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Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s JourneyThe 17 Stages of the MonomythThe Humanities derive a great deal of inspiration from various traditions of mythology and religion. Stories about the gods and goddesses from Greek and Roman cultures, China, India, Japan, and the Middle East, as well as Judeo-Christian accounts of Jesus and the saints and Islamic prophets are represented in all of the arts. For example, Bernini’s sculpture, Apollo and Daphne (p. 391), illustrates the artist’s interpretation of Daphne’s story. Cursed to reject love, Daphne spurns romantic overtures from the god, Apollo. Not one to be put off, Apollo decides to take what he cannot have, and tries to rape Daphne. Daphne calls to her father, Peneus, a minor river god, for help. To rescue his daughter, Peneus changes his daughter into a laurel tree (some would argue that may have been a tiny bit of overkill on Peneus’s part!). Bernini’s sculpture captures Daphne right at the moment of her transformation.A major and world-wide myth that connects all people, nations, nationalities, and religions is called the monomyth. Joseph Campbell, an American mythologist, coined the term “monomyth” to describe basic patterns in stories from around the world; another phrase for “monomyth” is the hero’s journey. Campbell maintained that these stories have elements in common, whether they are written in Romania or Rwanda, America or Afghanistan, China or Colombia. (Campbell also helped George Lucas create Star Wars: Episodes 4-6; he died before Lucas put together Star Wars: Episodes 1-3. A close examination of the two series reveal Campbell’s genius in the original trilogy.) The seventeen (17) stages of the hero’s journey fall under three main phases: Departure, Initiation, and Return.Phase 1 – DepartureStage 1 – The Call to Adventure: The hero begins in a mundane situation of normality from which some information is received that acts as a call to head off into the unknown.Jesus: The call in his story comes to Mary and JosephMatrix: Neo learns he is “the One”Star Wars: Luke finds R2D2’s “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi” hologramSpider-Man: Spider bites himKing Arthur: Pulls the sword from the stoneHarry Potter: Owl sent from Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft & WizardryStage 2 – Refusal of the Call: Often when the call is given, the future hero first 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.Jesus: Joseph is not immediately keen to accept this callingMatrix: Neo rejects the idea that he is “the One”Star Wars: Luke has to stay home and help on the moisture farmSpider-Man: Refuses to stop the burglarKing Arthur: At first he’s going to let Sir Kay claim to have pulled the sword from the stoneHarry Potter: Aunt & uncle (the Dursleys) try to refuse for him.Stage 3 – Supernatural Aid: Once the hero has committed to the quest, consciously or unconsciously, his guide and magical helper appears or becomes known. More often than not, this supernatural mentor will present the hero with one or more talismans or artifacts that will aid him later in his quest.Jesus: GodMatrix: Morpheus Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi Spider-Man: other scientistsKing Arthur: Merlin Harry Potter: Dumbledore, Hedwig, the professors at HogwartsStage 4 – Crossing the 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.Jesus: changes water into wine at wedding in CanaMatrix: Neo takes the red pillStar Wars: Leaves TatooineSpider-Man: Goes after the burglar who killed Uncle BenKing Arthur: He becomes kingHarry Potter: Gets through Platform 9 ?; takes the train to schoolStage 5 – Belly of the Whale: The belly of the whale represents the final separation from the hero's known world. By entering this stage, the person shows willingness to undergo a metamorphosis.Jesus: Baptized by JohnMatrix: Neo becomes aware and leaves the tank where he has been livingStar Wars: Into the Death Star and caught in the garbage crusherSpider-Man: Wrestler Spider-Man transforms into superhero Spider-Man King Arthur: creates Camelot and Knights of the Roundtable Harry Potter: Goblet of FirePhase 2 – InitiationStage 6 – 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.Jesus: travels, preaching, recruiting disciplesMatrix: Various adventuresStar Wars: The Empire Strikes BackSpider-Man: clashes with various enemiesKing Arthur: problems with Guinevere, knightsHarry Potter: Attends boarding school for seven yearsStage 7 – Meeting with the Goddess: This is the point 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. 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.Jesus: Meets Mary MagdaleneMatrix: Neo meets the OracleStar Wars: Yoda Spider-Man: Mary Jane WatsonKing Arthur: Lady of the Lake.Harry Potter: Mother’s “ghost” helps him escape Goblet of Fire.Stage 8 – Opposite Sex as Tempter/Temptress: In this step, the hero faces those temptations, often of a physical or pleasurable nature, that may lead him or her to abandon or stray from his or her quest. 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.Jesus: SatanMatrix: In second movie, Neo chooses Trinity over the worldStar Wars: Warring feelings about Princess LeiaSpider-Man: Rejects Mary JaneKing Arthur: Morgan le FeyHarry Potter: Romantic interests distract him in Goblet of FireStage 9 – 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 into 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 male; just someone or something with incredible power.Jesus: Gives in to God concerning the crucifixionMatrix: Neo’s relationship with mentor Morpheus changesStar Wars: Luke has a good conversation with Ben’s ghost (also gets his father [Darth Vader] to turn against Emperor.)Spider-Man: reconciles with Uncle Ben through Aunt MayKing Arthur: kills his son, MordredHarry Potter: Learns Sirius is not a villainStage 10 – Apotheosis: 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. 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.Jesus: dies in order to be resurrectedMatrix: Neo diesStar Wars: Luke becomes a JediSpider-Man: overcomes his personal problemsKing Arthur: after death, goes to AvalonHarry Potter: chooses to let Voldemort kill himStage 11 – The Ultimate Boon: Eventually through the many trials, the goal of the journey is achieved. This is the ultimate boon. The boon may be finally gained after a battle with the ultimate villain or a particularly difficult last trial.Jesus: dies to save humankind, resurrectsMatrix: Neo stops the warStar Wars: Luke gain skills at DagobaKing Arthur: Holy GrailSpider-Man: continues as a superheroHarry Potter: Gathering horcruxPhase 3 – ReturnStage 12 – Refusal of the Return: Having found bliss and enlightenment in the other world, the hero may not want to return to the ordinary world to bestow the boon onto his fellow man.Jesus: Jesus waits 3 days to returnMatrix: Neo chooses to stay with the machines instead of returning to ZionStar Wars: Luke wants to stay on EndorKing Arthur: Arthur wants to stay in the SummerlandHarry Potter: Harry is tempted to stay in “limbo”Stage 13 – 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.Jesus: disciples don’t believe he has been resurrectedMatrix: Zion is savedStar Wars: Yoda tells Luke not to leave DagobaKing Arthur: Arthur must battle other knightsHarry Potter: Battle of HogwartsStage 14 – Rescue from Without: Just as the hero may need guides and assistants to set out on the quest, oftentimes 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.Jesus: the women discover his empty tomb; talks to Mary MagdaleneStar Wars: Han rescues Luke from Death StarHarry Potter: Rescued by Neville Longbottom and Aberforth DumbledoreStage 15 – 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.Jesus: stays with disciples for 40 daysStar Wars: Luke must accept the reality that Darth Vader is his dadHarry Potter: fights in Battle of HogwartsStage 16 – Master of Two Worlds: This step is usually represented by a transcendental hero like Jesus or Gautama 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.Jesus: Otherworldly, hard to recognize, “glorified” bodyStar Wars: Luke is mystic-seeming in Return of the JediMatrix: Neo makes machines stop in real worldSpider-Man: balances his life as a “regular guy” and as a superheroHarry Potter: learns hard truths; destroys elder wandStage 17 – 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.Jesus: Has brought redemption for humankindStar Wars: Luke redeems his father, who beats the EmperorMatrix: Zion is savedKing Arthur: creates “perfect” societyHarry Potter: Voldemort is killedNot all the stages of the “Hero’s Journey” are present in every story, and some stories may change the order slightly, but the phases outlined above are considered to be comprehensive.We have looked at the stages of the hero according to Joseph Campbell. So what does the hero look like today? Today’s heroes mostly come from the people we see in the media – movie and sports stars, entertainers, and politicians (you may know others). In addition, today’s hero has undergone some changes; we no longer accept only the classical hero such as Heracles (Hercules). Below are some current adaptations of the hero:hero as warrior – Odysseus (Ulysses), Heracles (Hercules), John McClane (Die Hard movies)hero as lover – Prince Charming, James Bondhero as scapegoat – Jesus, Joan of Arctranscendent hero – Oedipus, Hamletromantic/gothic hero (hero with a dark side) – Hellboy, Frank Castle (The Punisher), Elektra, Batmanproto-feminist hero – Charlie’s Angels, Samantha Caine (The Long Kiss Goodnight), Selene (Underworld series), Black Widow (The Avengers)apocalyptic hero (faces destruction of society) – Neo (Matrix movies), Eli (The Book of Eli)anti-hero (a non-hero, given the vocation of failure) – Homer Simpson, the Coyote (Looney Tunes)defiant anti-hero (opposes society’s definition of heroism/goodness) – James Dean, Tupac Shakur, Lenny Bruce, The Comedian (Watchmen)unbalanced hero (has/pretends to have mental/emotional deficiencies) – R.P. McMurphy (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), Rorschach (Watchmen)wounded hero (wound brought on by heroism) – veterans of war dealing with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)super-hero – Superman, Spider-ManThe monomyth is illustrated in thousands of diverse stories such as: the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, which has the first recorded flood story; The Odyssey by the Greek author, Homer; the story of Jesus (and David, and Enoch, and Ruth . . .) in the bible; the English King Arthur legend; the Norse myth of Beowulf, Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Collins’s The Hunger Games trilogy, Martin’s Game of Thrones epic . . . I could go on and on! What other works of art can you think of that follow Campbell’s monomyth? ................
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