The Ecology of Souls: Lessons from Ryan Coogler's Sinners
This video essay explores the multifaceted concept of "the ancestors" through the lens of Ryan Coogler's film "Sinners," drawing parallels between its narrative and Jungian psychology, shamanism, and traditional African and Chinese spiritual practices.
It contrasts the "status quo" worldview, which emphasizes material comfort and avoids discomfort, with a "spirit of the depths" accessible through ecstatic states like music and dance. The video essay posits an "ecology of souls" where living and dead, past and future, are interconnected, highlighting the importance of communion with ancestors for spiritual well-being and warning against "soul loss" in a disconnected modern world.
Ultimately, it argues that true life involves engaging with this ecology of souls, recognizing the interpenetration of human existence with the non-human and the ancestral realms.
Sinners: Reconnection with Ancestors
I. The "Status Quo" vs. The "Spirit of the Depths"
The video essay introduces a fundamental dichotomy between the "status quo" / “the spirit of the times” and what C.G. Jung termed "the spirit of the depths."
The Status Quo: This represents the prevailing value system that prioritizes "continuous state of comfort and happiness," avoidance of discomfort and pain, and an addiction to pleasure. The film "Sinners" illustrates this through "Remmick’s group of vampires, whose goal is an everlasting bodily life on earth," and "Preacher Moore, Sammie’s father, whose goal is to ensure Sammie’s soul is saved through institutional religion." Both seemingly opposing forces are argued to represent the "materialist striving," "conservative church," and "pie in the sky progressiveness" that collectively embody the "spirit of the times." This mindset leads to metaphorical "vampires" who "squeez[e] the people, objects and circumstances of our lives for whatever pleasure they can provide."
The Spirit of the Depths: In contrast, Jung described this as a "hidden primordial otherworldly realm of knowledge" that, when properly engaged, can lead to "alchemical transformation into another mode of being in the world." This realm is presented as an alternative to the superficiality and fear of death inherent in the status quo.
II. The Ecstatic: A Portal to the Depths
The "ecstatic" is identified as the primary means of accessing the "spirit of the depths" and escaping the "vampiric life that is the status quo."
Sammie's Guitar as a Portal: In "Sinners," Sammie's guitar is not merely an instrument but his "portal into the spirit of the depths." His music possesses a "special ability to induce altered states - in which he and others gain access to a liminal in-between realm." Annie explains this as a gift of "making music so true, it can pierce the veil between life and death. Conjuring spirits from the past and the future."
Shamanism and Altered States: This practice is rooted in "pre-colonial traditional practices of different cultures, including those of West Africa," and is described as "near universal among hunter gatherer societies and non-industrial societies." While psychedelics are sometimes associated with shamanism, "singing and dancing are the most common methods of inducing altered states of consciousness," leading to "trance often referred to as ecstasy." Shamans in these states access "state specific knowledge, and encounter beings."
Historical and Cultural Roots: The use of ecstatic states is not limited to indigenous cultures; "western culture has its roots in this sort of ecstatic state," as exemplified by the ancient Pythagoreans who believed "the entire cosmos can be understood as a form of esoteric music," and whose esoteric knowledge was "learned through altered states of consciousness created by ecstatic practices." There's even a "musical correspondence between the structure of African American blues, and the Pythagorean model of the cosmos, quote 'in a way you can imagine, that for the Pythagoreans - the cosmos is constantly playing the blues'."
III. The Ecology of Souls: Interconnectedness Beyond Life and Death
Sammie's performance reveals a profound concept: "an ecology of souls," a term borrowed from Terence McKenna.
A Hierophany of Ancestors: Sammie's debut performance allows for a "breakthrough of the sacred into the profane," where "we see the ancestors, past and future, all dancing along." This challenges the "status quo" view of life, which is "not limited to fundamentalist religiosity... And it’s not limited to a falsely sacharrine materialist vision of creating a permanent heaven on earth where the goal is no death through the indefinite extension of bodily life."
McKenna's Perspective on Ancestors: Terence McKenna, though known for his work with psychedelics, "somewhat reluctantly, was coming to terms with the idea that these entities were the dead, they were the ancestors." He posits that "these are the ancestor spirits…this actually is one level of a cosmic system where birth and death are transitions from level to level….we have to reopen the question of life after death in a serious way." He further suggests that "the reason the dmt space feels so familiar...is because these things in another place represent an ecology of souls…this is the realm of the dead."
A Holistic View of Consciousness: The "ecology of souls describes what we call human consciousness - the experience of being human - as part of a vast ecosystem of soul. All beings in existence are cultivated in a garden-like spiritual terrain - interconnected, interdependent, diverse - incorporating what we call life and death, and oriented toward a balanced whole." This includes "not just that they’re deceased beings that used to be human...but the ancestors are also beings that haven’t been born yet."
Ancestor Veneration and its Importance: Ancestor veneration is a "traditional spiritual practice in various African cultures for millenia and is still actively practiced." Fanny Brewster notes the shift in perception: "For a long time, Africanist peoples’ belief in spirits was criticized and demeaned among non-Africans. More recently, there is a recognition of the value…It is no longer considered “heathen” or backward to acknowledge the spirit world." African Americans have "always recognized the importance of re-membering the spirit world," connecting "conscious lives in connection with their unconscious states—ancestors being a part of that state."
The Ancestors as a Timeless Presence: The ancestors "exist concurrently to us, not only those we consider to be from the past, but also those we consider to be coming in the future." Stephen Karcher states, "we think the ancestors are behind us, they are actually in front of us. We go back to connect with them in order that we might imagine a future." This is described as "the third way, the liminal way, between the material and the spiritual, between the spirit of the times and the spirit of the depths."
Resonance and Healing: The concept of "resonance" is introduced as a "principle of magic at a distance," where "a given moment of time is a sort of hologramatic interference pattern of past times, I consider those past times to be in resonance." This understanding underpins how practices like chanting and heartfelt music can bring about healing, as "he who sings - who heals."
IV. Communion: The Sacred Meal and Alchemical Transformation
Communion is presented as a vital aspect of connecting with the ecology of souls, often involving shared meals and celebratory rituals.
Healing as Celebration: Traditional healing rituals are not solely somber but also "very celebratory," with "a lot of people coming together, feasting together, the shamans are dancing, they are healing in a way that’s very theatrical, other people are entering trance - and then it’s a party."
The Medicine Woman and the Cauldron: Annie, the traditional medicine woman in "Sinners," oversees the cooking, highlighting the degraded role of women healers throughout history. The "cauldron" is presented as "an ancient image of alchemical transformation" and plays a significant role in ancient traditions, including Chinese religious traditions where it was "explicitly used to cook a sacred meal for the ancestors." Karcher describes this sacred meal as "a joining of the two worlds."
The Body as a Sacred Cauldron: The script suggests that "we all carry our own sacred cauldron within our bodies," our stomachs transforming "lifeless dead material...back into a living being." This transformation allows us to "sing, dance, and to make love," emphasizing the physical and spiritual connection to nourishment.
Ingesting the Divine: The idea of ingesting the divine is linked to Guru Neem Karoli Baba's saying, "God comes in the form of food to the hungry," and the Christian sacrament of Holy Communion, where "the practitioner physically ingests God, receiving the divine into one’s body."
V. Soul Loss: The Disconnection from the Ecology of Souls
"Soul loss" describes a state of spiritual fragmentation and disconnection from the "ecology of souls," exemplified by the vampires in "Sinners."
Performative and Shallow Existence: The film's vampires "sing and perform well, they talk all about unity, love, and progressing together - but in actuality they’ve lost their connection to the ecology of souls. They are performative and shallow." This is presented as "the real death," as Peter Kingsley notes, "the dead are not dead, they are more alive than we are."
Symptoms of Soul Sickness: "Soul sickness" or "soul loss" are modern terms for ailments that shamans and traditional healers describe as a "fragmented soul, a missing soul, or when describing an individual who has been severed from proper communion with the spirit world." Soul retrieval rituals are performed by shamans to heal this disconnection.
The Illusions of the Status Quo: The modern world, driven by the "spirit of the times," is seen as exacerbating soul loss through "technologies that act as false elders and ancestors, regurgitating information at us as if it was wisdom," and the commoditization of ecstatic experiences. McKenna's belief that psychedelics and the internet would undermine "dominator culture" is questioned, as they have arguably "played quite well into the mass delusions of the status quo."
Fear of Death as the Root: The root of soul loss is identified as "our learned societal fear of death - we fear it so much that we’ll do anything to avoid really looking at it - we become addicted and lost in the spectacle that is this world - and never get a glimpse of who might be there right behind the veil."
VI. Liber Novus: Reclaiming the Depths and Our Ancestral Connection
The script concludes by emphasizing the imperative to reconnect with the "spirit of the depths" and the ancestors, drawing parallels with Jung's "Liber Novus" and the resilience of ancient traditions.
Consequences of Disrespecting Ancestors: Ignoring the ancestors or devaluing their realm can lead to "sickness as well as health," as "Ancestors form an unbreakable linkage with the living." "When individuals do not give proper respect to ancestors, then sickness occurs." The dead "don’t go away, the more we ignore them, the louder they get."
Resilience of Ancient Ways: Despite oppression, traditions like those depicted in "Sinners" foster "the ancient ways." Manvir Singh's findings suggest that "when authorities try to destroy shamanism, it re-emerges quickly, or that it’s pretty resilient." Slim's blues in the film exemplify this "alchemy" – transforming pain into a "cry from the depths" that moves even oppressors.
The Human-Non-Human Interpenetration: McKenna asserts that "Human history is completely interpenetrated by the peculiar, the non-human, that which has intentionality, and affection for mankind, for humanity, and this is what shamans call to their aid, this is how the curing is done." Jungianism is noted as a rare intellectual position that allows for such discussions without immediate dismissal.
Permeability of Life and Death: Jungian Marie-Louise von Franz's anecdotes illustrate the "permeability of life and death," where "the worlds of the living and the dead together form a whole." The Zulu woman's hand gesture vividly portrays this: palm up for the living, palm down for the ancestors.
Jung's Limitations and Our Imperative: While Jung "opened up a clearing" for connecting with the depths, he himself "wouldn’t let himself get anywhere near the state of unbridled ecstasy initiated by Sammie at the Juke," highlighting the need to "deepen and expand on Jung’s work, and renew it in our era."
The Task of Connecting with Our Dead: James Hillman laments the "tremendous wall between living and death" in modern culture. Stephen Julich, referencing Jung, emphasizes that "our most important task is to develop a relationship to our own dead ancestors. these could be family members, or to those we have an affinity, but the dead require something of the living, and that is something we should all take seriously." This practice allows one's ego to "recenter itself between the two realms," leading to a state where "we fear death no longer."
We Are the Resurrected Dead: The briefing concludes with a powerful assertion: "So many people are obsessed with the idea of resurrection after death - totally obvious to the fact that we human beings are the resurrected dead. Science cannot deny that as human beings, we are literally formed by consuming death - both materially through these flesh bodies and intellectually through inherited knowledge." Karcher states, "we carry the dead around us, our bodies are formed from the dead. Our beings are formed from the dead."
True Life and the Divine Cauldron: Ultimately, "True Life involves engaging with the ecology of souls, communing with our dead - understanding we’re all in one big divine cauldron of creative transformation. We and the ancestors are one." The YI-Ching's message serves as a guiding principle: "Connect with something larger than your personal desires. Keep to this path, for the ancestors bless you. Learn to respect them, for it is their presence that opens the Way."
