Campbell s Hero s Journey in Film

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1 Campbell s Hero s Journey in Film 60/50 pts Name Per. Essay is due on (Late essays will be deducted 10 % per day.) The pre-writing must be completed and signed on. Essay must have 12 font type, dbl spacing, a title, & a left side heading, and five paragraphs see sample essay. Dialogue and examples from movie should be used for support. You must show writing process. Include at minimum this sheet and a hand written or word-processed first draft. Using ideas from another source without giving credit to that source is considered plagiarism. Plagiarism means no credit for the assignment. Therefore, when you incorporate even phrases from another source (i.e. the attached article) use quotation marks around those phrases. Joseph Campbell s theory of the journey of the archetypal (standard) hero can be applied to many adventure films. Directors like George Lucas applied Campbell s theory to his Star Wars films. Support the application of Campbell s theory to an adventure film of your choice; however, you may not choose Star War, given this film is discussed in the sample essay. Summation of Campbell s theory: A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder; fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won; the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man. The hero starts in the ordinary world, and receives a call to enter an unusual world of strange powers and events (a call to adventure). If the hero accepts the call to enter this strange world, the hero must face tasks and trials (a road of trials), and may have to face these trials alone, or may have assistance. At its most intense, the hero must survive a severe challenge, often with help earned along the journey. If the hero survives, the hero may achieve a great gift (the goal or "boon"), which often results in important self-knowledge. The hero must then decide whether to return with this boon (the return to the ordinary world), often facing challenges on the return journey. If the hero is successful in returning, the boon or gift may be used to improve the world (the application of the boon). Very few adventure stories contain all of the stages listed below. Your essay will be organized into three paragraphs: Departure, Initiation and Return. "Departure" deals with the hero venturing forth on the quest; "initiation" deals with the hero's various adventures along the way; and "Return" deals with the hero's return home with knowledge and powers acquired on the journey. Most great stories featuring a hero rely on this basic structure. Use the following framework to justify Campbell s theory.

2 The Hero s Journey Framework A. Departure 1. The Call to Adventure The call to adventure is the point in a person's life when they are first given notice that everything is going to change, whether they know it or not. 2. Refusal of the Call Often when the call is given, the future hero refuses to heed it. This may be from a sense of duty or obligation, fear, insecurity, a sense of inadequacy, or any of a range of reasons that work to hold the person in his or her current circumstances. 3. Supernatural Aid Once the hero has committed to the quest, consciously or unconsciously, his or her guide and magical helper appears, or becomes known. 4. The Crossing of the First Threshold This is the point where the person actually crosses into the field of adventure, leaving the known limits of his or her world and venturing into an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are not known. 5. The Belly of the Whale The belly of the whale represents the final separation from the hero's known world and self. It is sometimes described as the person's lowest point, but it is actually the point when the person is between or transitioning between worlds and selves. The separation has been made, or is being made, or being fully recognized between the old world and old self and the potential for a new world/self. The experiences that will shape the new world and self will begin shortly, or may be beginning with this experience which is often symbolized by something dark, unknown and frightening. By entering this stage, the person shows their willingness to undergo a metamorphosis, to die to him or herself. B. Initiation 1. The Road of Trials The road of trials is a series of tests, tasks, or ordeals that the person must undergo to begin the transformation. Often the person fails one or more of these tests, which often occur in threes. 2. The Meeting with the Goddess The meeting with the goddess represents the point in the adventure when the person experiences a love that has the power and significance of the all-powerful, all encompassing, unconditional love that a fortunate infant may experience with his or her mother. It is also known as the "hieros gamos", or sacred marriage, the union of opposites, and may take place entirely within the person. In other words, the person begins to see him or herself in a non-dualistic way. This is a very important step in the process and is often represented by the person finding the other person that he or she loves most completely. Although Campbell symbolizes this step as a meeting with a goddess, unconditional love and /or self unification does not have to be represented by a woman. 3. Woman as the Temptress At one level, this step is about those temptations that may lead the hero to abandon or stray from his or her quest, which as with the Meeting with the Goddess does not necessarily have to be represented by a woman. For Campbell, however, this step is about the revulsion that the usually male hero may feel about his own fleshy/earthy nature, and the subsequent attachment or projection of that revulsion to women. Woman is a metaphor for the physical or material temptations of life, since the hero-knight was often tempted by lust from his spiritual journey. 4. Atonement with the Father In this step the person must confront and be initiated by whatever holds the ultimate power in his or her life. In many myths and stories this is the father, or a father figure who has life and death power. This is the center point of the journey. All the previous steps have been moving in to this place, all that follow will move out from it. Although this step is most frequently symbolized by an encounter with a male entity, it does not have to be a

3 male; just someone or thing with incredible power. For the transformation to take place, the person as he or she has been must be "killed" so that the new self can come into being. Sometime this killing is literal, and the earthly journey for that character is either over or moves into a different realm. 5. Apotheosis To apotheosize is to deify. When someone dies a physical death, or dies to the self to live in spirit, he or she moves beyond the pairs of opposites to a state of divine knowledge, love, compassion and bliss. This is a god-like state; the person is in heaven and beyond all strife. A more mundane way of looking at this step is that it is a period of rest, peace and fulfillment before the hero begins the return. 6. The Ultimate Boon The ultimate boon is the achievement of the goal of the quest. It is what the person went on the journey to get. All the previous steps serve to prepare and purify the person for this step, since in many myths the boon is something transcendent like the elixir of life itself, or a plant that supplies immortality, or the holy grail. C. Return 1. Refusal of the Return So why, when all has been achieved, the ambrosia has been drunk, and we have conversed with the gods, why come back to normal life with all its cares and woes? 2. The Magic Flight Sometimes the hero must escape with the boon, if it is something that the gods have been jealously guarding. It can be just as adventurous and dangerous returning from the journey as it was to go on it. 3. Rescue from Without Just as the hero may need guides and assistants to set out on the quest, often times he or she must have powerful guides and rescuers to bring them back to everyday life, especially if the person has been wounded or weakened by the experience. Or perhaps the person doesn't realize that it is time to return, that they can return, or that others need their boon. 4. The Crossing of the Return Threshold The trick in returning is to retain the wisdom gained on the quest, to integrate that wisdom into a human life, and then maybe figure out how to share the wisdom with the rest of the world. This is usually extremely difficult. 5. Master of the Two Worlds In myth, this step is usually represented by a transcendental hero like Jesus or Buddha. For a human hero, it may mean achieving a balance between the material and spiritual. The person has become comfortable and competent in both the inner and outer worlds. 6. Freedom to Live Mastery leads to freedom from the fear of death, which in turn is the freedom to live. This is sometimes referred to as living in the moment, neither anticipating the future nor regretting the past. Heros Journey : Summary of Steps Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction (MCLI) Maricopa Community Colleges

4 Pre-writing Name per. Introductory Paragraph: Introduce the director, stars and year of the film, summarize its plot, and then state how its structure fits into Campbell s theory of the mythic hero, define Campbell s theory. Then you will lead into your thesis: Ex. Thesis: In Star Wars, Luke follows Campbell s stages of departure, initiation, and return. Your Film Director Year Hero Your thesis: Ex. Topic Sent.: Luke s initial departure follows Campbell s first stage. Your TS 1 TS 2 TS 3 Teacher s required signature of approval: On time? In your conclusion, summarize your hero s journey and discuss the impact or necessity of heroes in film. Pointers: avoid you and I ; instead use audience or viewer and we be specific; use the phrases like, In the opening scene... use spell check, proofread for fluency use quotation marks when referencing specific phrases from the framework Italicize the name of the film each time you reference it. Rubric Prewriting: Rough draft (2pts.), this sheet on time (2) (4) Correct format: dbl. spaced; 12 font; left heading w/4 lines consisting of your name, Frericks, Film Study, and date; centered title (not the name of the movie) (1) Intro Paragraph: Summary of Campbell s theory in intro is concise and accurate. (5) Brief introduction to your film with a 1-2 sentence plot summary. (4) Summary transitions into a strong thesis (at end of intro paragraph) (1) Body paragraphs: Effectively persuade referencing specific steps within the departure, initiation, and return, linking those steps with pertinent examples from the movie (20) Essay is well organized & effectively uses keyhole format. (10) Conclusion summarizes essay without being repetitive and highlights the significance or timelessness of the hero s journey. (5) Skillful use of conventions and word choice enhances meaning and readability. (10) Total (60/50)

5 (Sample is not dbl spaced to save paper. Other adjustments to the original essay have been made.) Andrew Gordon Film Per. 2 Frericks May 27, 2009 Star Wars: A Myth for our Time Joseph Campbell s theory of the hero s journey is thoroughly explored in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. In this book Campbell describes the standard pattern of the adventures of a mythic hero. This pattern shows a hero who answers the call to step out of the comfort of his or her ordinary life, and with help of a mentor to guide and help, the hero must confront danger with characters Campbell calls the threshold guardians. The initiation consists of a series of miraculous tests and ordeals. Finally, the character returns now having achieved the status of a hero. Campbell s theory can be applied to many great movies. One film that fits neatly into Campbell s stages is George Lucas s Star Wars. Star Wars is a modern fairy tale, creating a complete and self-sufficient world of its own, with a reluctant hero, a warrior wizard, a princess and a villain. Its plot has its roots deep in Cambell s writings. Star Wars tells the story of Luke Skywalker who must face challenges to in order to gain wisdom and save the world. In Star Wars, Luke follows Campbell s stages of departure, initiation, and return. Luke s initial departure is his willingness to answer the call to adventure. Once he has stepped beyond the safe bounds of his everyday routine, Luke sallies forth with the Wizard who will guide and aid him. Then Luke confronts his threshold guardians : a dangerous ogre, a marauding Sandpeople, a storm trooper guarding the entrance to the spaceport, and, finally, a foul-looking alien in the spaceport bar. In each case Luke is saved by Ben, who uses either the Force or the power of his light saber. The next step of the initial adventure, says Campbell, is the passage into "the belly of the whale." The heroes are sucked into the enemy space fortress by a tractor beam. Here the hero dies symbolically and is reborn in the second phase, or initiation. For Luke, the initiation consists of the endless corridors of the Death Star. Luke is covertly aided by the advice, amulets, and secret agents of the supernatural helper. Luke s perils represent the type we encounter nightly in our dreams. Luke encounters perils after his plunge into the inferno of the garbage room. Meanwhile, he is aided by his various helpers: Ben unlocks the tractor beam to release their captive ship, and as he fights Vader, the robots stop the walls from crushing them, and Solo and Chewbacca help the group shoot its way out. Luke has passed his initiation. Whereas previously he had relied passively on Ben, he now initiates and carries out the rescue of the princess and the escape from the Death Star. At the center of the journey are "the Meeting with the Goddess" and "the Atonement with the Father." The rescue of the princess represents the former stage, and the death of Ben represents the latter. Luke's guardian, having fulfilled his function, seems to will his own destruction and is cut down by Vader; nevertheless, he does not die so much as he disappears in order to be subsumed into the Force. Ben persists as a voice that guides Luke at critical moments. Once they are safely aboard Solo's ship, Luke mourns Ben and is comforted by the princess, who maternally puts a blanket over his shoulders and tells him he is not to blame. Having symbolically met his mother and made his peace with his father, the hero, according to Campbell, has reached the stage of apotheosis. He is now the possessor of the grace of the gods, "the Ultimate Boon" that can restore his culture. This boon is, of course, the Force. The hero becomes the possessor of this ubiquitous power, or "Force," when he achieves adulthood. The departure and the initiation completed, the hero now begins the third and final stage--the return. The myth requires that the hero shall now bring the boon (wisdom, princess, golden fleece) back to the community. Luke, accompanied by the princess, escapes with the plans of the battle station in Solo's ship out of the Death Star, out of the belly of the whale. He now undergoes what Campbell calls "the Magic Flight"; he is chased by symbolic "demons" out of the Death Star but manages, with the aid of Solo, to destroy the pursuing ships and reach the rebel base-- significantly, a lush, green, light-filled planet. Having crossed the threshold from "the world of light" into "the world of darkness" and returned alive, Luke is now "master of the Two Worlds." He has the power to move at will between the two worlds, which he proves by returning at the risk of his life to the Death Star in order to destroy it. In combat Luke now assumes his true identity, which is that of the ideal father: Jedi Knight, starship pilot, and cunning warrior. Guided by the Force, he naturally succeeds in his task, dropping some proton torpedoes down a narrow chute. The Death Star goes up in an explosion of fireworks. A hero s job, in other words, is to destroy the status quo in order to permit renewal and restoration, and this is the task Luke--ordinary boy raised to the status of mythic hero--successfully performs. It is this sense of renewal that makes Star Wars so appealing. We are in a period in which the heroes have been cast down through such national catastrophes as Vietnam and Watergate, when the lines between good and evil grow cloudy, and when sexual identities have been redefined by the women's movement. Meanwhile, we have created a machine world for ourselves, a world that seems drained of spiritual values, a world in which we feel impotent and alien. We desperately need a renewal of faith in ourselves as Americans, as good guys on the world scene, as men and women, as human beings who count, and so we return temporarily to the simpler patterns of the past. The old superheroes rise again--wonder Woman, Superman, Batman-- and we get old-fashioned genre films such as Rocky and Star Wars. Luke, having won through his trials and proven himself to his guardian, can now enter manhood because he has conquered evil.