The Chilean-French filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky, who is renowned for his experimental work in the genres of horror, drama, and surrealism, once made a perceptive observation regarding the development of surrealism as an artistic movement. Surrealism became a crucial link between the depths of the human subconscious and logical thought in the 1920s. Similar to a lighthouse guiding lost ships through perilous waters, it offered insight into aspects of ourselves that we didn't understand as well as light where there was darkness.

By examining the irrational and abstract facets of human experience, surrealism questioned accepted wisdom and created new channels for artistic expression. Through this movement, artists were able to explore their unconscious minds and uncover previously undiscovered dreams, fears, and desires in their work. The surrealists were able to convey difficult feelings and concepts by using surprising juxtapositions and surrealistic imagery.

But over time, surrealism's once-revolutionary concepts started to lose some of their impact. Jodorowsky noted that by the early 1960s, surrealism had shifted from radical innovation to more romantic ideals and intellectual reflection. It resembled a well-traveled trail in a forest devoid of newly planted trees; it was recognizable but unchanging. The movement began to lose its subversive character and instead evolved into a comfortable middle-class niche.

Jodorowsky's observation essentially emphasizes the cyclical character of artistic movements: they begin as novel concepts that question the status quo but may eventually institutionalize and lose their initial impact. This change is not exclusive to surrealism; it is a recurring theme in numerous other historical cultural and artistic movements.

In his personal life and in his work as a writer and filmmaker, Alejandro Jodorowsky has always been an advocate for pushing limits and disobeying the law. His analysis of surrealism's development provides an insightful lesson about how crucial it is to preserve creativity's vitality and freshness in order to prevent it from becoming stale or irrelevant.