Synopsis: Commander Sisko and his son, Jake, arrive at Deep Space Nine.
In this pilot episode of the series, perhaps since it is two episodes shown together, we see two main themes from depth psychology elucidated in them. Depth psychology, which has been described by Susan Rowland as “a countercultural attempt to heal the splitting that is a characteristic of Western Culture” (2021), is more often defined by its study of the unconscious.
The first concept, from the Analytical Psychology founded by Carl (C.G.) Jung is that of a complex. Jung called complexes “feeling toned” and we know that we are in the midst of a complex when we feel we have no control over our actions, our emotions, or even thoughts. That is when a complex has you.
When Commander Benjamin Sisko is caught in the wormhole between Deep Space Nine and the Gamma Quadrant, the entities that are native there look into his memories and find that Sisko cannot get past the day when his wife, Jennifer, died when Sisko was on the Saratoga the day that the Borg attack at Wolf 359. The entities appear to Sisko as individuals from his memories, but most often as his now deceased wife, who repeatedly asks Sisko: “Why do you exist here?” (Piller & Carson, 1993). The reason, from an Analytical Psychology perspective is because he is in a complex and the complex has him.
The second idea is the acorn theory from Archetypal Psychology, a branch of Analytical Psychology founded by James Hillman. The acorn theory is that inside each individual there exists, even before birth, all the information about what our journey is to be in our lifetime. This includes which parents to choose in order to aid or provide obstacles for us in our destined path. When Sisko arrives on Bajor he is greeted by Kai Opaka, the spiritual leader on Bajor, who tells him that his life force, his pagh, his fate, is to be the Emissary even though he does not wish to be among them. Opaka tells him that he is destined to be the one to find their Celestial Temple.
Finally, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has been referred to as the most psychological of all the series in the Star Trek franchise, and in the months to come, I will be exploring this. But I also want to use this series to highlight a subject that is not often raised in Star Trek, the idea of soma, which I am using here to mean bodily knowledge, how we feel from the inside out. Part of somatics is the therapeutic application of touch.
In “Emissary” there are several moments of somatic awareness involving Sisko, and the love he has for his son, shown by touch in at least four moments. The first is before they arrive at the Deep Space Nine Station, when Sisko takes his son arm in arm from a holodeck until they gaze out the window at their new home. Sisko then holds his son by the scruff of the neck and then pats him on the shoulder. Next, after Sisko orders Jake to stay in his quarters until he returns, he takes Jake’s face into his hands and then pats his son’s chest. When Sisko comes home from his first day on the station to find his son asleep, he also takes Jake’s face in his hands to show his affection. Finally, Sisko returns from a journey into a wormhole after there has been an attack on the station. When the father and son are reunited, Sisko takes Jake into his arms and kisses the top of his head. This level of true affection by a commanding officer to his or her child had not been shown before.
References:
Piller, M. (Writer), & Carson D. (Director). (1993, January 3). Emissary (Season 1, Episodes 1 and 2) [TV series episode]. In R. Berman & M. Piller (Executive Producers), Star trek: Deep space nine. Paramount Television.
Rowland, S. (2021, November 5). Student-faculty liaison meeting [Zoom meeting]. Pacifica Graduate Institute.
Original post created 8 November 2021
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