Betrayal and Awakening in The DescendantsWith Dominic Callahan, Ph.D.  In The Descendants, director Alexander Payne (Election, About Schmidt, Sideways) has wrought a nuanced, often humorous and ultimately wise film about a middle aged man’s initiation into a deeper awareness of what truly matters to him and how to find the courage to defend it.  Adapted from the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings, the film tells the story of a Hawaiian real estate lawyer named Matt King (George Clooney) whose wife has suffered a severe head injury in a boating accident that leaves her in a vegetative state and forces him to become the father he never was to his two daughters, 10 year old Scottie (Amara Miller) and 17 year old Alexandra (Shailene Woodley).  In addition, Matt is the sole trustee managing a family inheritance of over 25,000 acres of pristine land in Hawaii that most of his extended family wants him to sell to a developer for a fortune that will make them all multi-millionaires.   Shortly after being informed by doctors that his wife’s condition is permanent and that she will need to be taken off life support, Matt is told by Alexandra that his wife was having an affair with a local real estate agent, Brian Speer (Mathew Lillard).  Shattered by the dual blow of both losing his wife and the marriage he thought he had, Matt goes on a poignant journey with his daughters to confront Mr. Speers and, more importantly, re-connect with his children, himself, and a life he had been more custodian of than living.   Replete with fine performances, the film is anchored by George Clooney’s haunting and subtle portrayal of a man whose psychological awakening is poetically offset against his wife’s inability to ever waken again.  The Edenic setting of Hawaii offers a perfect metaphor for this film’s superb examination of how essential disillusionment and betrayal are in the human drama of becoming conscious of what to live for and what has true value. (3 CEU’s) Learning Objectives: Following the completion of this program, participants will be able to:Deepen their understanding of the power of Jung’s emphasis on the importance of suffering and disillusionment in the individuation process;Demonstrate familiarity with the complexities of oppositional energies, and the need to experience these polarities in a felt fashion; and Appreciate the relation between maturity and the possibilities for transformation in the second half of life.  Dominic Callahan, Ph.D., is a licensed Clinical Psychologist in private practice in Coral Springs, FL.  A former President of the Center for Jungian Studies, he has presented often for the Center, the most recent being the film Adam Resurrected in April of 2011.  ADMISSION (Brunch included): $60; (Add $9 for 3 CEUs); Student $45  2012-2013 Membership (not required to attend)                 $402012-2013 Student Membership (not required to attend)  $20  To REGISTER with a credit card, click ABOVEOr send your check with this form to:Patrick Parham, P.O. Box 669, Hallandale, FL 33008 Or Call our Message Phone: 954-525-4682 and leave a Message, someone will return your call.Or Email us: info@JungCenterSouthFloirda.org Visit our Website: JungCenterSouthFlorida.org     Directions to The Riverside Hotel, 608 E. Las Olas Blvd, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33301Take I-95 to Broward Blvd. Exit, go EAST past Federal Highway for a half block to SE 8th Avenue, turn RIGHT and go one block past Las Olas Blvd., then turn RIGHT on SE 4th Street to back entrance to The Riverside where valet parking is $8 per day. We will meet on the 8th Floor in the Tower.  Visit EventBrite.com for pricing.