ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses mainly on three perspectives: the developmental moment; the analysis of character/s that are caught up in the human drama; particularly, the film as representing a theme from underlying cultural mythology. The medium of film, in addition to its enduring appeal, entertainment value, is a rich repository of the cultural narrative in its many and varied forms. While psychoanalysis has established a lively discipline of film studies and has produced some outstanding reviews and reflections on film, group analysis has so far not in any substantive way embraced the challenge. The notion of cultural mythology as a framework for understanding cinematic themes is consistent with a group analytic perspective, emphasizing wider social and collective processes. The solution the film offers to the cultural dilemma, once again, is bleak, in terms of Mac's fate and that of the inmates, but the possibility of hope in the face of oppression, symbolized by Chief's escape, is an inspiring and enduring message.
