2. It fulfills the hero’s destiny by making him spiritually one with his father.
3. It returns the hero back to the world of the divine, the world where he obviously belongs.
4. The climactic death itself creates a moment of solemn reflection that crystallizes the symbol of the hero’s legend in the mind of the audience.
Perhaps the most famous and influential myth of the hero, the story of Jesus, ends in death. However, the symbol of the life of Jesus and his message live on in his legend forever. The same symbolism is seen in the legendary death of all heroes.
William Wallace dies, but in his courageous death he inspires his fellow Scots to carry on the rebellion. The handkerchief, the symbol of Wallace’s soul, passes on to his sub-hero, Robert, after Wallace’s death. In the final scene, Robert wields the handkerchief as he leads the Scots into a final battle that wins Scotland its freedom. Maximus also dies, but only after he kills Commodus, assuring that Rome will become a republic once again. The figurines, the symbol of Maximus’ soul, pass on to one of his sub-hero’s – a fellow gladiator – who plants the figurines in the ground as if they were seeds, saying: “Now we are free.” By bringing freedom to their people, heroes symbolize the “freedom to live” that all people desire and cherish. Whether it is freedom from tyranny or simply the freedom to live our own lives the way we want to, the ultimate symbol of the hero is the symbol of freedom. While the hero dies, his symbolic rebirth is accomplished through the telling of his story. The inspiration of his legend lives on in the minds of his audience.
FINAL REWARD
In film, the mythological hero often receives a final reward at the end of his journey. Aside from bringing freedom to his people and being acknowledged as a legendary hero and mentor, the hero is usually rewarded with the ultimate gift – the gift of love. It is standard structure for the hero to get the girl in the end. Though Wallace and Maximus both die, they both are rewarded with a spiritual return to the goddess. In their moments of death, they both see their deceased wives, and they both return to them. The final reward lets the audience walk out on a happy, rather than somber, note. Though their hero dies a bloody and painful death, the audience can rest assured that their hero is happy in his afterlife, reunited once again with his cherished wife. The “happy ever afterlife” theme is standard structure for movies in which the hero dies. Though it seems rather hokey, it is a relatively sensible compromise between the classical structure of the mythological hero saga – in which the hero typically dies – and the modern structure of the Hollywood movie – in which the audience expects a happy ending.
CAVEAT LECTOR
Let the reader be aware… since the stages represent structural elements and not a formula or program, do not expect every hero movie to include all or even most of the stages in Campbell’s model. However, films that are successful in capturing the imagination of their audiences tend to represent the majority of these elements in some essential way. Even when films tell a story that isn’t overtly mythological in setting or theme, they still tend to express the common archetypal elements that have the power to completely captivate audiences – even though they’ve been seen a million times.
THE HERO’S JOURNEY
From Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949)
CHAPTER TEN SUMMARY POINTS
Campbell’s stages of the hero’s journey are a key to unlocking the symbolic code of the hero myth. Though heroes invariably venture out into the world to face external obstacles, the symbolic quest is always an inner journey. Ultimately, the hero is seeking the true nature of his Self. The symbolism of the inner journey is what makes the hero’s journey universally resonant and engaging.
The three “Acts” of the hero’s journey are: Departure, Initiation, and Return. The boy will depart from his home, he will go off on an adventure and grow up into a mature hero, and he will return home to become an inspiring mentor to others.
The hero’s journey begins in his World of the Common Day – his home. It is both the starting and ending point of the hero’s journey.
The world of the common day is also the place where the hero first encounters his primary mentor figure – the figurative or literal representation of the hero’s father.
Stage one of the hero’s journey is the call to adventure. A conflict of some kind calls the hero out of his common day world and into the world of adventure.
The calls to adventure are typically made by herald figures. Common herald figures may be figures connected to the mentors, the mentors themselves, divine figures, or messengers from the gods.
Stage two of the hero’s journey is the refusal of the call. The hero’s reluctance to commit himself to the cause represents the universal fears that all people have when they are faced with major life choices and transitions.
Often times, an upping of the ante or “raising of the stakes” is necessary to spur the reluctant hero into action.
In stage three of the hero’s journey, the hero gains supernatural aid. The weapon or source of power is supernatural because it is linked closely with the hero’s identity and motivation. The supernatural aid offers the hero spiritual, emotional, or psychological power.
Stage four of the hero’s journey is the crossing of the first threshold. The hero enters the world of adventure.
Often times, the hero must face a “threshold guardian” archetype before crossing the first threshold. The guardian tests the hero’s intelligence, courage, and resolve, to see if he is worthy of heroism.
Frequently, the threshold guardian does not have to be defeated – the hero must use his wits to navigate around the guardian. He must answer his riddle or pass his test.
In stage five of the hero’s journey, the hero enters the belly of the whale. He is deep in the heart of the world of adventure, the realm of transformation in which he will become reborn.
Stage six of the hero’s journey is the road of trials – the arduous tasks that the protagonist must perform and the obstacles he must overcome in order to become a hero.
Stage seven of the hero’s journey is the meeting with the goddess, when the hero encounters and integrates his goddess archetype.
Stage eight of the hero’s journey is called woman as the temptress, when the hero encounters and integrates his anima archetype.
Stage nine of the hero’s journey is the atonement with the father. The hero integrates the lessons of his wise old man archetype – his primary mentor – by becoming “at-one” with his spirit. Typically, this is when the hero fulfills some type of quest or legacy bequeathed to him by his father.
Stage 10 of the hero’s journey is apotheosis. The hero undergoes a crisis or supreme ordeal, he is wounded and symbolically dies, and he is reborn a new man. Though he is mortal, his brush with the gods gives him divine power.
Stage 11 of the hero’s journey is the ultimate boon. The hero is now worthy of the prize at the end of his quest. He seizes the “sword,” grail, magic elixir or maiden in distress that he has been seeking. He may also kill the villain, beast, or enemy who has been tormenting him. These external representations of saving grace symbolize the inner boon of self-knowledge, which is the core symbol of the hero’s inner journey.
At this point, the hero is often rewarded with love or sex from his love interest – who may also be the maiden whom he just rescued.
Stage 12 of the hero’s journey is the refusal of the return. Just as the hero was reluctant to leave the common day world for the world of adventure, he may now be reluctant to return home. This stage is quickly overcome, as the hero knows that he must complete his journey and bring the “magic elixir” home to save his people.
Stage 13 of the hero’s journey is the magic flight. While the hero’s journey up to this point was long and arduous, the return trip is often supercharged by his divine powers.
The magic flight is depicted in movies by a standard “quickening of the pace” in the 3rd act, represented by the ubiquitous “hec
tic chase sequence.”
Stage 14 of the hero’s journey is the rescue from without. The hero is often returned to his home on the shoulders of others. Sometimes he is rescued from the adventure world by his allies, other times he is a “willing sacrifice”— brought back as a prisoner by his enemies.
Stage 15 of the hero’s journey is the crossing of the return threshold. When he returns to his common-day world, he loses his divine power and becomes a regular mortal again.
The hero’s return to mortality in the final scenes sets up the final act of heroism, in which the hero dies and becomes a martyr to his cause.
In stage 16 of the hero’s journey, the hero is master of the two worlds. As a respected and honored hero, he is master of both the common-day world of mortals and the adventure world of gods and heroes.
On a figurative level, the hero is the master of the world of heroism, and also the master of the world of mentorship – because in his final act, he will become an inspiring mentor to others and a legend for all times.
The final stage is freedom to live. In sacrificing himself willingly to his cause, the hero delivers a message to his people… the message of independence, courage, and self-determination. Ultimately, the hero’s story itself is the magic elixir – it is the symbol that inspires others to fight tyranny and live their lives freely and openly without fear.
CHAPTER TEN EXERCISES
1. Identify the world of the common day for Frodo in The Lord of the Rings.
2. Identify the call to adventure in Rocky.
3. Identify the refusal of the call in Star Wars.
4. Identify the supernatural aid in The Wizard of Oz.
5. Identify the crossing of the first threshold in Lawrence of Arabia.
6. Identify the belly of the whale in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
7. Identify the road of trials in The Lion King.
8. Identify the meeting with the goddess in The Elephant Man.
9. Identify the woman as the temptress stage in Basic Instinct.
10. Identify the atonement with the father in Pinocchio.
11. Identify the apotheosis in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
12. Identify the ultimate boon in Excalibur.
13. Identify the refusal of the return in Dances with Wolves.
14. Identify the magic flight in The Blues Brothers.
15. Identify the rescue from without in The Empire Strikes Back.
16. Identify the crossing of the return threshold in The Greatest Story Ever Told.
17. Identify the master of the two worlds stage in Return of the Jedi.
18. Identify the freedom to live in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
ADDRESSING THE HERO’S JOURNEY IN YOUR SCRIPT
1. Does your script incorporate a mythological three-act structure, in terms of a Departure, Initiation, and Return? If not, do you think that applying a mythological three-act structure to your story will strengthen your plot?
2. Even the most classical of heroes typically do not go through every stage of Campbell’s model. Nevertheless, construct an outline of your script in which your hero goes through every stage. Even though this will probably not be a usable outline, the exercise itself may help you realize the strongest and weakest points in your hero’s story, or at least give you some ideas for new directions or character developments in your script.
3. If you are writing a script with a female hero, try applying an outline based on Campbell’s model to your story, then compare it to an outline based on Murdock’s model described in the next chapter. Which outline best represents the heroine you’d like to portray?
STAGES OF THE HERO’S JOURNEY AT A GLANCE
STAGES
EXAMPLES FROM FILMS
The Call to Adventure
Emperor Marcus asking Maximus to democratize Rome
Refusal of the Call
Maximus refusing the emperor’s charge
Supernatural Aid
Wallace’s handkerchief / Maximus’ figurines
Crossing First Threshold
Wallace’s first battle
The Belly of the Whale
The coliseum for Maximus / The battlefield for Wallace
The Road of Trials
Maximus’ career as Gladiator / Wallace’s career as Warrior
Meeting with the Goddess
Maximus & Wallace encountering their deceased wives
Woman as the Temptress
Lucilla in Gladiator / Princess Isabelle in Braveheart
Atonement with the Father
Wallace becoming a rebel leader
Apotheosis
Wallace being betrayed and wounded at the Battle of Falkirk
The Ultimate Boon
Maximus & Wallace realizing their roles as liberator heroes
Refusal of the Return
Wallace refusing to rejoin with the nobles
The Magic Flight
Wallace agreeing to help the nobles
Rescue from Without
Wallace being captured and taken to London
Crossing Return Threshold
Maximus & Wallace martyring themselves willingly
Master of the Two Worlds
Wallace becoming an inspiring mentor to Robert the Bruce
Freedom to Live
Maximus & Wallace liberating their peoples
Chapter Eleven
THE HEROINE’S JOURNEY
Though the hero has had a thousand faces, his sex invariably has been the same… a male. But modern mythology reflects modern people. Film – as the modern showcase and generator of mythology – has provided many myths of the female hero. But in large part, the movie heroine typically has been just a female inserted into the traditionally male role of hero. The inversion of sex in the hero formula does not necessarily change the structure. When modern filmmakers attempt to cast female characters as heroes, they typically give them the traditional male heroic qualities. “Girl-power Movies” such as Charlie’s Angels (2000), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), and Kill Bill (2003) embody the notion that simply casting a sexy girl in the hero’s role fulfills the function of the female hero. However, female strengths and male strengths are inherently different. Furthermore, the needs and desires of women are inherently different than the needs and desires of men.
In her book, The Heroine’s Journey (1990), Maureen Murdock reconfigures Joseph Campbell’s traditionally “androcentric” structure of the male hero’s myth, creating a mythic structure for heroines that addresses the particular needs, struggles, and desires of modern women in a modern age. The tremendously popular film Erin Brockovich (2000), will be used as a running example of the heroine’s journey. Just like the hero in Campbell’s paradigm, Erin (Julia Roberts) encounters and integrates different archetypes at each stage of her journey.
STAGE ONE: SEPARATION FROM THE FEMININE
The modern heroine’s journey begins with a rejection of traditional feminine values. The feminine stereotypes of weakness, dependence, sensitivity, and emotionality are perceived as being retrograde and demeaning. Erin’s struggle to find a job in the beginning of the film represents her need to leave behind her old life of being a housewife and stay-at-home mother. Rather than remaining dependent on her ex-husbands to support herself and her children, Erin decides to become self-supportive by achieving independence in the traditionally male realm of work in the outside world. Her need is increased when her caring and nurturing neighbor moves, leaving Erin without a babysitter. The babysitter’s departure represents Erin’s separation from the feminine. The babysitter is a traditional stay-at-home mother and housewife with no personal ambitions other than the raising and nurturing of children. Though Erin loves her kids, she also wants more out of life than playing out the traditional feminine roles that have been laid out for her. The first stage for Erin is a separation from the traditional archetype of Mother Goddess, exemplified physically by her maternal babysitter.
STAGE TWO: IDENTIFICATION WITH T
HE MASCULINE
After separating from the feminine archetype, the heroine must find a new mentor to guide her in the male dominated realm of work in the outside world. The new mentor must be a male, a function played by the traditional Wise Old Man archetype. The wise old man in Erin Brockovich is Ed (Albert Finney), the crusty old lawyer who gives Erin a job and initiates her into the realm of male competition… the field of legal combat.
STAGE THREE: THE ROAD OF TRIALS
Once initiated into the world of adventure, the heroine embarks on a road of trials much like the male hero’s. At this stage, Erin must encounter and integrate her Animus – the archetypal masculine strengths of determination, rational intellect, courage, and fortitude. By internalizing these strengths into her character, the heroine overcomes the consummate female weaknesses. Murdock delineated these female weaknesses as the following “false myths” historically applied to women: The Myth of Dependency, The Myth of Female Inferiority, and The Myth of Romantic Love. The tasks of debunking these myths are illustrated as the heroic acts of slaying different monster archetypes.
Psychology for Screenwriters Page 19
