Lecture 2: Andrew Sweeny on Digital Shamanism

 A one hour seminar followed by a casual conversation and an audience Q & A!

Shamanism and media in the digital age

How does the ancient shaman archetype relate to our present digital age?  What is a shamanoid personality type and how to be a shaman in the digital age? In this talk, based on a conference I gave at the European Men’s Group gathering in Denmark in 2019, I will discuss these and questions with reference to the famous pill scene in the first Matrix movie.  I will argue that Neo—whose name means ‘the new man’ and who is the hero of the Matrix movies, is like a Shaman in training.  I will discuss his archetypal journey, which begins with depression and the feeling that ‘something is wrong with the world’ and ends with empowerment and liberation. What does it mean to take the red pill and go down ‘the rabbit hole’?  What does it mean to take the blue pill and remain in the world of comfortable illusion?  Please join me for a Zoom-Webinar ‘in the rabbit hole’ for this second in a series of Parallax lectures followed by a Q&A.

Andrew Sweeny is a father of two children; a teacher at Science Po in Paris, France; a podcaster, blogger, and songwriter.  He is also an editor at Parallax magazine.  He lives in Avon, France and runs a monthly Salon called ‘The forest philosopher’s salon’.