Perpetual Adolescence : Jungian Analyses of American Media, Literature, and Pop Culture

Arguing That American Culture Appeals To And Is Populated By Children And Adolescents Who Merely Appear To Be Adult Men And Women, The Essays In Perpetual Adolescence Examine The Jungian Archetype Of The Eternal Youth--the Puer Aeternus--as It Is Manifested In The Arrested Development Of American Culture. From The Infantilization Of The American Psyche And The Lionization Of Teenaged Celebrities And Bodies, To Fanatical Conformity, And Puerile Entertainment, The Contributors Probe The Various Ways That American Television, Music, Film, Print, Internet, Education, And Social Movements Work To Nourish And Sustain This Child Archetype. Offering Analytic Psychology As An Instrument Of Social Analysis And Critique, They Point To The Need For Dialogue Over The Causes And Effects Of Our Puer-fixations, Which Have Become, In Large Part, Both A Creation And A Creator Of The American Zeitgeist. --from Publisher's Description. Introduction To The Puer/puella Archetype / George H. Jensen -- Culture On The Couch : Western Civilization's Journey From Crisis To Maturity / Anodea Judith -- Puer And Hellmouth : Buffy The Vampire Slayer And American Myth / Susan Rowland -- Puer In Nature : The Monster And The Grizzly Man / Rinda West -- Grounding Icarus : Puer Aeternus And The Suicidal Urge / Dustin Eaton -- The Puer As American Hero / Sally Porterfield -- Shaken, Not Stirred : James Bond And The Puer Archetype / Luke Hockley -- A Crown Must Be Earned Every Day : Seeking The Mature Masculine In High Art And Pop Culture / Darrell Dobson -- Protracted Adolescence : Reflections On Forces Informing The American Collective / John Gosling -- Senex And Puer In The Classroom : A Conflict Of Consciousness In Education / Keith Polette -- Insanity By The Numbers, Knowings From The Ground : Outgrowing And Outloving The Cult Of Quantification / Craig Chalquist -- The Marriage Of The Puer Aeternus And Trickster Archetypes : Psychological Rebirth For The Puer Personality / Chaz Gormley -- Little Girl Lost : Sylvia Plath And The Puella Aeterna / Susan E. Schwartz -- Provincials In Time : The Provisional Life / Marita Delaney. Edited By Sally Porterfield, Keith Polette, And Tita French Baumlin. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Explores the arrested development of American culture. Arguing that American culture appeals to and is populated by children and adolescents who merely appear to be adult men and women, the essays in Perpetual Adolescence examine the Jungian archetype of the eternal youththe puer aeternus as it is manifested in the arrested development of American culture. From the infantilization of the American psyche and the lionization of teenaged celebrities and bodies, to fanatical conformity, and puerile entertainment, the contributors probe the various ways that American television, music, film, print, Internet, education, and social movements work to nourish and sustain this child archetype. Offering analytic psychology as an instrument of social analysis and critique, they point to the need for dialogue over the causes and effects of our puer -fixations, which have become, in large part, both a creation and a creator of the American zeitgeist. The fourteen essays in Perpetual Adolescence each stand on their own as important contributions to understanding the archetype of the Eternal Child in Western popular culture Perpetual Adolescence is a timely, provocative, and sobering examination of the endemic suffering and pandemic consequences of mass-mindedness driven by archetypes. Spring "This compelling analysis of why visions of never-ending childhood are so compelling in contemporary media delivers a solid, Jungian deconstruction of pop culture." CHOICE Perpetual Adolescence is a fascinating study of one of Jungs most important archetypes, that of the puer aeternus , which implies arrested development rather than eternal youth. Perpetually interesting, this book is genuinely interdisciplinary and will appeal to those interested in cultural studies, film studies, environmental studies, and mythic criticism. Jeffrey Berman, author of Death in the Writing about Love and Loss State University of New York Title Page 5 Contents 7 Acknowledgments 9 Introduction to the Puer/Puella Archetype 11 Culture on the Couch: Western Civilization’s Journey from Crisis to Maturity 23 Puer and Hellmouth: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and American Myth 41 Puer in Nature: The Monster and the Grizzly Man 57 Grounding Icarus: Puer Aeternus and the Suicidal Urge 81 The Puer as American Hero 99 Shaken, Not Stirred: James Bond and the Puer Archetype 115 A Crown Must Be Earned Every Day: Seeking the Mature Masculine in High Art and Pop Culture 133 “Protracted Adolescence”: Reflections on Forces Informing the American Collective 147 Senex and Puer in the Classroom: A Conflict of Consciousness in Education 165 Insanity by the Numbers,Knowings from the Ground: Outgrowing and Outloving the Cult of Quantification 179 The Marriage of the Puer Aeternusand Trickster Archetypes: Psychological Rebirth for the Puer Personality 197 Little Girl Lost: Sylvia Plath and the Puella Aeterna 213 Provincials in Time: The Provisional Life 225 List of Contributors 233 Index 237 A 237 B 237 C 237 D 238 E 238 F 238 G 238 H 238 I 238 J 239 K 239 L 239 M 239 N 239 O 239 P 239 R 240 S 240 T 240 U 240 V 240 W 240 Y 240 Z 240 9781438428000