Star Wars. Harry Potter. The Marvel Cinematic Universe. These seemingly unrelated movie franchises seem to not have a lot in common other than the fact that they were all uber-successful. In actuality, however, they have a lot more in common than that. These movie franchises at one point or another have served as the modern media mythological framework for a period of time. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has used a slightly altered Hero’s Cycle, archetypes and the teaching of life lessons to create a modern mythology that fulfills Joseph Campbell’s fourth function of myth and has also become a modern media mythological framework that has already begun to be copied.
Joseph Campbell first introduced the idea of a Hero’s Cycle in his book “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.” The Hero’s Cycle is a series of several steps that a typical hero story, whether an ancient Greek story such as Hercules or a modern story told through film like Star Wars, follows. The main steps
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Archetypes along with the hero’s cycle have really been the foundation that all modern mythological media have been built on. If you applied the hero’s cycle and the main archetypes typically used in myth to Star Wars, Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings, you would see similar results as shown by comparing these to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. These movies all have a very similar structure but it is often the lessons that the story focuses in on that set the movies apart. The Harry Potter books and movies, for example, placed a much larger emphasis on the problems facing a typical school child, than really any movie series had before. This is what made it unique. The Marvel Cinematic Universe, in a similar fashion, has focused on teaching several lessons to the audiences that watch these
In the late 1940’s a man named Joseph Campbell shared his Mythic principal with the world. He explains that there is a three-stage formula that he calls a Hero Journey which is the structure of every story. Though most stories are completely different on the outside, the stories are almost structured around these three stages. Stage 1 is the hero leaves the everyday world and enters another world. While Stage 2 the hero is challenged by opposing forces and must pass a series a test throughout the movie. That will then determine who will be victorious, either the hero or the opposing forces. Stage 3 is tied into Stage 2 because if the hero is victorious, they will return to the ordinary world with a gift for the world.
Star Wars is an action film, which feature many different archetypes. One of the famous characters from this movie is Han Solo. Han Solo fits the outcast character archetype the best. The outcast archetype is a person who has been banished from normal man. The first part of this could be due to to the character committing a crime of some sort. This relates well with Han Solo because he failed to pay his debt to Jabba. This means he was banned from going near him and his planet. He was nearly killed by a bounty hunter when at a bar, but luckily outsmarted him and killed the hunter. The second part deals with the wandering nature of the character. This also fits incredibly well with Han Solo because this is how Luke found him. He came along
It describes the typical adventure of the archetype known as The Hero, the person who goes out and achieves great deeds on behalf of the group, tribe, or civilization.” The 12 stages of this are ‘the ordinary world’, ‘the call to adventure’, ‘refusal of the call’, ‘meeting with the mentor’, ‘crossing the threshold’, ‘tests, allies and enemies’, ‘approach’, ‘the ordeal’, ‘the reward’, ‘the road back’, ‘the resurrection’ and finally ‘return with the
Throughout the movie, archetypes aid the development of conflicts throughout the plot, and help in establishing the good vs the evil. For example, the movie builds up the conflict present between Rey and Kylo, as the two are shown as mortal enemies throughout the movie, which leads to their eventual battle. The reason that a conflict is present is because Rey and Kylo stand for opposing sides- the Resistance, and the First Order respectively. Their conflict stems from that fact that Rey represents the Light, while Kylo represents Darkness. The Light that signifies Rey represents hope, and intellectual illumination, both of which Rey possesses, while the Darkness that signifies Kylo stands for his ignorance and despair. This contrast of characters
“ The force will be with you, always.” This is advice given to Luke Skywalker by his mentor Obi Wan Kenobi. In the archetypal hero’s journey a wise and experienced mentor such as Obi Wan will often help guide or offer advice to the youthful and budding hero. Throughout time and across different cultures there are certain symbols, events and characters which can be found in literature and Star Wars IV: A New Hope follows this trend step by step. During the film Star Wars IV: A New Hope, the main protagonist Luke undergoes a stereotypical, or in literary terms an archetypal hero’s journey. Luke starts from humble beginnings and when he is called upon to save the galaxy; he then faces various tests which help him hone skills that he will need for the final life or death battle.
The movie Star Wars Episode 3 The Revenge Of The Sith directed by George Lucas is a great representation of the God teacher versus God Tempter. In this film the character that perfectly shows a God teacher, is Obi – wan Kenobi. Obi – wan Kenobi is the Jedi master of Anakin Skywalker the perceived chosen one. Skywalking is the one that is suppose to bring balance to the force and save the galaxy. The God tempter is Darth Sidious whom is to be the dark lord from the darkside of the force. With all the hardships that Skywalker endures, it leaves his mind cluttered with a decision to make; stay on the good side living in Obi – wan Kenobi's shadow or acquire more knowledge about the hidden powers a Jedi can poses: saving people from death. Anakin gets manipulated by Darth Sidious to join the
The concept of a hero has been around for many generations, and the meaning of a hero is defined in ways people grasp its idea. A hero can be a person who has a superpower and is willing to make a personal sacrifice for the benefit of others or can be an ordinary everyday person who just wants to help people out of his or her own heart. Linda Seger’s article, “Creating the Myth,” tackles the idea of a “Hero 's Myth,” and shows the ten steps of how heroes are transformed from an ordinary person to the Savior. On the other hand, Robert B. Ray piece titled, “The Thematic Paradigm,” emphasizes that in modern films, it is either having an “Outlaw Hero or an Official Hero,” which he uses three stages to demonstrates how they are different each other in the way they perform in the society. Further, the article, “Out of Character: Wonder Woman’s Strength Is Her Compassion - What Happened?” by Stevie St. John, explains how Wonder Woman was viewed as a compassionate woman in the 1940s and 1950s, and in the 2000s she changes into a more violent person. In this essay, I argue that a hero is subjective, and is defined by the villain or event that they had to adapt to suddenly.
The hero cycle follows a character's stages of renewal and repeats every time a challenge materializes. The phases of the hero cycle enhance the morals of Edmond Dantès, Odysseus and Thor. They all kickoff their story in good hands, only to be shoved into an unexpected adventure. They travel and gain friends whose purpose is to steer them toward their goals. They all have major setbacks that they have to learn to shift and control to resume their thrones and authorities.
Historically American film have been centered on heroes. In Ray’s “The Thematic Paradigm” he states that heroes as have two preset archetypes with certain characteristics. These two archetypes are the family orientated “official hero” and the loner “outlaw hero.” In Segar’s “Creating the Myth” she states that heroes are made by the steps or events that they go through on their way to becoming a hero. This means that to Seger the heroes do not start out as heroes, but as normal people. However, Ray and Seger suggest different ways in which Americans relate to film heroes, they both agree heroes are popular through common experience and relatability.
Stories, movies, comic books, and legends alike generally follow a similar storyline: The Hero’s Journey. The patterns of The Hero’s Journey, an underlying structure revealed by Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, have been used for centuries to depict extraordinary characters through stories and myths. Throughout his or her journey, the hero goes through three main stages: The Departure, The Initiation, and The Return. Both the epic Beowulf and the comic book-based movie Spider-Man follow this archetypal journey.
In the fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia written by C.S. Lewis, a critically acclaimed author and beloved by fans, there are many common archetypes. An archetype is a role played by a character in movies, plays, books, etcetera like heroes and villains. The Magician’s Nephew takes place in the summer of 1900 London. It all starts when Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer meet. Together they have to deal with a selfish, greedy Uncle, a witch that tried to kill Digory’s aunt, and much more.
A Hero’s Journey is a cycle of events, each coming and returning. Many different myths and stories throughout time seem to have a homogeneous framework that follows the Monomyth Theory proposed by mythologist, Joseph Campbell. In his book, The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Campbell states the elements of the Hero’s Journey. The Hero’s Journey cycle is prevalent in many literary works as well as The House of the Scorpion. This book, by Nancy Farmer, is an epitome of Campbell’s Monomyth Theory where the young Matt Alacran is the archetypal hero.
The idea of heroismhas been traced back to centuries of years throughout history. Greek Mythology is the father of this concept of heroism and this concept has continued to grow and develop through stories, writings, and films over the years. Humans have always been intrigued with the idea of heroism which is why many movies, books, and stories are written after this very idea. In Linda Seger’s “Creating the Myth”, she argues there are 10-points into creating every “hero myth”, using Luke Skywalker in Star Wars as her hero myth example; in the film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry follows Seger’s 10-point system of creating a
George Lucas’ Star Wars “A New Hope” is an award winning film that graced the silver screen in 1977. Star Wars: A New Hope (New Hope) conforms to Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. “George Lucas was an avid admirer of Joseph Campbell’s writings, and used them as a direct reference in his creation of Star Wars.” There is also a great deal of the Jungian framework that presents itself in a New Hope. A good number of archetypes are present in the film.
The changes thorough media have led to the decline of the traditional hero archetype. To relate to society throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, television shows and film have had to conform to new standards. In the beginning, any film was