Released: 1 June 1984
Synopsis: Realizing that both Mr. Spock’s body and katra, or soul, are still alive yet separate, the crew of the Enterprise ventures to unite them and recover their friend.
In both Star Trek III: The Search for Spock as well as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and even in the next film, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, there is an ongoing theme that although “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one” (Meyer, 1982) is a logical axiom, that sometimes “the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many” (Nimoy, 1984). Mr. Spock’s human mother, Amanda Grayson, explains this to him in the opening minutes of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
I argue that from a depth psychological perspective, here defined as being any psychology that deals with the unconscious, the idea of the needs of the one outweighing the needs of the many can be seen as a way to explain Carl (C.G.) Jung’s concept of the complex.
Although the word “complex” as it relates to mental wellbeing has a negative connotation in common parlance, in depth psychological terms, a complex is neither inherently positive nor negative, but is instead an opportunity for growth. How this relates to the needs of the one and the needs of the many, is that a complex allows for a bit of the unconscious to be broken off so that the conscious ego can be made aware of it. A complex is usually created when there has been a psychic wound that needs to heal and be protected against further injury. That bit, the one, or the few, in the Star Trek analogy, needs to be acknowledged and addressed by the conscious ego in order for the psyche to become more whole. If it is ignored, it grows bigger and stronger, and can cause problems for the psyche. By taking care of the one bit of unconscious material the psyche is more whole, much as how when the crew of the Enterprise rescued Spock, their crew became whole again.
References:
Meyer, N. (Director). 1982. Star trek ii: The wrath of Khan. Paramount Pictures.
Nimoy, L. (Director). 1984. Star trek iii: The search for Spock. Paramount Pictures, Cinema Group Ventures.
Original post created 5 May 2021
mydailysoultrek 