Pacific Rim

I just sat down to watch Pacific Rim, and within five minutes the mind, body, and spirit symbolism leaped off the screen and right into my lap. I am still watching the movie as I write this, so I have not identified the characters who represents each personality. This observation is more of a world building example.

In the movie, creatures called "kaiju" are wreaking havoc on mankind. To fight them, giant machines called "jaegers" are built. The jaegers (body) turn out to be too difficult for one pilot to control, so an additional pilot is needed. In order for the pilots to operate the jaeger in unison, designers create a process that links the two pilots minds. And this is where it gets interesting. The process takes the logical and analytical left brain (mind) from one pilot and links if with the creative and imaginative right brain (spirit) of the other.

The link between the two pilots is called "the drift." In order to be effective, pilots have to be "drift compatible." Only a strong left brain and a strong right brain can make the connection necessary to operate a jaeger. So, a jaeger is at its strongest when it has a strong design (body), a strong left brain (mind), and a strong right brain (spirit) coming together as one unit.