Eyes Wide Shut and Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey

In the late 1970s, filmmaker Stanley Kubrick discovered a short story by psychologist and philosopher Arthur Schnitzler called Traumnovelle, or "Dream Story". Penetrating into the precise mechanisms that govern human desire, emotion, and fantasy, the story caught Kubrick's imagination, and became his pet project that he would devote the rest of his life to, along with the unfinished epics "A.I." and "Napolean Bonaparte". Unfortunately, AI is being produced as I type by Steven Spielberg. This may sound all great to the average moviegoer, but Kubrick's true vision was to analyze whether or not a computer that thinks and knows it is real has the right of citizenship or civil rights. Does "I think therefore I am" apply to artificial brains as they do real one's? Kubrick's version would of been beautiful. But Steven the Great is making it, so it will be an over-sentimentalized feel-good Hollywood epic instead of true art. Man, I wish Darren Aronofsky or even the Coen brother!

s could have directed AI, oh well, that's another essay.

Back to EWS, It was once imagined as a comedy starring Steve Martin (Kubrick also made, in my opinion, the funniest political satire ever made, Dr. Strangelove.), the story eventually was made

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In summary, while many elements that occurred at the Somerton mansion contribute to the story's mysterious subplots, the main point of the Somerton experience was Bill's bonding with the most extreme manifestations of his fantasies and dreams.

In the next scene, Bill and Alice kiss and embrace in front of a mirror, naked (I will take this time to point out that Tom Cruise is one lucky bastard, but again that's another essay entirely. The Campbellian elements in Bill's character are abundant; His journey echoes the monomyth (A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder), and the experiences he encounters while on his journey echo Campbell's depictions of the hero's own experiences, which will be talked about in greater detail in the following pages. This bizarre event is the first in a series of encounters with other characters. The trials he endured were absolutely necessary for his enlightenment, and the idea is essentially that one cannot know any certain truth without experiencing its opposite. Bill comes extremely close to giving himself over completely to someone, but as always, he never makes it all the way there. She tells Bill about a naval officer who shared hotels with the couple while on vacation-- who took over her mind, thoughts, and fantasies, even while the two were closer than ever. All of the emotions that Bill has faced are gathered together, and one event sends them into a climactic conclusion: Bill returns home again, this time to find Alice in bed, with an empty spot next to her, upon which rests Bill's mask. They acknowledge both that "the reality of one night can never be the whole truth, and that no dream is ever just a dream". A cab takes him through woods and forest (a contrast to the city buildings and roads) to the hill of a mansion, where two men in black suits wait at the large iron gate. This password will take on more significance at the event that will soon take place. My god! Tom Cruise has found enlightenment! A true epiphany that completes the circle of the hero's journey.

Stanley Kubrick's final film has philosophical themes and messages that have

not even been mentioned in this analysis, and that is what makes it such an amazing work of art: It is a mystery story, a hero's journey, and a commentary on morality and humanity all at once, not to mention a visual masterpiece and a canvas of incredible screen talent.

Approximate Word count = 4602
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page double spaced)

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