← Glossary
Jungian Psychology

Projection

The unconscious transfer of one's own qualities onto external people or situations.

Projection occurs when unconscious contents — especially Shadow material — are perceived as existing in others rather than oneself. We project onto others what we cannot see in ourselves. This explains why we often have intense reactions to people who carry qualities we've repressed: we hate in them what we refuse to acknowledge in ourselves. Withdrawal of projections is essential to psychological maturity. In film, projection is often literalized through doppelgängers, hallucinations, or characters who turn out to be aspects of the protagonist's psyche.

Films Exploring Projection

Perfect Blue(1997)

The Image That Devours the Person

Black Swan(2010)

The Shadow That Must Be Danced

Fight Club(1999)

The Shadow Made Flesh and the Alchemy of Self-Destruction

Related Concepts

ShadowAnima/Animus