A Capitalist Satire with Surrealist Aesthetics: an Evaluation of Alejandro Jodorowsky's Film the Holy Mountain (1973)

Abstract

Emerging in the early 20th century under André Breton, the Surrealist movement offers an aesthetic that centers on the unconscious, advocating for the expression of repressed desiresthrough dreams, associations, and symbolic imagery. In response to the crisis of realityexperienced by the modern individual, Surrealism created a mode of expression that visualizesthe spiritual journey, deconstructing reality across various artistic fields. In recent periods, developing capitalist production-consumption relations have commercialized individualdesires, trapping the search for meaning within consumerist cycles. In this context, cinema—as a litmus test for society—possesses a structure that facilitates diverse representations, including philosophical, sociological, economic, and psychological dimensions. With itspotential to represent the tense relationship between the individual’s inner world andexternal systems, cinema has become a vital space for surrealist narratives. Surrealist cinemais not merely a narrative tool; it is a discipline-crossing experience that offers the audience a questioning, transformative, and thought-provoking encounter. Accordingly, Alejandro Jodorowsky’s The Holy Mountain (1973) focuses on a structure that converges two significantdynamics: surrealist aesthetics and capitalist critique. This study aims to reveal how surrealistaesthetics and capitalist satire follow a parallel trajectory through Jodorowsky’s film. To thisend, the film is examined via descriptive analysis, a qualitative text-based method. Theparameters addressed are: 1. Visual Aesthetics and Symbolism, 2. Thematic Layers, and 3. Surreal Provocation. In this study, The Holy Mountain is treated as a satire of capitalismtivestructure, it provides an allegorical layer questioning the “sa shaped by surrealist aesthetics. Through its visual symbols and narracred”-looking artificial foundations of social systems. Theoretically, the film remains formally loyal to the surrealist tradition while offering a thematic structure that critiques the capitalist order.