ARTICLE

An Excerpt from

THE FUTURE OF TRANSFORMATIONAL FILMMAKING:

The Power of Imagination, Vision and Breaking out of the Box

An Interview with Celeste Allegrea Adams

NCB Magazine: Do we need to create a genre for conscious or transformational filmmaking?

Celeste: Whether or not transformational or conscious film needs to be categorized as a genre is up for debate. The advantage to this kind of categorization is that it helps to inspire more filmmakers to reflect on the deeper message of their film. The disadvantage is that the use of this term suggests that films in other genres aren’t as “conscious.” This is not necessarily the case at all. It is my hope that in the future we no longer need to use the word conscious or transformational. All films should be made in a conscious and awakened state of mind. In this day and age, when we are teetering on the brink of destruction, it is madness to spend millions of dollars on films that do not elevate the human condition, but contribute to further suffering.

Each new film that is brought forth has the opportunity to contribute to an evolutionary leap for humankind, or it can further contribute to the decline of our civilization. Our films need to become guiding lights during this time of confusion and out-dated mythologies. We need to be liberated from the tyranny of dead ideas that keep us locked into a kind of dark age. Transformational films can be torch flames of vision, possibility and truth.

Between environmental, political, and economic challenges, we are living out of balance. The Hopi word for this is Koyaanisqatsi, pronounced Ko.yaa.nis.qatsi, which means crazy life. We are being called to another way of living. The film, “Koyaanisqati,” made almost 25 years ago, depicts the artificial environment in which we live that is separate from nature. Its message is even more important today. One of the ways to help the planet move through this challenging time is through the guidance of films that focus on creating a harmonious planet.

NCB Magazine: Can we have films without drama, without themes of us against them?

Celeste: In an article that I wrote several years, entitled “From Warrior to Magician: Entering the Realm of the Miraculous,” I discussed how the second millennium ended with films like “Gladiator” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” These are films, which featured reluctant warrior heroes. I wrote that the warrior hero, Maximus, in "Gladiator," for instance, is tired of warfare and disinterested in power. Yet despite his peace loving nature, he is forced to fight as a slave in the Coliseum of Rome. Similarly, Li Mu Bai, is not able to live the peaceful life he dreams of, in the violent and action-packed movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”

The reluctant heroes of these blockbuster movies reflect the mood of a culture which wants to put aside warrior ways, but which doesn’t know how to do this. My article, (which can be read online at: www.creatrixstudio.com/articles.html) discusses the transition from the celebrated warrior hero in films of the late 1990’s to the magician hero. The protagonists in the Stars Wars Trilogy and Harry Potter, for instance, do not rely on physical abilities to solve the challenges that confront them, but have an understanding of the deeper mysteries of life. Luke Skywalker cries out, “Let the force be with you,” in George Lucas’ Star Wars and Obe Wan Kanobe, uses his secret knowledge of “The Force” and advanced technology to renew the workings of his galaxy. The audience of Lord of the Rings learns that magical powers can destroy the world.

As various characters are tempted by the power of the ring, we realize that the true battle between good and evil is not so much out there, but within ourselves. We learn to choose good over evil. As we begin to move away from films that focus on us against them, we enter into an internal struggle between choosing good over evil, faith over fear, honesty and integrity over deception, attracting and magnetizing over struggle and control. I think this internal conflict, our lower self versus our higher self, will become the greater battleground in new millennium films.

NCB Magazine: How do you define transformational film?

Celeste: My personal thoughts on the subject are that transformational films, which are films that focus on creating a shift in thinking, can be spiritual, metaphysical, political, or environmental. Spiritual or metaphysical transformational films incorporate many new-age principles and a subject matter that might include a quest for personal wisdom; a desire to understand the meaning and purpose of existence; efforts to save the planet; manifesting, the laws of attraction, accessing the power of the magician; gifted children and unusual powers; encounters with ETs, inter-dimensional beings, other worlds; ascension; super-consciousness; storylines related to the emergence of the divine feminine; new messages based on reinterpretations of ancient spiritual texts; and the potential of our future beyond 2012.

Films that are politically transformational are focused on blasting people out of the matrix of limited thinking, into more enlightened understandings of the structures of mind control existing in the media, society and in the government. Their very purpose is the transformation of the human mind and heart and a makeover of society.

With time and hindsight, we might be able to gain a better understanding of all the qualities and characteristics of this emerging genre, as it is not possible to understand the potential of this genre in such early stages. Art theorists could articulate the nature of Bauhaus, Cubism, Dadaism, Surrealism, Expressionism, Fauvism, Impressionism, Futurism, Minimalism, Pop Art, Realism, Romanticism, etc., once the movements had progressed beyond the formative periods. Film theorists are able to write about the scope of film movements, such as the Avant Garde, Cinema Verite, DocuDrama, Neorealism, New American Cinema, New Wave, Surrealism etc., once it gains strength and momentum as a movement. Regarding transformational film, we are better served by focusing on the meaning and messages of these films rather than struggling to explain their characteristics as a genre, during this formative period.

The complete article will be posted in the near future.

© 2008, Celeste Allegrea Adams