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There are two uses of the term “transcinema.” One is used to refer to films about transgender issues and is usually spelled “trans-cinema;” the other usage, spelled “transcinema,” refers to creative works that use cinematic expression as part of a hybrid creative work, usually a combination of live performance and projected cinematic imagery.

The transcinema movement can be traced back to avant-garde art movements in the 60s and had a resurgence back in the late 90s and early part of the 2000s. This later expression appears to be connected to the introduction of digital media technologies and a greater cultural movement of convergence in media platforms. This movement can also be correlated to Integral and transpersonal cultural and creative trends in that it is boundary transcending (transpersonal) and represents a striving toward an integrated multi-dimensional mode of expression (Integral).

During my research into this area I discovered several patterns that appear to be unique to this form of hybrid cinema. It seems that once you start combining live performance and imagery and sound, audiences gets hooked on it and the absence of one or more of these elements must be used with extreme purpose and prejudice.

There is also a natural expectation of a “third and fourth story” beyond the story of the performance and the story on the screen; there is the story of their convergence (the convergence story) and the container for this convergence (the spatial story).

In addition, the audience tends to expect and anticipate a build in convergence between the live performance and the cinematic projections as the piece unfolds; they also tend to anticipate a convergence climax. Of course, the transcinema artist/team, have the choice to fulfill this pattern or consciously play against it, either subtly or overtly.

There are three basic levels of text interpretation in the Judaic tradition: Literal/Biblical, Theoretical/Talmudic, and Mystical/Kabbalistic (Fishbane, 1998; Kenton, 1980). Literal/Biblical text interpretation includes the historical, biblical, and narrative levels of the material. Theoretical/Talmudic text interpretation consists of the extrapolation of the philosophical, ethical, moral, and religious doctrines, laws, and teachings that are woven into the fabric of the written material. Mystical/Kabbalistic text interpretation seeks to unearth the hidden and concealed metaphysical teachings buried in the text.

From an Integral perspective these three levels can be seen as correlated to the Big Three of 1st Person (I), 2nd Person (WE), and 3rd Person (IT) perspectives. The Literal/Biblical level of interpretation is the 3rd Person or IT level of the text; it is the surface structure; the directly observable aspects of the material. The Theoretical/Talmudic level of the text is the 2nd Person or WE level of the text; it is the communal meaning patterns just under the surface of the text; it is the blueprint for how we should treat each other, of what is right and good and just. The Mystical/Kabbalistic level is the 1st Person level of the text; it is level of secret teachings that guide us into a personal experience of the Divine. These three levels are The Good, The True, and The Beautiful, and when integrated together, they reveal a deeper and more expansive vision of the Word, the Logos.

Taking the story of Passover as an example… On the literal level of interpretation, Passover is a ritualistic retelling of the story of a historical biblical event, the Israelites’ exodus from bondage in Egypt. On the theoretical level, the story and rituals of Passover have many philosophical, ethical, moral, and religious lessons to teach us about human behavior and the human endeavor to live according to the teachings of the religion of Judaism. Traditionally, the rituals of Passover, including the Passover Seder, tend to focus on these two levels of interpretation and understanding.

On the Judaic mystical level of interpretation, Passover can also be seen as a powerful vehicle for personal and communal psycho-spiritual development. From the Mystical-Kabbalistic perspective, the Passover story of a people being freed from the bondage of slavery is transformed into a road map for how an individual can be freed from the bondage of limited consciousness (Kenton, 1980); the land of Egypt becomes the realm of narrowness of body and mind, and Moses becomes the Higher Self being called upon by the Divine to free all the different voices of the psyche (the children of Israel) from the bondage of the ego or the limited self (Pharaoh).

Several years ago I attempted to create my own Passover Haggadah or prayer book (Kaplan, 2003) that integrated all three levels of interpretation and discovered a deeper and more profound experience than I had ever encountered within the Judaic tradition. This was my first Integral Passover…in that I experienced Passover on a physical, communal, and psycho-spiritual level of being and becoming.

References

Fishbane, M. (1998). The Exegetical Imagination: On Jewish Thought and Theology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Kaplan, M. A. (2003). A mystical Passover: A transformational Passover haggadah. Pacific Grove, CA: Original Gravity.

Kenton, W. (1980). Kabbalah and Exodus. York Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser, Inc.

Image: Passover Shehechianu by Baruch Nachshon

The Integral Cinema Project is now affiliated with the Integral Research Center (IRC). The IRC’s mission is to support the advancement of Integral Research (IR) and the global community of Integral scholar-practitioners through a variety of activities including: Supporting Integral research projects through grants and support services; providing a forum and resources for the Integral research community; supporting graduate level education and fieldwork in Integral studies; publishing academic articles and original research through special issues of Journal of Integral Theory and Practice; and by sponsoring the bi-annual Integral Theory Conference.

Integral Research is an emerging approach to mixed methods that is explicitly grounded in Integral Theory and makes use of its post-metaphysical position and its practice of Integral Methodological Pluralism to provide a multi-method approach that weaves together 1st-person, 2nd-person, and 3rd-person methods. IR makes use of multiple methods (qualitative and quantitative) as a way of exploring the multi-faceted and multi-dimensional nature of complex phenomena.

ABSTRACT: Germaine Dulac’s “integral cinema movement” of the 1920s and her integral cinematic work, La Coquille et le Clergyman (1928), are analyzed from a historical and theoretical perspective. Results suggest an early introduction of integral consciousness into cinematic media that corresponds to and predates the integral theories of both Jean Gebser and Ken Wilber. Defining characteristics of what may constitute an integral cinematic work are mapped out and developed into a set of evaluation criteria using the works of Dulac, Gebser, and Wilber. A test of these evaluation criteria with the viewing of several motion pictures is summarized; the results suggest that several past and recent films demonstrate qualities that could be said to constitute an integral cinematic work. A preliminary typology of forms of integral cinematic creation, and the potential benefits and challenges for the application of Integral Theory to cinematic theory and practice are presented and discussed.

Published in The Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 2010, Volume 5, Number 4, Pages 112-138.

I have been researching what I call transformative creation-states for several years now. By this I mean the use of spiritual, transpersonal, and integral approaches for creative expression to induce altered states of consciousness in order to intentionally convert the creative act into a deeply transformative experience for both the artist and the viewer.

During my research in this area I have discerned several discreet transformative creation-states including creative inspiration-states, catharsis-states, visioning-states, witnessing-states, resonance-states, integration-states, and states of creative grace. I also observed and experienced various group creation states including creative group fields and I-Thou creation states in which members of the creative environment become the “sacred other.”

In addition, during this inquiry I also found a confluence of both structure and flow in the transformative creative process, manifesting within, around, and between any and all of these various transformative creation states. There also appears to be a process in which these two state typologies converge, leading to a transformative creative synthesis of structure and flow.

For example, in my own creative work (film, writing, drawing, etc.), I have found that I can approach the transformative-creative act from a pure flow approach (mindfulness/beingness approach) or from a pure structure approach (e.g., applying sacred rituals and practices or esoteric spiritual structures like Kabbalistic Divine-creation patterns). When I really click into either one of these two creation-state typologies a synthesis appears to occur: The flow-process produces previously hidden structures, and the structure-process leads to a kind of structure-flow experience in which Divine energy appears to move through the structures and, if I am open to it, takes me into a flow through the structures along with it. These experiments have led me to play with a synthesis approach, consciously marrying flow and structure in a sacred-creative dance.

Looking at this triangulation pattern through the masculine/feminine typology lens, the flow-process can be correlated to the feminine, the structure-process correlated to the masculine, and the synthesis of the two can be seen as a union of the deep masculine and feminine.

The Integral Cinema Project has been granted fiscal sponsorship from Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization, allowing us to receive tax-deductable donations by check and credit card as well as non-cash donations of property (equipment, materials, etc.).

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Towards an Integral Cinema: The Application of Integral Theory to Cinematic Media Theory and Practice.

Abstract: A historical, theoretical, and viewing analysis is offered of Germaine Dulac’s “integral cinema movement” of the 1920s, suggesting an early introduction of Integral consciousness into cinematic media that corresponds to and predates both Jean Gebser’s and Ken Wilber’s Integral Theories. Defining characteristics of what may constitute an integral cinematic work are mapped out and developed into a set of evaluation criteria using the works of Dulac, Gebser, and Wilber. A preliminary typology of forms of Integral cinematic creation is also presented, and the potential benefits and challenges for the application of Integral Theory to cinematic theory and practice are discussed.

Presentation at Integral Theory Conference 2010 on July 30th, 2010 by Mark Allan Kaplan, Ph.D.

A little over ten years ago I had my first encounter with what might be called “integral filmmaking.” I had been studying Ken Wilber’s Sex, Ecology, Spirituality (1995) and practicing George Leonard and Michael Murphy’s Integral Transformative Practice (ITP) on a daily basis. One day I performed my ITP Kata (a set of integrated body, mind, and spirit exercises) right before running a camera test on my new digital video camcorder. Still being in a post-practice transformative state, I had a profound cinematic experience. As I moved through the house with the camera on, I appeared to be fully aware and conscious of my inner experience, the camera in my hand and the space within which I was moving. I exited the house and was drawn to our koi pond. Once there, I felt drawn into the world of the pond and entered a deep state of pure presence or witnessing. My camera became my eyes, and my body, my awareness and the camera danced with the fish, the gently rippling water, the shimmering sunlight, the caressing wind and the material forms of the pond and its surroundings. I spent hours at the pond, lost in a deep cinematic meditation process. Afterwards I felt a profound sense of gratitude and grace.

When I viewed my footage I was amazed at what I had captured. There before my eyes appeared to be a cinematic example of the four dimensions/perspectives of Wilber’s Integral Theory (Subjective/I Space; Inter-Subjective/We Space; Objective/IT Space; and Inter-Objective/ITS Space): Besides the physical reality of the pond (IT Space) and the environment within and around it (ITS Space), I had footage of the individual koi fish in which I could sense their individual presence (I Space) and footage of the fish in pairs and groups that seemed to reveal a collective and inter-relational presence (WE Space).

I decided to continue my accidental experiment, spending the next few days editing the material while in a post-ITP state. I would basically perform my ITP Kata (Leonard & Murphy, 1995) and then sit down at the computer and edit in that state. It was a wondrous experience, and once I finished, the viewing of the final work sent me into the very state I experienced while shooting it. When I showed it to a few people they all said the same thing — that the video put them into a very relaxed state and gave them the experience of actually being at the koi pond.

References

Kaplan, M. A. (2002). The Pond [Digital Video]. http://www.markallankaplan.com/cine/pond.htm

Leonard, G. & Murphy, M. (1995). The life we are given: A long-term program for realizing the potential of body, mind, heart, and soul. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

Wilber, K. (1995). Sex, ecology, spirituality: The spirit of evolution. Boston, MA: Shambhala.

Sean Esbjörn-Hargen, Ph.D. has agreed to be an advisor on the Integral Cinema Project. Sean is an associate professor and founding Chair of the Integral Theory Program at John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill, California. He is a leading scholar-practitioner in Integral Theory and has worked closely with Ken Wilber for a decade operationalizing the integral (AQAL) model in multiple contexts. Sean is a founding member of Integral Institute and currently serves as their Vice President of Applications and Research. He is also the founding Director of the Integral Research Center, the founding Executive Editor of the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, and co-founder of the biennial Integral Theory Conference. Sean is one of the most published authors applying the integral model to a variety of topics, including: Research, consciousness studies, intersubjectivity, education, sustainable development, ecology, science and religion, and play. His articles have appeared in academic journals such as theJournal of Consciousness Studies, World Futures, ReVision, andJournal of Humanistic Psychology. He also co-edited Ken Wilber’s book The Simple Feeling of Being, (2004) and is the co-author ofIntegral Ecology: Uniting Multiple Perspectives on the Natural World(2009) and the editor of Integral Theory in Action (2010). You can learn more about Sean at: http://www.rhizomedesigns.org/

The Integral Cinema Project has been granted fiscal sponsorship by the San Francisco Film Society, making all donations to the project tax-deductable.

To make a donation please visit the the SFFS Integral Cinema Project donation page at: http://www.sffs.org/donate/donate-now.aspx?pid=712