{VIRTUAL} Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein: An Archetypal Interpretation

PLEASE READ: VIRTUAL ZOOM CLASSES OPERATE AS LIVE CLASSES ONLY, WE DO NOT RECORD TO PROTECT THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF OUR TEACHERS. This class is not an in-person class, it is a live, online only offering. Your zoom link will be attached to your ticket. Please also check your junk, spam and promotions folders in your email for your ticket. Email learn@ritualcravt.com with any questions. Classes are in MDT time zone. Class fees are non transferable, we stick to the student agreements agreed upon during registration. Registration closes one hour prior to class beginning.

While Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is primarily seen as a Gothic fairy tale and creation myth retelling of Mary Shelley’s novel, I would argue that it is the most autobiographical film of his career. In this highly visual class (nearly 60 slides), you will expand your love for and knowledge of this film as we explore its Jungian archetypes, Catholic and mythic symbolism, fairy-tale structures, and visual motifs, evoked primarily through costumes and settings. We will consider how a wounded psyche can be presented in two competing ways, and we will focus on the way forgiveness never erases harm but enables the breaking of ancestral curses. Just as he does in his other films, the monster as rendered by del Toro has much to teach us about transformation, empathy, and hope.

YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Susan Redington Bobby, the founder of Professor of Words, LLC, is an online teacher, a freelance editor, a writing mentor, and a tutor. Her specialty is being able to read people on a deeper level through their writing, and she has recently completed a certificate course on integrative somatic trauma therapy.  She is a retired professor of English with expertise in fairy tales, adolescent literature, goddess archetypes, magical realism, creative writing, and film studies. She is the author of Beyond His Dark Materials, the editor of Fairy Tales Reimagined, and co-editor of The Artemis Archetype in Popular Culture. The Series Editor of Tales from Fiddler’s Green, she also occasionally publishes creative fiction. She is currently studying the Bardic Course in Druidry from OBOD. She maintains Mellie’s Grove, a certified NWF backyard wildlife habitat that is home to a rescued and small stabilized cat family and all manner of wildlife.