Khe Sanh and Jung

What is it about?

This paper looks at the 2015 use of the Australian rock song Khe Sanh by far-right nationalist group Reclaim Australia and how it points to deeper archetypal dynamics at play, which are driving the appearance and behaviour of groups like this. Drawing from the work of Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung, I treat the song as an expression of the archetype of the fallen hero, who confronts darkness but cannot reintegrate back into the social world and, instead, remains fallen. As I discuss, this song resonates deeply with Reclaim Australia members because it reflects their own ideological conceptions of their place in the changing Australian nation. _x000D_ _x000D_ I use a Jungian archetypal approach because it allows us to explore the underlying psychic structure and instinctive patterns that drive the behavior of groups like this. Where other approaches may simply focus on the behavior, an archetypal approach goes much deeper, addressing the root of the behaviour. _x000D_

Featured Image