The Movie “Soul” Through an Anthropological Lens
<p>The story is about a middle school band teacher named Joe who is on the precipice of fulfilling his dreams as a professional jazz musician. One day, after receiving the opportunity of his career, he falls into a pothole and dies. He finds his soul suspended in a realm between life and death called “The Great Beyond,” and watches as other recently deceased souls embrace the inevitable next stage in their journey. The cartoon depicts all of the souls gravitating towards a massive orb of glowing white light that is itself made up of a seemingly infinite amount of little white lights. These little white lights are presumably each individual souls, and the giant mass of them all together after experiencing human life represents the idea of a “<strong>source</strong>” or “<strong>collective consciousness</strong>.” The soul of each human returns to the common sea of spirit, emphasizing the fact that individuals are a part of a greater social whole. The concept of the soul surviving death is a cultural universal. Joe does everything he can to avoid finalizing his death and joining the orb; while all of the souls around him are content with their demise, Joe is desperate to get back into his physical human body. Meanwhile, his body is on Earth in a coma, which depicts the concept of soul loss.</p>
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