Synopsis: When the crew of the Enterprise send a probe into subspace they get more than they had anticipated.
This episode can be seen as an illustration of the inherent danger of engaging bits of unconscious material without the appropriate vessel.
In “Schisms” the crew of the Enterprise are sent to explore “an unusually dense globular cluster” (Braga & Wiemer, 1992), and this turn of phrase could very well also describe how the Logos-driven rational conscious ego might consider the Eros-driven unconscious. The crew of the Enterprise send a probe into subspace, completely unaware of any consequences that may ensue from disturbing this uncharted territory, just as the conscious ego, unaware of the consequences, might arbitrarily encourage unconscious material to become active.
What happens in the episode is that a breach between the two worlds is created and crew members are sucked into the void and engulfed by it. This being taken into the void can be described as what happens when an individual’s unconscious takes over his conscious ego. But just as the crew of the Enterprise are able to reason out what is happening and figure out a way to restore the boundary between the two realities it is also possible for an individual, usually with the help of a therapist, to come back from and restore one’s boundaries between the unconscious and the conscious ego. Although the boundary is porous and ideally so, as in the in-between space, the metaxy as James Hillman calls it, is where the soul is made. This is what analytical psychology is all about.
Another interesting twist to “Schisms” is that the aliens found in subspace are treating the crew of the Enterprise that they encounter, or kidnap, much as scientists on Earth would treat any extra-terrestrial life that would be found on our planet. So “Schisms” projects onto this alien race from subspace the shadow of the crew. Projection and shadow also being two key concepts from analytical psychology. Shadow being bits of material from our unconscious that has either been repressed by our culture or suppressed by our ego, and projection being the way in which the conscious ego is first made aware of these traits, as we do not first see them in ourselves, but rather project them onto others.
Reference:
Braga, B. (Writer), & Wiemer, R. (Director). (1992, October 17). Schisms (Season 6, Episode 5) [TV series episode]. In R. Berman & M. Piller (Executive Producers), Star trek: The next generation. Paramount Television.
Original post created 29 October 2021
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