This paper was presented the 2013 Key West International Multidisciplinary Academic Conference: www.isisworld.org/‎ The conference took place at Pier House Hotel from May 4 - 5.

1. TRANSCINEMA
The
purpose,
uniqueness,
and
future
of
cinema
Robert
Beshara,
University
of
West
Georgia,
Carrollton,
GA,
USA

2. INTRODUCTION
Stalker (Tarkovsky, 1979)

3. Beyond
and
through
what
exactly?
• As
a
prefix
trans-­‐
means
beyond
but
also
through.
But
beyond
what
exactly?
I
argue
for
a
cinema
that
is
beyond
mere
entertainment
and
commercialism.
Not
that
these
are
bad
things,
they
are
just
not
enough
given
cinema’s
potenOal
to
help
us
change
through
transcendence
as
individuals
and
as
a
community.
However,
to
transcend
means
to
include
and
go
beyond,
so
in
principle
entertainment
and
commercialism
are
not
incompaOble
with
transcinema.
• Also,
I
see
a
human
being
as
an
animal
symbolicum
who
is
trying
to
understand
herself,
to
borrow
Ernst
Cassirer’s
term.
In
search
for
meaning
we
create
or
come
across
symbols.
In
our
case,
the
symbols
are
conveyed
through
moving
images.
• I
argue
as
well
that
transcinemaOc
effects
can
be
achieved
through
the
exploraOon
of—parOcularly
avant-­‐garde
and
experimental—
cinema’s
transpersonal
dimensions.

4. Is
cinema
dead?
• “I
think
that
the
cinema
died
on
the
31st
of
September
1983.
There
is
a
reason
for
that,
because
on
31st
of
September
1983
the
remote
control,
the
zapper
was
introduced
into
the
living
rooms
of
the
world.
Cinema
is
a
passive
medium.
I
never
quite
understood
really
how
it
works.
[…]
So,
you
are
si]ng
in
the
dark,
man
is
not
a
nocturnal
animal
[…]
looking
in
one
direcOon,
si]ng
sOll?
And
you
commit
yourself
to
the
flat
screen
on
which
there
are
colored
shadows.
What
an
extraordinary
descripOon
of
an
obsession.
Unfortunately,
I
think,
if
the
cinema
died
in
31st
of
September
1983
I
think
it
was
a
sOll
birth,
because
I
don't
think
any
of
you
in
this
room
have
seen
any
cinema
yet.
All
you
have
seen
is
105
years
of
illustrated
text
and
that
is
not
the
same
thing”
(Greenaway,
2001).
• Greenaway
was
commenOng
on
cinema
generally,
but
film
stock,
in
parOcular,
as
cinema’s
main
format
for
the
last
century
is
being
replaced
by
a
digital
alternaOve.
Since
the
90s,
the
advent
of
digital
filmmaking
has
been
empowering
to
many
filmmakers,
amateurs
and
professionals
alike,
due
to
the
relaOvely
low
costs
of
digital
film
equipments
and
their
ease
of
use,
as
well
as
the
fairly
recent
development
of
Web
2.0,
which
has
rendered
the
Internet
a
democraOc
and
interacOve
plaform
for
sharing
ideas
virtually
and
quickly.
Obviously,
cinema
has
some
catching
up
to
do.

5. AlternaOves
to
a
dead
cinema?
• One
of
Greenaway’s
recent
projects
is
called
LUPERPEDIA
and
it
is
described
as
“the
Live
Cinema
Event
of
the
Tulse
Luper
Suitcases
Project,
an
encyclopedic
mulO-­‐media
show
deliberately
made
for
the
InformaOon
Age”
(European
Graduate
School,
2011).
It
can
perhaps
be
experienced
as
merely
a
sophisOcated
avant-­‐garde
VJ
show
with
which
Greenaway
has
successfully
toured
the
world,
or
we
can
think
of
it
as
stretching
the
limits
of
cinema
or
even
going
beyond
them.
• If
cinema
is
indeed
dead,
one
is
lek
with
the
spiritual
quesOon:
is
there
an
akerlife?
And
if
so,
what
is
it
like?
Perhaps,
the
death
of
cinema
is
the
rebirth
of
cinema
as
transcinema:
resuscitaOng
its
therapeuOc/healing
purpose
in
terms
of
dramaOc
structure
through
a
revival
of
the
Aristotelian
noOon
of
catharsis.
Why
cinema
you
might
ask?
I
argue
that
cinema
is
unique
albeit
its
roots
are
in
theatre.
Perhaps,
LUPERPEDIA
as
a
project
is
one
example
that
gives
us
a
glimpse
into
the
future
of
cinema.

6. Three
aspects
of
TRANSCINEMA
I. Its
transforma)ve
potenOal
or
forgonen
purpose,
II. Its
transdisciplinarity
or
why
it
is
unique,
III. And
its
future
vis-­‐à-­‐vis
transhumanism.

7. I.
TRANSFORMATION
• The
core
ethic
of
mainstream
cinema
today
seems
to
be
inspired
by
the
pleasure
principle
of
profit,
which
is
a
deviaOon
from
the
ancient
purpose
of
drama,
that
is,
catharsis.
• Certainly,
many
people
go
to
the
movies
to
get
distracted
from
their
daily
worries
and
that
may
be
a
legiOmate
form
of
escapism,
but
going
to
the
cinema
because
it
is
pleasurable
should
be
half
of
the
story.
The
other
half
is
that
cinema
can
help
us
transform
suffering,
whether
as
audience
members
or
as
filmmakers.
The
metaphor
of
the
cinema
screen
as
a
mirror
is
fi]ng
here
because
cinema
at
its
worst
can
be
an
exercise
in
narcissism
wherein
what
is
reflected
can
make
us
delusional.
At
its
best,
cinema
can
reflect
truths,
whether
beauOful,
ugly
or
anything
in
between,
which
ideally
can
cause
us
to
self-­‐reflect,
and
perhaps
inspire
us
to
manage
and
change
some
of
our
dysfuncOonal
parts
or
subpersonaliOes
as
we
idenOfy
with
the
protagonist
in
her
struggle.

8. Cinema
as
a
cultural
and/or
personal
mirror
as
well
as
cultural
therapeuOcs
• “Shakespeare
said
that
art
is
a
mirror
held
up
to
nature.
And
that’s
what
it
is.
The
nature
is
your
nature,
and
all
of
these
wonderful
poeOc
images
of
mythology
are
referring
to
something
in
you.
When
your
mind
is
trapped
by
the
image
out
there
so
that
you
never
make
the
reference
to
yourself,
you
have
misread
the
image”
(Campbell,
1991).
• Romanyshyn
(2008),
building
on
Van
den
Berg’s
work,
writes:
“we
are
not
surprised
that
Van
den
Berg
even
coins
a
new
word
for
neuroses,
calling
them
‘socioses’
(1971,
p.
341).
[…]
It
acknowledges
that
the
social-­‐
cultural
world
is
the
field
of
human
psychological
life.
There
is
a
not
a
social
world
apart
from
the
psychological
world,
acOng
upon
it
from
the
outside.
Rather
the
psychological
world
is
the
social
world,
and
the
social
world
is
the
visible
expression
of
the
psychological
world,
the
place
where
psychological
life
is
made
concrete
and
incarnate.
It
follows,
then,
that
any
psychotherapy
of
neuroses
will
be
a
therapy
of
the
social
world,
or
as
we
have
said
a
cultural
therapeuOcs.”
Ci<zen
Kane
(Welles,
1941).

9. TRANSCINEMA
is
like
the
red
pill
• In
The
Matrix
(1999),
which
explores
many
philosophical
and
spiritual
themes,
before
Neo
wakes
up
from
the
matrix
he
looks
at
a
mirror
and
touches
it
to
realize
that
it
has
a
fluid
structure,
this
series
of
surreal
shots,
one
can
argue,
marks
a
major
plot
point
or
transiOon
in
the
film
that
compellingly
seems
symbolic
of
the
difference
between
maya
(Sanskrit
for
illusion)
and
brahma
(Sanskrit
for
the
ulOmate
ground
of
all
being)
to
use
Hindu
terminology.
Neo
experiences
an
awakening
both
literally
and
symbolically
as
he
shiks
from
the
virtual
world
to
the
real
world.
Enlightenment
is
oken
conceptualized
as
a
posiOve
experience,
but
it
is
neither
posiOve
nor
negaOve.
In
other
words,
it
is
beyond
posiOve
and
negaOve.
Neo
wakes
up
to
the
painful
truth
(aka
reality)—the
red
pill—that
looks
worse
than
the
illusory
world
of
the
matrix
—the
blue
pill;
that
is
his
experience
of
awakening.
Transcinema
is
like
the
red
pill,
but
ulOmately
the
choice
is
ours
because
as
film
viewers
we
ought
to
be
acOve
parOcipants,
and
that
is
our
responsibility.
The
Matrix
(Wachowski,
&
Wachowski,
1999).

10. The
cinema
screen
as
a
portal:
the
power
of
metaphor
Rob
Ager
(2008)
writes
about
the
mysterious
monolith
from
Stanley
Kubrick’s
masterpiece
2001:
A
Space
Odyssey,
which
was
hailed
as
“the
greatest
sci-­‐fi
film
of
all
Ome”
by
the
Online
Film
CriOcs
Society
(2002),
as
a
metaphor:
“For
Bowman,
the
realizaOon
of
the
cinema
screen
paradigm
creates
a
doorway
through
which
he
can
symbolically
leave
his
own
universe.
Reborn
in
the
enclosed
renaissance
room,
which
has
no
doorway,
the
camera
assumes
his
point
of
view
and
moves
directly
into
the
upright
monolith.
In
this
shot
the
monolith
acts
as
a
doorway
straight
back
to
Bowman’s
own
cinemaOc
universe”.
To
take
this
further,
we
can
think
of
the
cinema
screen
as
a
portal,
which
can
transport
us,
as
viewers,
to
different
worlds,
wherein
we
can
experience
all
sorts
of
emoOons
and
ideas.
2001:
A
Space
Odyssey
(Kubrick,
1968).

11. Catharsis;
it
all
came
from
Aristotle
• Humphry
House
(1966)
in
wriOng
about
Aristotle’s
Poe<cs
explains
that
it
is
not
important
whether
catharsis
is
a
metaphor
from
religion
or
medicine,
in
either
case
it
is
a
technical
term
which
results
in
“an
emoOonal
balance
and
equilibrium:
and
it
may
well
be
called
a
state
of
emoOonal
health.”
The
therapeuOc
purpose
of
tragedy,
hence,
was
explored
since
the
18th
Century
B.C.
if
not
before.
House
adds
that
“Aristotle’s
educaOve
and
‘curaOve’
theory
[i.e.,
the
purging
of
emoOons
through
pity
and
fear]
has
a
very
important
element
of
permanent
truth
in
it”
and
this
is
contrasted
by
the
effect
of
“inferior
art,”
namely
“senOmentality,”
which
is
prominent
in
many
Hollywood
movies.
• But
what
does
catharsis
exactly
mean?
According
to
Joe
Sachs
(2005):
“Catharsis
in
Greek
can
mean
purificaOon.
While
purging
something
means
ge]ng
rid
of
it,
purifying
something
means
ge]ng
rid
of
the
worse
or
baser
parts
of
it.”
This
means
that
pity
and
fear,
or
suffering
in
general,
may
be
useful
to
us
because
as
symptoms
they
are
there
for
a
reason
but
the
key
thing
is
to
be
mindful
of
our
suffering
and
not
to
idenOfy
with
it
to
be
able
to
transform
it,
or
to
put
a
posiOve
spin
on
the
previous
analysis,
“for
many
alchemists
the
purificaOon
of
metals
in
alchemical
transmutaOon
was
matched
by
a
purificaOon
of
the
soul
[or
mind],
a
kind
of
self-­‐transmutaOon
in
the
HermeOc
Great
Work”
(Morrisson,
2007).
Therefore,
watching
or
making
transcinema
should
feel
like
an
alchemical
process.

12. “The
Secret
Name
of
Cinema
is
TransformaOon”
(Broughton,
1978)
• Kaplan
(2005)
thinks
that
“the
surrealisOc
and
expressionisOc
styles
appear
to
have
a
greater
capacity
for
the
expression
of
transpersonal
concepts
and
experiences
because
of
the
symbolic,
intuiOve,
visceral,
and
araOonal
nature
of
these
styles.”
What
may
be
added
to
that
statement
is
that
surreal
films
have
had
an
affinity
with
psychoanalysis
historically
for
surrealism’s
goal
is
“to
develop
the
human
personality
by
bringing
repressed
desires
into
consciousness”
by
integraOng
“the
irraOonal
with
the
raOonal”
through
translaOng
unconscious
content
(e.g.,
dreams,
memories,
visions)
to
conscious
cinemaOc
images
(Duplessis,
1962);
however,
transcinema
is
not
just
surreal,
it
more
broadly
tends
to
be
avant-­‐garde
or
experimental.
• Examples
of
transcinema
include
some
of
the
works
of
the
following
transcineasts:
Maya
Deren
(e.g.,
Meshes
of
the
AJernoon),
Federico
Fellini
(e.g.,
8
½),
Andrei
Tarkovsky
(e.g.,
Stalker),
Stanley
Kunbrick
(e.g.,
2001:
A
Space
Odyssey),
Alejandro
Jodorowsky
(e.g.,
The
Holy
Mountain),
and
David
Lynch
(e.g.,
Eraserhead).
Meshes
of
the
AJernoon
(Deren,
&
Hammid,
1943).

13. Cinema
therapy?
• Cinema
therapists
(see
Solomon,
2001;
Wolz,
2005;
Niemiec
and
Wedding,
2008)
use
films
as
a
psychospiritual
tool
in
their
pracOce.
These
psychologists
tend
to
prescribe
the
appropriate
films
(i.e.,
films
exploring
concerns—usually
experienced
by
the
protagonist—that
resonate
with
the
client’s
concerns)
to
their
clients.
As
the
client
idenOfies
with
the
film’s
protagonist,
she
may
be
able
to
work
through
some
of
her
issues
slowly
but
surely.

14. The
Psychomagic
of
cinema
• Andrzej
Szczeklik
(2005)
may
have
an
answer
as
to
why
we
talk
about
the
magic
of
cinema:
“Medicine
and
art
are
descended
from
the
same
roots.
They
both
originated
in
magic—a
pracOce
based
on
the
omnipotence
of
the
word.”
Chilean
filmmaker
and
father
of
the
midnight
movie,
Alejandro
Jodorowsky,
who
came
up
with
his
own
psychospiritual
system
known
as
Psychomagic
takes
the
noOon
of
catharsis
further
by
saying:
“The
world
is
ill.
We
need
to
make
therapy
pictures.
If
art
is
not
a
medicine
for
the
society,
it
is
a
poison”
(ABKCO
Films,
2007).
The
Holy
Mountain
(Jodorowsky,
1973).

15. Psychomagical
cinema
• Confessional
cinema,
which
is
explored
at
length
by
filmmaker/film
professor
Caveh
Zahedi,
could
be
regarded
as
a
Psychomagical
film
genre
because
it
tends
to
rely
on
the
filmmaker
sharing
his/her
vulnerabiliOes
during
the
process
as
they
are
trying
to
change
a
negaOve
aspect
about
themselves—see
I
Am
A
Sex
Addict
(Zahedi,
2005).
• We
live
in
revoluOonary
Omes
because
the
technologies
of
the
day
have
the
potenOal
to
bring
all
of
us
Internet
users
together.
We
can
use
all
of
these
technologies
that
we
have
available
to
us
at
the
present
moment
to
help
us
heal
and
grow
as
individuals
and
as
communiOes,
as
we
express
ourselves
creaOvely
and
communicate
our
uniqueness
arOsOcally.
• Our
video
diaries
or
film
essays
can
be
regarded
as
our
anempt
to
understand
the
human
condiOon
a
linle
bit
bener
through
creaOve
self-­‐
reflecOon,
or
they
can
be
regarded
as
expressions
of
a
therapeuOc
process.
I
Am
A
Sex
Addict
(Zahedi,
2005)

16. A
more
complete
spirituality:
The
dark
night
of
the
soul
• It
may
be
surprising
to
you
to
consider
a
dark
film
that
impeccably
captures
depression
as
transcinemaOc,
but
Lynch
himself
wrote:
“Eraserhead
is
my
most
spiritual
movie.
No
one
understands
when
I
say
that,
but
it
is”
(2006).
A
spirituality
that
only
focuses
on
the
bright
side
of
things
is
a
superficial
one;
a
more
holisOc
approach
to
spirituality,
beyond
false
dichotomies,
is
one
that
acknowledges
both
the
darkness
and
the
lightness
of
the
human
condiOon
a
la
the
yin-­‐yang.
It
is
not
within
the
scope
of
this
paper
to
explore
this
issue
at
length,
but
suffice
it
to
say
that
there
is
value
in
the
experience
of
‘the
dark
night
of
the
soul’
because
it
is
through
contrast
that
we
can
come
to
understand
and
maybe
appreciate
what
is
present
and
what
is
lacking.
Eraserhead
(Lynch,
1977).

17. II.
Transdisciplinarity
• Cinema
as
‘the
seventh
art’:
Canudo
extends
G.W.F.
Hegel’s
aestheOcs,
wherein
the
laner
conceptualized
“the
five
arts
[architecture,
sculpture,
painOng,
music,
and
poetry]
that
he
thinks
are
made
necessary
by
the
very
concept
of
art
itself”
(Houlgate,
2010),
the
former
added
dance
as
the
sixth
art—iniOally
it
was
cinema—and
cinema
as
the
seventh
art,
which
according
to
Canudo
transcended
the
Rhythmic
arts
of
Space
(aka
the
PlasOc
Arts)
and
Time—i.e.,
music,
poetry,
and
dance—combined
(Abel,
1993).
Perhaps
transcinema,
as
a
spaceOme
sculpture
in
movement*,
can
interdimensionally
transporst
us
viewers
from
the
second
dimension
(i.e.,
a
flat
screen)
to
the
third
dimension
(i.e.,
a
transcinemaOc
experience).
• Canudo
implicitly
hints
to
the
transpersonal
nature
of
cinema
in
1923
when
he
writes:
Ac<on
in—only
in—the
cinema
should
be
nothing
more
than
a
corporeal
detail,
a
material
consequence,
a
visual
expression
of
a
collec<ve
psychology.
The
theatre,
on
the
other
hand,
can
only
focus
on
the
individual
and
will
always
remain
more
oriented
toward
the
specifically
psychological.
Cinema
will
thereby
prove
to
be
the
supreme
ar<s<c
means
of
representa<on
and
expression
of
milieus
and
people.
It
will
cease
being
‘individual,’
copying
the
theatre,
which
in
turn
copies
life
(Abel,
1993).
A
Trip
to
the
Moon
(Méliès,
1902).
*cinema comes from the French word cinématographe, which comes from the Greek word kinēma
meaning movement.

18. The
‘synchronizaOon
of
the
senses’
• That
is,
“the
integraOon
of
word,
image
and
sound,
and
the
accumulaOon
of
successive
images
and
sounds
[that
serve]
to
construct
percepOon,
meaning,
and
emoOon
(p.
69)”
(quoted
in
Kaplan,
2005).
A
fine
example
of
that
to
menOon
but
one
would
be
‘The
Blue
Danube’
sequence
in
2001:
A
Space
Odyssey,
which
“[a]t
first
glance
[…]
may
seem
long
and
unnecessary
but
it
is
a
crucial
scene
to
understanding
Kubrick’s
vision
of
the
future.
The
use
of
music
and
movement
is
designed
to
give
the
impression
of
the
machines
waltzing,
which
is
the
ulOmate
expression
of
the
state
of
grace
that
humanity-­‐built
technology
has
now
achieves”
(Caldwell,
2011).
That
sequence
conveys
a
lot
of
visual
informaOon
that
forces
us
to
react
emoOonally
and
to
construct
meaning
as
we
are
interpreOng
the
images
and
the
sounds
being
juxtaposed,
and
all
of
that
happens
without
the
use
of
any
dialogue
and
it
is
this
translinguisOc
potenOal
of
transcinema
that
can
render
it
indeed
a
universal
language.
2001:
A
Space
Odyssey
(Kubrick,
1968)

19. The
translinguisOc
potenOal
of
TRANSCINEMA:
a
universal
language?
Another
excellent
example
of
a
translinguisOc
film
would
be
the
prototypical
experimental
documentary
film
Koyaanisqatsi
(1982)
which
showcases
some
of
the
effects
that
human
beings
have
had
on
nature
over
Ome
and
some
of
the
effects
of
technology
on
us,
and
this
is
shown
to
us
by
resorOng
only
to
edited
moving
images
and
a
minimalist
soundtrack.
Of
course,
some
techniques
(e.g.,
slow
moOon
and
Ome-­‐lapse
cinematography)
were
used
as
part
of
the
film’s
vocabulary
but
there
was
no
use
of
dialogue
proper.
Koyaanisqatsi
(Reggio,
1982).

20. III.
Transhumanism
Ray
Kurzweil
(2005,
p.9):
“The
Singularity
will
represent
the
culminaOon
of
the
merger
of
our
biological
thinking
and
existence
with
our
technology,
resulOng
in
a
world
that
is
sOll
human
but
that
transcends
our
biological
roots.
There
will
be
no
disOncOon,
post-­‐Singularity,
between
human
and
machine
or
between
physical
and
virtual
reality.”
Even
though
Kurzweil
(p.
145)
thinks,
“nonbiological
mediums
will
be
able
to
emulate
the
richness,
subtlety,
and
depth
of
human
thinking,”
they,
according
to
him,
“will
not
automaOcally
produce
human
levels
of
capability
(e.g.,
musical
and
arOsOc
apOtude,
creaOvity,
etc.).
In
other
words,
in
the
future
envisioned
by
Kurzweil,
transcineasts
will
sOll
have
a
role
to
play
as
“panernists”
who
arrange
let’s
say
shots
in
just
the
right
way
that
they
transcend
their
materiality
and
randomness
to
become
art—symbolic,
meaningful,
etc.
This
is
the
so-­‐called
magic
of
cinema:
the
transcendence
of
(i.e.,
including
and
going
beyond)
all
levels
of
reality—natural
and
man-­‐made.

21. Cinema
as
an
art
is
not
separate
from
technology,
and
so
as
technology
changes…
cinema
as
an
art
form
changes,
too.
And
this
is
something
worth
thinking
about
in
the
context
of
the
noOon
of
technological
singularity
&
accelera<ng
change

22. An
exemplar
of
a
Singularitarian
transcineast
would
be
Greenaway
especially
with
his
experimental
project
LUPERPEDIA,
which
claims
to
be
“a
highly
innovaOve
audio-­‐visual
experiment
intended
to
challenge
the
borders
of
film
language
and
offer
the
audience
a
totally
new
[trans]cinemaOc
experience”
(European
Graduate
School,
2011).
Will
we,
as
film
viewers,
interact
with
the
films
we
are
watching
in
the
future
a
la
Web
2.0
so
as
to
change
the
course
of
the
plot?
Will
we
download
digital
films
in
the
future
directly
to
our
minds
via
brain
implants?
These
provocaOve
quesOons
are
open
for
scholars
to
think
about
parOcularly
in
the
context
of
emerging
new
media
technologies
and
the
overall
fast
rate
of
technological
acceleraOon.
LUPERPEDIA
(Greenaway,
n.d.)

23. TRANSCINEMA
and
consciousness
• Robert
Wise
has
observed
perhaps
the
most
powerful
effect
that
transcinema
can
have
on
us
at
the
level
of
the
collecOve
consciousness
when
he
“noted
the
possible
connecOon
between
the
evoluOon
of
consciousness
and
the
evoluOon
of
the
cinema
[thanks
to
neuroplasOcity].
[…]
Wise
explained
that
when
he
first
started
in
the
film
industry
the
moOon
picture
audiences
required
very
clear
linear
story
structures,
and
that
gradually
through
his
career
the
audiences
seemed
to
develop
the
ability
to
more
readily
and
quickly
project
meaning
across
disconOnuous
and
non-­‐linear
cinema
structure”
(quoted
in
Kaplan,
2005).
• Examples
of
nonlinear
films
include:
The
Killing
(1956),
Pulp
Fic<on
(1994),
The
Thin
Red
Line
(1998),
Magnolia
(1999),
Mulholland
Dr.
(2001),
Memento
(2000),
Eternal
Sunshine
of
the
Spotless
Mind
(2004),
and
Babel
(2006).
This
shows
that
films
are
ge]ng
more
and
more
complex—
structurally
at
least.
fFlmmakers’
techniques
and
arOsOc
sensibiliOes
are
ge]ng
more
sophisOcated
(especially
with
the
evoluOon
of
film
technologies)
and
film
viewers’
appreciaOon
for
complexity
is
growing.
The
Killing
(Kubrick,
1956)

24. We
long
for
transpersonal
themes
even
from
mainstream
movies!
As
of
06
April
2013,
The
Shawshank
Redemp<on
(1994)
tops
the
list
of
top
250
movies
based
on
946,828
votes
as
voted
by
IMDB
users
who
gave
the
film
the
highest
raOng:
9.2/10
(“Top
250
movies
as
voted
by
our
users”).
The
film’s
central
theme
is
hope—one
of
two
words
used
by
the
Barack
Obama
presidenOal
campaign
in
2009
that
seems
to
have
resonated
with
many
people
back
then.
The
Internet
Movie
Database
is
a
popular
website
and
it
can
be
regarded
as
an
online
democraOc
plaform
wherein
Internet
users
who
are
film
lovers
can
vote
for
their
favorite
films.
The
spectrum
of
voters
includes
lay
people,
experts,
and
everyone
in
between,
whether
male
or
female,
old
or
young,
or
American
and
non-­‐American.
On
Box
Office
Mojo,
Avatar
(2009)
tops
the
list
of
all-­‐Ome
worldwide
grosses
making
more
than
two
billion
dollars
(“All
Time
Box
Office”).
The
central
visual
moOf
in
that
film
is
the
KabalisOc
tree
of
life,
which
is
a
symbol
for
interconnectedness.
The
Internet
anyone?
Is
it
a
coincidence
that
the
highest-­‐grossing
film
of
all-­‐Ome
across
the
world
is
a
spiritual
sci-­‐fi
film
that
sort
of
preaches
peace?
Brussat
and
Brussat
(2012)
in
their
analysis
of
the
film
write:
“Cameron
gives
the
People
an
Earth-­‐based
cosmology
that
is
totally
in
sync
with
contemporary
spirituality
movements:
reverence
for
Gaia
(earth)
as
a
living
being
and
the
Oneness
movement
that
celebraOng
the
interconnecOon
of
all
being”.
Tree
of
souls
from
Avatar
(Cameron,
2009).

25. Shawshank
Redemp<on
(Darabont,
1994)
is
#1
on
IMDB!

26. Avatar
(Cameron,
2009)
is
the
highest
grossing
film
of
all
Ome
worldwide

27. CriOcs
sOll
love
The
Wizard
of
Oz
(Fleming,
1939)

28. How
effecOve
is
TRANSCINEMA?
• The
purpose
of
cinema
cannot
simply
be
mere
entertainment;
otherwise,
“the
most
selected
‘alternaOve’
faith
on
the
Census
[…]
in
England
and
Wales”
wouldn’t
be
Jediism,
which
is
a
result
of
the
influence
of
Star
Wars
on
the
collecOve
consciousness
(Taylor,
2012).
Why
would
The
Wizard
of
Oz,
a
film
made
in
1939,
get
a
100/100
raOng
by
criOcs
on
MetacriOc
(“Movie
Releases
by
Score”)
and
sOll
be
considered
relevant
by
criOcs
and
relatable
by
viewers
today?
Perhaps
because
there
are
spiritual
lessons
we
can
sOll
learn
from
it
seventy-­‐four
years
later?
Such
as:
“There’s
no
place
like
home.
The
kingdom
of
heaven
is
not
a
place;
but
a
condiOon”
or
that
“Truth
is
found
in
your
own
back
yard,”
and
others
(Johnson,
n.d.).
UlOmately,
“the
very
nature
of
any
creaOve
medium
can
be
viewed
as
being
transpersonal.
The
cinemaOc
medium,
as
well
as
all
the
arts,
is
ulOmately
the
ideas,
thoughts,
and
feelings
of
a
‘‘personal’’
mind
(or
minds)
being
extended
outward
to
other
minds”,
as
stated
by
Kaplan
(2005),
and
the
key
thing
is
to
be
mindful
of
the
process
of
making
films
or
watching
them
so
as
to
be
able
to
use
the
experience
as
an
educaOonal
and
transformaOve
tool
for
personal
and
transpersonal
(or
collecOve)
growth
and
development.
Cinema
is
unique,
and
its
future
may
lie
in
transcinema,
but
at
the
moment
we
must
focus
on
its
transformaOve
purpose
parOcularly
aker
realizing
that
there
is
a
clear
longing
for
spiritual
themes
by
a
large
number
of
people.
Jediism
in
the
UK