1 The Spiral Dynamics of Cinema Studies Provisionally Drafted by Alex Burns (
[email protected]). Version 0.1 (December 1998) Comment (8th November 2007) I wrote this as a course proposal outline whilst in the Cinema Studies undergraduate program at Australia’s La Trobe University in 1998. I had been studying the Spiral Dynamics® psychological model of levels of human existence for about 18 months, and had also been corresponding with Howard Bloom and Richard Metzger. This represented a first attempt to codify the SD model using film content as examples of the models and dynamics. The artefact is from my ‘early stage’ exploration of the SD model, written with good intent but a novice’s understanding. This document has several limitations. It relied on the SD colour scheme, and prioritised breadth and span over situated depth. The selected films and sequences reflected several personal theories about media analysis and the scientific debate on memetics and were heavily influenced by the pre-millennial sub-currents of the mid- to-late 1990s. I hadn’t taken the SD practitioner training I and II at the time. My knowledge of Cinema Studies frameworks and models also varied. Thus, today I wouldn’t necessarily endorse the films or their SD codification now as correct or representative of the Beck & Cowan model or Clare W. Graves’ original research. This is provided for historical interest and self-research purposes only. I subsequently developed a more precise methodology in 2003 whilst in the Strategic Foresight masters program at Swinburne University. I trialled it in workshops at SD practitioner training and the Australian festival This Is Not Art in 2003 and 2004.