Our monthly stories are where we like to play, blurring the lines between commercial and artistic storytelling. This set of stories—the Shadow Series—was created using Carl Jung’s theories that we use frequently to typify and model personalities and voices of brands. But, with the Shadow Series, we took the stories where we don’t usually go in commercial storytelling; this is the vile and beastly side of the archetypes described in Carl Jung’s teachings.
The shadow series is a thirteen-part story sequence where each episode was constructed around a main character embodying the shadow Jungian archetypes. Just as shadows create depth and add dimension to things, we found that the shadow self of characters renders them very real and interesting.
Wherever possible, we tried to connect these archetypal shadows to issues and ideas surrounding us as storytellers, and those influencing the lives of our subscribers—from politics, religion, and mythology to elements of culture and popular social aspirations.
Read the full series and see if you catch the connections between the characters.
September 2021: Gunasara Preview coming soon
October 2021: Jayantha Archetype: Explorer Rasa: Veeram (heroism)
November 2021: Priyani Preview coming soon
December 2021: Anura Instead of an extravagant haired girl, there stood two monks. Rasa: Hāsya (comedy)
January 2022: Jagath “Did you know he was killed by some very hungry ladies?” Jagath asked, lowering his voice. Archetype: Rasa: Adbūta (wonder), with Hāsya (comedy)
February 2022: Ananda If paradise was just another figment in the mind of the perceptor, what was he doing here? Archetype: Innocent Rasa: Shānta (tranquillity), with Adbūtha (wonder)
March 2022: Johnny Everything floated free from reason. Johnny held back the urge to laugh. Archetype: Humorist Rasa: Adbūta (wonder), with shānta (tranquillity)
April 2022: R.M. R. M. reread his full name undersigning the no-confidence motion to impeach the President. Archetype: Sage Rasa: Adbūta (wonder), with Bhayanaka (terror)
May 2022: Siri Why is the President always a clown, a thief, or a psychopath dressed in human skin? Archetype: Caregiver Rasa: Karuna (empathy), with Adbūtha (wonder) and Bhībhatsa (disgust)
June 2022: Nicole Nicole seemed almost composed. But, she had a scream welling up inside. Archetype: Creator Rasa: Raudra (fury), with Adbūtha (wonder)
July 2022: Kusum “What are we accountants good for?,” Kusum asked. Archetype: Magician Rasa: Karunā (empathy) and adbūtha (wonder)
August 2022: Leela You don’t see how they make it about your people vs. my people, to keep us at each other's throats? Archetype: Rebel Rasa: Hāsya (comedy) and adbūtha (wonder)
September 2022: Mettananda Mettānanda’s calm and collected outer self tried to quiet his tingling secret-self. Archetype: Ruler Rasa: Bhayānakam (terror) and adbūtha (wonder)