Bernays also arranged for the first English-language translation of Freud’s work in the early 1920s and his public relations efforts also helped popularize Freud's theories in the United States. Bernays pioneered the PR industry's use of psychology and other social sciences to design its public persuasion campaigns. "If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, it is now possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing it," Bernays argued. He called this scientific technique of opinion molding the "engineering of consent."… Bernays revolutionized public relations by combining traditional press agentry with the techniques of psychology and sociology to create what one writer has called "the science of ballyhoo." (Wikipedia, 2005b, online) link: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays)

Meanwhile, back in Vienna and Zurich, having long since gone their separate ways, Freud and Jung were exploring the depths of the unconscious. Freud and his theories of sexuality were very popular in the 1920s, with the language of psychoanalysis entering into common use.  Freud published Beyond the Pleasure Principle in 1920 and Ego and Id in 1923. Otto Rank published The Trauma of Birth in 1924, and Freud’s response to this work, after Rank was outcast from Freud’s inner circle, was published in 1926 as “Inhibition, Symptoms and Anxiety.”  In 1927 Freud published The Future of An Illusion, and in 1930 Civilization and Its Discontents. 

The 1920s was a productive decade for Jung as well.  He wrote his famous Psychological Types in 1921, which is the basis of the now widely used Meyers Briggs Type Indicator, The Structure of the Psyche in 1925, and also importantly in 1928, his Two Essays on Analytic Psychology: Psychology of the Unconscious and The Relations Between the Ego and the Unconscious as well as “On Psychic Energy.”  The two essays presents the core of Jung's system, although Jung had published some of the material before, he extensively revised it here. Jung's ideas of the archetypes and the nature of the collective unconscious are explicated here.  Jung's interest in more occult matters is evident in some of his publishing at this time as well.

Putting it all in perspective

The turn of the Twenty-First Century was not all that we wished it would be, in fact, it was not even close.  Far from being the beginning of a new era, the new millennium was plagued with all of the old problems and they seem to have gotten worse.  The shadows seem to have lengthened, and there was controversy and corruption everywhere one turned.  The nation and the world became polarized: 9/11 and the war on terror exacerbated massive anxiety, acrimony, and antipathy.  Fundamentalism, fear, and fanaticism reigned.  It was a time of destruction and disintegration. 

The 1920s were a turbulent time, the repressed was returning with a vengeance from all quarters.  Popular culture was center stage and played as starring role as mass media influenced people as never before.  Innovations from the turn-of-the-century continued to effect us in ever expanding ways.  The arts flourished, as they experimented with new styles and a new sense of freedom.  The generation gap began as people idolized youth.  It was a fast and furious time, but the "Roaring Twenties" came to a screeching stop at the end of the decade with the Stock Market crash and the beginning of the Great Depression. 

Now that we have considered how the sky was gathered astrologically and seen how the world was gathered (metabletics) during these shadowy times, we have a context in which to view the movie Chicago (Marshall, 2002), to see how the Cosmic Game plays out in this particular piece of popular culture.

End of section, continue to Playbook for Chicago