Unit Two -- The Hero's Journey
In his seminal work, The Hero With A Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell showed that there is a
single archetype for all myths; a single hero and a single journey pattern which emerges in many
different versions from many different cultures. As Campbell observed:
"It will always be the one, shape-shifting yet marvelously constant story that we find,
together with a challengingly persistent suggestion of more remaining to be experienced than will ever
be known or told."
In this unit we will study Campbell's hero's journey pattern. Our study will include the popular
films Star Wars and The Matrix as modern examples of the hero's journey, and Luke
Skywalker and Neo as modern heroes. How does the hero's journey define what makes a hero?
How do these films address the journey pattern as defined by Campbell? How do the film's heroes meet
the challenges of the quest?
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ARTHUR IN BATTLE, from a 14th-century French manuscript. Arthur emerged in the chronicles
of Britian as a dux bellorum, or "war leader," rather than as an actual king. The chronicles
protray him as a valiant warrior who, with his noble followers, fought to preserve the remnants of
the crumbling Roman Empire from the onslaught of invading barbarian tribes.
Click on image for a larger version.
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