Sally Duff-The Jacket

While in the movie The Jacket, the Jack Starks has a pretty clear parallel to Jesus Christ in that he must suffer in order to save Jackie.  He must go back into the strait jacket repeatedly so that he may help Jackie get a better life.  This is similar to how Jesus suffered and died on the cross in order to get mankind eternal salvation.  In the end Jack Starks dies in the present (when he is in the mental institution), but is resurrected again in the future (when Jackie is grown).  Jesus also dies but is resurrected three days later.  The sufferings of Jack Starks are also similar to that of shaminism.  Shamin would put themselves through intese experiences, inflicting pain upon themselves, in order to send themselves into an altered state of mind.  The pain would be so severe that they would be forced into a sort of trance in which they might receive enlightenment.  This would be similar to taking psychodelic drugs.  They would put you in an altered state in which you would see the world differently and understand things from a new perspective.  In the movie, Jack enters into this altered state when he is put in the jacket and drawer.  What happens to him is he is able to see the world from the perspective of the future.  He is able to see how things turn out and has a mission of what to fix and how to fix it.  Having this purpose in life brings healing to Jack, which allows him to “die” happily.