Does Art Imitate Life?

What Michael Scott, Carl Jung, and Harry Potter can teach us about vibes (2m read)

Now that the four vibes are in place, I’m thinking about how to make them feel real. I see them everywhere, and I think you will, too. This post will look for evidence of vibes in movies and TV shows we know well.

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Starting with Archetypes

The vibes I’ve outlined (Natural, Analyst, Feeler, and Performer) are part of human nature. They’re not specific to any culture, timeline, or race. They’ve always existed and always will.

This type of analysis is not new. We all recognize kinds of people or roles, including:

• The Hero (striving, overcoming)

• The Nurturer (protecting, caring)

• The Sage (guidance, wisdom)

These archetypes feel real and natural. But how do we know?

Psychoanalyst Carl Jung believed that archetypes represent universal patterns that are part of all humans and inform how we think about one another. The Hero reflects our search for purpose; the Sage reflects our pursuit of truth.

Jung argued that the recurrence of these figures across cultures and millennia, in myths, stories, and religions, was not a coincidence. For him, archetypes were not invented but discovered, because they are part of our shared human nature.

Like Jung’s archetypes, vibes are recognizable patterns in how we interact. They emerge in stories, characters, and the people we know. They are lenses that bring human nature into sharper relief.

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Vibes and the Modern Archetypes

The four vibes I’ve developed are meant to be recognizable and account for most of the population. They are a starting point, and questions remain:

Are vibes real? How do we know?

We can follow Jung’s example and look at the art we create. If vibes are real, they should be represented in TV shows, books, and movies. We should be able to recognize Naturals, Analysts, Feelers, and Performers.

Let’s consider a few TV shows to make the point. You’ll see that vibes don’t live in isolation. They interact, often to dramatic effect.

The Office (US Version)

The Office was a show about everyday people in a boring office setting. Like any show, it succeeded because of the mix of people and their interactions across nine seasons. Let’s consider the vibes:

Parks and Rec

We see a very similar set of vibes here in part because the shows have some of the same writers and producers (Greg Daniels and Michael Schur). Could it be that vibes are part of their special sauce?

Harry Potter

Let’s move in a different direction. The main characters of Harry Potter seem to fit well into the Vibes Framework.

Vibes surround us. They exist in our families, work, social groups, and church. You, like everyone, have a mix of vibes that make you unique.

Think about your favorite shows. What are the vibes of the characters? This is the lens at work. Once you see it, you won’t be able to unsee it.

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