ABSTRACT
Many of those who have studied the rise of totalitarian regimes have noted their dramatic and theatrical qualities. Chapter 8 describes how a psychodrama framework can be used to explore the powerful synergy emerging between the leader and the collectivity that reminds one of the connection developing between the actor and audience in theater. Psychodrama, which works with shared hypnotic states, can offer a language for describing and deeper understanding of these mental processes. There, a leader who is acting out their social fears can resonate with and amplify the victimization-related experiences of the group members to create a nightmarish world of shared trauma. It is important to point out that psychodrama should not be equated with totalitarianism. Although both tap into the captivating and cathartic mental reality created by theater, psychodrama primarily is a method of therapy that uses its power for the purposes of healing and personal transformation. As a framework, psychodrama has the capacity to capture the wholeness of the trauma-related worldview with both its rational and irrational components. And, finally, it offers an internally consistent framework for understanding how the trauma experience acquires symbolic meaning and becomes a cultural phenomenon, which has been the biggest conceptual challenge in understanding cultural trauma.
