadly Sins, Guts with his Berserker armor on, do I need to go on? Some might argue about the smallest details but I guess we can all agree that these characters have a type of darkness within them that takes over them during battle.
Seeing their precious friends getting beaten up by a Psychotic Villain, these characters would let the darkness inside them take over. Taking on a new form, looking less than a hero and more like a monster. These stories teach us that sometimes, it takes a monster to defeat another monster. These characters would go on a rampage, causing harm not only to the enemy but also to the people close to them. And for them to beat the final boss, they would have to master their own darkness, not the other way around, to gain a really strong powerup.
Take Naruto for example. Naruto had a really rough childhood. His parents died when he was young and society kinda made him an outcast because of the monster inside him. In order to gain attention, he’d have to play the role of a clown and a trouble, often causing headaches to the authorities and the people around him. He also had the 9-tailed demon fox sealed within him, and at first, the repressed monster was out to get and devour him. It was only waiting for a chance for the seal to weaken so he could take over Naruto’s body and it was partially successful in doing so for a few times throughout the serie s. But once Naruto fully confronted Kurama, listening to the fox’s bitterness, understanding his pain and the reason for his resentment, along with his ever-effective Talk-No-Jutsu, Naruto managed to come to terms with the monster within him along with his other personal issues, putting all the unconscious resentment and displeasire out to see the light of day. With his Shadow acknowledged and integrated and many of his personal conflicts resolved, Naruto clothed himself with the monster’s power and energy, taking a new positive form. And his connection with the monster within him, along with the personal experience and wisdom he picked up along the way, gave Naruto the strength to face the enemy and to save himself and the people around him from the greatest peril they have encountered.
This doesn’t only happen in Shounen Anime, in other genre’s the integration of the Shadow is also portrayed but I think I’ve already given up enough examples so I wouldn’t be going any further.
Conclusion
Many prominent Psychologists theorise about the dark side of human nature. Our hidden monster. Our Shadow. It has to potential to harm us and the people around us if we left it unchecked, but if we gain enough understanding of ouselves, acknowledging the Shadow, limiting its destructiveness, harnessing its power to do good things for the world, we can gain a versatile weapon and a strong ally to help us triumph over the adversities that are inevitable in life.
If you want to gain more understanding about the Shadow, I recommend that you read Carl Jung’s Book, Man and His Symbols, along with his other writings or get familiar with the works of Robert Greene, the Author of the Laws of Human Nature and The 48 Laws of Power. Their works were very helpful with my research on this topic.
Thanks for reading.
CHECK OUT THE FOLLOWING BOOKS BELOW FOR ADDITIONAL INFO ON THE TOPIC:
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