The symbolic dimension to the Bolsonaro drama

Raphael Machado  
July 19th

 In the contemporary world, the political leader plays a role analogous to that once reserved for heroes and knights, and the more permeated by the "spirit of the times" a political leader's actions are, the more they take on mythical overtones. The leader ends up becoming a tool of impersonal forces that surpass him (unlike certain figures who "bend" time, such as Napoleon).

In this case, it is interesting how Bolsonaro ended up being dubbed a "myth."

In the "hero's journey," an unavoidable stage of the heroic saga is the "descent into hell," the katabasis. Literally for Orpheus and Hercules or literary characters like Gandalf, and it appears in other forms on other occasions. In "Apocalypse Now," the entire Vietnam War scenario corresponds to a gradual descent into hell. Luke Skywalker's training in the swamps of Dagobah corresponds to the same idea. But the "descent into "Hell" can actually correspond to an inner state of suffering, disillusionment, catatonia, depression, and disbelief.

In this phase, which corresponds to the alchemical phase of nigredo, the hero dies and is tested by death, only to be reborn triumphant if victorious. He confronts his inner demons and purifies himself of his lower aspects. The hero then moves forward to confront his greatest challenges.

In the adventure of the "political hero," "death" usually corresponds to imprisonment or a bitter electoral or political defeat. Prison, in particular, holds interesting symbolism. Regardless of its actual location, the prison is always a dungeon and, therefore, corresponds to the underworld. The imprisoned hero descends into the dark solitude of a dungeon, where he will stand naked before himself, to brood over his failure, his mistakes, and the immeasurable power of his enemies, who imprisoned him.

The imprisonment of a politician, by the same logic of the "hero's journey," then, either forges the leader into new vigor or ultimately breaks him.

Prison can be an opportunity for a political leader to consolidate their ideology, strengthen their mind, purify their will, accumulate hatred and conviction, and even extend their influence. Even in prison, through certain devices and intermediaries, their voice and will can carry far.

Characters as different as Hitler and Mandela went from the nadir of incarceration to the state's apotheosis. Or even, in our Brazilian reality, the figure of Lula. Accused, convicted, imprisoned, released, victorious.

But where does Bolsonaro fit into this story?

If Lula accepted "death" and faced it head-on, even while fighting politically and legally against his own imprisonment, with Bolsonaro we are faced with someone who seems terrified of the prospect of imprisonment.

Faced with the dungeon, the darkness, the death, Bolsonaro trembles and stutters, unwilling to pass through the "Mines of Moria" and put himself to the test. Therefore, he struggles desperately and hysterically, resorting to every available trick, including the dishonour of betraying his own people in order to be rescued by someone else.

Bolsonaro doesn't want to face the "dragon of the underworld," which he would inevitably encounter when he finds himself isolated, defeated, locked away, deprived of everything, including his freedom.

Sometimes the hero, in the nigredo, fails, calcifies, becomes a villain, as in the Kelipotic counter-initiation, or as in the case of Anakin Skywalker.

Alone, shackled, Bolsonaro would have to look within himself, and there he would find only the dragon's head, staring back at him.

Indeed, being a hero is not for everyone. 

 

Source: https://www.youtube.com/post/Ugkxt7jsX8-nCXLb1Kv_tJtZlIfvrh277RQc