| This qualitative study used an intuitive inquiry method to explore the transformative film experiences (TFEs) of 14 individuals. The researcher used intuitive methods including active imagination, conscious awareness during film viewing, journaling, somatic awareness, and creative expression to understand her own experiences. Coresearchers were interviewed about past TFEs and thematic analysis of results yielded many significant themes associated with the transformative film-viewing experience. Themes were categorized into psychological benefits, depth psychology and archetypal resonance, transpersonal themes and processes, creative components and media characteristics, physical responses, and TFEs as a continuum. This work gathered firsthand, in-depth narrative accounts of selected viewers' psychological responses to viewing meaningful films. Results confirmed the transformative power of film and supported existing theories in the field. Film was observed to impact viewers at both conscious and unconscious levels, including the evoking of archetypal material. Transpersonal themes were discovered to be an integral component of many TFEs. Jungian concepts of symbol, archetype, and the transcendent function were demonstrated. Transformative effects of exposure to myth and the hero's journey as effected through film were observed. Implications of this research for cinematherapy and depth-oriented therapeutic applications of film are discussed. The diversity of coresearchers with respect to gender, age, culture, and ethnicity suggests broadly applicable results. |
