Dream/Film Imagery: Realizing You Are The Devil

[KnockingFromInside]

This is something I've noticed in a few films. The hero (usually in a dream or vision) comes face to face with the enemy-  and realizes they've been fighting the self all along! 

Who knows if any of these are direct references to each other (Brazil is probably referencing Star Wars). The point is that this is a real psychological phenomenon. Before finding these scenes I've had a few semi-lucid dreams that were exactly like this. I can't convey the level of mindfuck in seeing your own face as that of the monster. Inland Empire comes the closest to capturing that feeling. It's a complex feeling of terror and sadness all at once, but in a way that is profoundly healing. The terror comes because I see the darkness within me and the potential to continue down that path (I AM THE DEVIL!!), and the sadness comes because I see that my enemy is an angel that has fallen tragically (THE DEVIL IS ME!). The fall comes not from a desire to hurt, but from a fear of being hurt. In this fear we protect ourselves with a frightening mask...a mask which repels the love we need.

It's heavy stuff.

Edited July 23, 2018 by KnockingFromInside