What's the name of the magical Otherworld that Working For Each Other is set in?
- Amanda Riddell
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- 1 hour ago
- 1 min read
Fancypants answer: it's called the iconosphere. Read about that in a Chagall book. ChatGPT: The iconosphere is a concept from visual culture and media theory. It refers to the total environment of images that surrounds us—paintings, photographs, films, advertisements, religious icons, digital media, etc. Think of it as the “atmosphere of images” we live inside, shaping how we see the world, remember things, and construct meaning. https://lexicon.mimesisjournals.com/international_lexicon_of_aesthetics_item_detail.php?item_id=23 - AM: Temporally speaking, it takes place beyond space and time, in the liminal zone known as Te Kore. The film enters and exits Te Kore via the black water/avocado woman sequence. https://teara.govt.nz/en/te-ao-marama-the-natural-world/page-3 - The Transtasia was similar, but was largely focussed on the inner mind. Working For Each Other is about the world of mediated imagery that insulates us from reality, plus how to break free from the grid. It's a combination of interoceptive imagery and surreal twists on real life, arranged to guide people through the psychedelic trip. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-43805-0 - To me, the iconosphere is like the art history term for Jung's collective unconscious: images that have a deep meaning, like The Beatles iconography. While I was hoping to avoid preachiness, Working For Each Other is pedagogical. Leaning on The Beatles with convincing imitations demonstrates the wairua that the mana and image of the band, plus their phonosphere, still has.
Working For Each Other has a political message, but it's subtle. I'm not using the spotlight to bully people: it's their decision to support AMPP or not.