The shadow is an archetype identified by Jung as a consistent feature of the unconscious psyche. Explain its nature and function, and give three examples from art, media, and/or experience of its appearance.

The shadow is an archetype identified by Jung as a consistent feature of the unconscious psyche. Explain its nature and function, and give three examples from art, media, and/or experience of its appearance.

Archetypes, according to Carl Jung, are images, characters, or pattern of circumstances that recur throughout human living and thought to be consistent enough to be considered universal.   More specifically, an archetype can be defined as an inherited pattern of thought or symbolic imagery derived from past collective experiences, which are present in every individual.   Archetypes are made of archaic images that have existed since the remotest of times and commonly find expression in tribal lore, mythology, fairy tales, religious systems, and art.   “The repository for all archetypes is the collective unconscious, a part of the psyche which was the first to evolve and now provides the necessary link with humanity’s ancestral past.   Through the collective unconscious, the human is able to tap into these inherited forms and experience perceptions common to every other member of the species.” (Iaccino, xi) These archetypes, unbeknownst to us, shape and mold our current thought processes.  
There is, however, one great distinction to be made between archetypes and the objects to which they relate.   “Archetypes should not be regarded as fully developed pictures that reside in the collective unconscious; rather, they are forms without content, representing the possibility of a certain type of perception and action.” (Iacino, xi)   A better analogy would be to say that each archetypal image is similar to a negative, waiting for the necessary experiences to become developed and defined.   Therefore, objects within an environment provide substance to the archetypes, and make them more meaningful on an individualized basis.  
Throughout his lifetime, Jung developed several of these archetypal motifs.   Perhaps one of the best known Jungian archetypes is that of the shadow.   The shadow, according to Jung, represents an aspect of the self that we tend to ignore or repress from consciousness.   “All of our inferiorities, unacceptable impulses, and shameful behaviors...