Sunday, September 19, 2010
The Hero's Journey: Books & Films
The Hero's Journey (as discussed in class 9/20) serves as the backdrop for many great novels and films. Choose a film or book other than those required by the course or discussed in class as part of the lecture, and outline the three steps of the hero's journey as reflected in that film or book (You don't need to discuss ALL the substeps, just one or two of them). Also, post a link to the IMDB page for the movie or a B&N link for the book in case your classmates want to check it out. Write at least one well-developed paragraph with strong concrete details and commentary sentences. Be sure to proofread. Post by 3:15pm on 9/21.
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The movie The Blind Side follows the Hero’s Journey. In The Blind Side, Michael Oher was forced to leave his family behind even though he didn’t want to. After leaving his family, Michael becomes homeless and poor. While seeing how bad Michael was doing, Leigh Anne, Sean, and her two kids Sean Jr., and Collins Tuohy decide to adopt him. Michael has always loved football so he decided to play on his school’s football team. The school sees that his grades are not very good, so they tell him that he cannot play on the team unless he pulls them up. After working very hard on his academics, Michael pulls up his grades and gets to play on the team. Michael has this situation where he does not want to hurt people, so during his practice, Leigh Anne tries to help him. She tells him that his team is like his family and he needs to protect them. After hearing this advice, Michael does very well in the rest of his practices and games. He was so good that many colleges asked him to play for them. Out of all of the colleges, he picks Ole Miss because that is Leigh Anne and Sean’s alma mater. After finishing his great college years of playing football, he gets drafted by the NFL team the Baltimore Ravens and becomes one of the best football players ever.
ReplyDeleteAlexa - C
The movie The Blind Side follows the Hero’s Journey. In The Blind Side, Michael Oher was forced to leave his family behind even though he didn’t want to. After leaving his family, Michael becomes homeless and poor. While seeing how bad Michael was doing, Leigh Anne, Sean, and her two kids Sean Jr., and Collins Tuohy decide to adopt him. Michael has always loved football so he decided to play on his school’s football team. The school sees that his grades are not very good, so they tell him that he cannot play on the team unless he pulls them up. After working very hard on his academics, Michael pulls up his grades and gets to play on the team. Michael has this situation where he does not want to hurt people, so during his practice, Leigh Anne tries to help him. She tells him that his team is like his family and he needs to protect them. After hearing this advice, Michael does very well in the rest of his practices and games. He was so good that many colleges asked him to play for them. Out of all of the colleges, he picks Ole Miss because that is Leigh Anne and Sean’s alma mater. After finishing his great college years of playing football, he gets drafted by the NFL team the Baltimore Ravens and becomes one of the best football players ever.
ReplyDeleteAlexa – C
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0878804/
In The Hunger Games the protagonist, Katniss, follows the Hero’s journey very well. She is given the call to adventure when her sister is chosen for the Hunger Games and decides that she should take her place in the games. Her first threshold is when she goes to the Capitol and starts her training for the games. At first she thinks that she is going to fail and makes many mistakes in the ranking process. In the end it is these mistakes that make give her a lot of confidence and gives her a great ranking. The Initiation/fulfillment is structured upon the road of trials and the Ultimate Boon. The Road of Trials is her time in the actual time in the Hunger Games. She goes through many trials including having to kill multiple other children, having to hunt for food, and to find water to drink. The ultimate boon in The Hunger Games is when Katniss and Peta both survive the games and can return home to district 12. The return is mostly the master of two worlds. She realizes that she will never become the same person who she was before the book, and that she will have to live with the pain and suffering that she had to go through in the book. This allows Katniss to have the Freedom to live. Overall, Katniss follows the Hero’s Journey very closely.
ReplyDeleteJack Stern - D
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Hunger-Games/Suzanne-Collins/e/9780439023528/?itm=1&USRI=the+hunger+games+(hunger+games+series+%231)
In the movie Braveheart, William Wallace fulfills the hero's journey. William Wallace faces a call to adventure when it is clear that Scotland is capable of creating and running their own government, ultimately becoming free. The main reason they believed/wanted to believe that is because while under the British rule, the whole entire Scottish nation was miserable. The initiation/fulfillment part of the hero's journey that William Wallace fulfills is the meeting the goddess. The main reason that William Wallace goes on is to avenge his wife's unfair and brutal death. The return part of William Wallace's hero's journey is the freedom to live. Although William Wallace dies during the fulfillment of his quest, his lesson was still brought on to the rest of the society of Scotland. Ultimately, his lesson brought freedom to Scotland. I believe his lesson taught to the society was to fight for what is right.
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Batman is a great example of the three steps of a hero’s journey. Batman is called to be a hero when his parents are murdered right in front of him. Bruce Wayne or Batman is a party animal before he becomes Batman; this is a great example of the Whale’s Belly. Wayne is thrust into his father shoes and asked to fulfill his duties to the city of Gotham. This is a tough task at first but when he finds his alter-ego he feels that he has carried out his obligations. Batman eventually does need someone to be his hero; this person is his Alfred his butler. Alfred is always waiting for Batman after his struggles with the scum of Gotham. These examples are perfect steps of a hero’s journey.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Casey-D
A great example of a hero’s journey is the story of Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Katniss’ departure would be when she volunteers for her little sister Prim to be the girl tribute from district 12 for the Hunger Games. Volunteering for Prim gets her into the Whale’s Belly because she really has no idea what she’s doing. The initiation would be when she enters the games. The road of trials would have to be the murders Katniss had to commit in order to stay in the games and not knowing where Peeta was. You can compare Katniss finding Peeta to the meeting the goddess component of the initiation. The magic flight would be when Katniss finally defeats Kato and has to threaten to eat poisonous berries in order for her and Peeta to survive. After the games Katniss is free to travel back to district 12 and live a temporary life of riches.
ReplyDeleteWalter-C
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Road Warior is a film which uses the Hero’s Journey as a backdrop for theme of the story. The story takes place in the desert somewhere, where oil or black gold is very scarce for individuals in the area. Mad Max, the main character in the film, roams the terrain in pursuit of oil. During his wandering Max comes across a man and woman who were beaten by rivaling competitors for the precious oil so that they can flee to the western coast. The woman died and man, however led Max to his village wherein they strike for oil; this is the departure of the Max’s story. Once he and the man arrive at the small community, they refuse to let Max leave unless he retrieves enough oil for their cars and busses to get to the coast. Sure enough, Max retrieves the oil and gets back in time, but as soon as he was to leave, he decides to stay and help drive the diversion truck, for he is the only one with the ability to out drive the other competitors for oil, this is the fulfillment part of the movie, he bonded with the people enough for him to assist them. Max successfully completes his role with the diversion, he then had to make the decision to stay or go with the people to the coast, this is the return and since he stayed and went back to his normal doing this was the refusal. Road Warrior is a film that successfully portraits a film having followed the Hero’s Journey.
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William Uhalt- C
In Clash of the Titans Perseus the main character in the movie did complete the three steps of the journey. An example of him completing the first step, departure is when he finds out his real father Zeus and how he was inspired to kill the kraken to get revenge on Hades. For step 2 the initiation, Perseus chopped off Medusa’s head to kill the kraken with. For step 3 the return, Perseus rode his flying horse back to Argos and killed the kraken and sent Hades back into the underworld forever. The examples I gave for the three steps were not the most important or only examples I could have done but I think that they explained the 3 steps very well.
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Kevin Steiner - E
In the book Runner by Carl Deuker, the main character Chance Taylor goes on the Hero’s Journey. In the Departure part of his Hero’s Journey Chance’s Call to Adventure was when he was sick and tired of living his poor lifestyle in a wobbly boat. His First Threshold though, was when he was offered a job to get mysterious packages from a tree and put them in the boat owner’s locker room. During his Initiation and Fulfillment his Road of Trials was the great sum of money he got for putting the packages in the locker room. Chance’s Ultimate Boon was when he realized he was smuggling drugs and bombs for terrorists into the country and put a stop to it (with serious consequences). In his Return, the Crossing or Return Threshold was trying to live his old life with his father, to trying to live his live without his father. His Freedom to Live though, was when he joined the army because that was what his father did. Chance Taylor goes on the Hero’s Journey in Runner by Carl Deuker.
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David-E
The Hero's Journey serves as a backdrop for Blind Side the film. Leigh Ann Tuohy is the hero in the Blind Side. An example of departure is when she found Michael on the side of the road and told him that he was going to spend the night at their house. The whale’s belly or the scary part of the movie would be when Michael left. When Mrs. Tuohy found Michael it was loving and sad which would be initiation as the Meeting the goddess. Furthermore, the road of trials could be when Mrs. Tuohy tried to get Michael to feel at home and comfortable. In addition to departure and initiation there also is return. Mrs. Tuohy had second thoughts if she did the right thing by letting Michael live with them but in the end she knew she did the right thing. When Michael went to college Mrs. Tuohy had a hard time leaving him and tried not to show emotion. Overall, Mrs. Tuohy was the bigger person in the movie by taking in what was at first a stranger but then became part of the family.
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Brittany- E
The movie Blindside follows the Hero's Journey. The Hero's Journey includes the departure, fulfillment, and return. In the Blindside Michael Ore lives a terrible life on the streets, while the Thouey family is very wealthy. In the movie, the Thuoey family sees Michael walking in the rain and takes him back to their house. This is the call of adventure and the super natural aid. The whale's belly was when he walked into their home and discovered a new way of living. The woman as temptress was when he left their home after over hearing Ms. Thuoey talking on the phone about him. When he talked to Ms. Thuoey and sorted thing out, that was the atonement with the father. The master of two worlds was when Michael Ore realized the difference between his old life and his new life. These are just a few of the ways that the movie, Blindside, follows the Hero's Journey.
ReplyDeleteBlakely Rippner - C
One example of the steps of heroes’ journey is Spiderman. At first Peter Parker (Spiderman) does not want to be a superhero and just wants to be normal. He has supernatural powers, he can climb walls and shoot webs. But he realizes after his grandfather gets shot that he has to do something about it. Peter tries to make some money and get a car, so he does a wrestling competition, he wins. Along his journey of beating up criminals and becoming New York City’s hero, he realizes he has changed a lot during this time. This is the whale’s belly. Spiderman also comes across his father’s murderer. Mary Jane is his lover/goddess that will always have faith in him. Peter Parker also has to defeat the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, and his evil side. Spiderman is a great example of the steps of heroes journey.
ReplyDeleteIn the Hangover there are three heroes Stew, Alan, and Phil. In the departure they plan a bachelor party in Las Vegas for their buddy Doug, who is about to be married. Their first threshold is when leave the suburbs and end up in Vegas. All is well until the next morning. Alan, Stew, and Phil all wake up and find that they can't remember a thing from what they did the night of the bachelor party and they have no idea where Doug is. This is when they are in the whales belly. As they go looking for Doug they have to overcome a huge road of trials. A few examples of these obstacles were when they me Mike Tyson and had to drive his tiger from his hotel room back to Mike Tyson's house. Next, they find that they had stolen a police car. Finally, they find out that they had ripped off "Mr. Chow" who was trying to get them back for it. The Atonement with father is when they start to think they can't get Doug back because he might be dead. They have reason to believe this because Las Vegas is a very dangerous place. However, they keep moving and finally find Doug on the top of the roof of the hotel. In the return home they cross back over the threshold into the suburbs with Doug. They are able to control that part of them that is still in Vegas but also control their normal live in the suburbs. The Hangover is a pretty good example of the heroes journey and this blog post shows how it played out.
ReplyDeleteWill Milvid-G
For many years almost all books and films have followed the Hero’s Journey created by Joseph Campbell. The Hero’s Journey consists of three main parts which are then divided into smaller parts. The three main parts are departure, initiation and fulfillment, and return. One book that I believe does a great job of following the Hero’s journey is The Hunger Games. At the beginning of the book Katniss does not want to participate in the Hunger Games, but she is forced to when she realizes she doesn’t want her sister to be in danger. On her way for the Games she learns many unique skills and gains allies she will need to win the Games. The problem is she falls in love with her partner Peeta and this becomes a distraction for her. At the end of the book, after all the death and destructions she’s seen and the secrets she learns, Katniss has trouble adapting back to her life. The Hunger Games as well as most books and films follow the Hero’s Journey. The Hero’s Journey is greatly used because it provides a very round plot.
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In the “Hangover” the Hero’s Journey was demonstrated. First of all the departure was everyone leaving and going to Las Vegas. The call to adventure was the bachelor party. The whales belly was waking up the next morning with the room trashed and Doug gone. For fulfillment the roads of trails would be losing Doug. The Woman as temptress would be Jade the striper that Stu married. For return the refusal would be Stu wanting to stay with Jade. Finally rescue from without would be the van coming with the tuxedos. Furthermore that is why the “Hangover” demonstrates the Hero’s Journey.
ReplyDeleteWyatt - E
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The movie, Percy Quinn and the Olympians: Lightning Thief follows Hero’s Journey in many ways. For example, Percy Quinn, who can be considered a main character, got called out in class one day by his teacher. When his class went on a school field trip a museum about the Greek Gods and Goddesses, Percy asked his teacher what they needed to talk about. It turns out that she was a friend of Hades, the God of the underworld. His other teacher that went on the trip had to tell him that she was out to get him. It also turned out to be that his best friend was a guardian of Percy and was a friend of the other teacher. At first Percy refused to go and train to defeat Hades. But once he got encouragement from his mother, he decided to go to the training camp. His mother also told him that his father was Poseidon, meaning he had a blood relation. When he gets to the training camp, he meets a girl that is very advanced and has never left the camp. She, his best friend and he set out to find the Zeus’s stolen lightning bolt. On the way, they run into Medusa, giant creatures, a casino which contains food that makes them stay and gamble, etc. As the story goes on, Percy and the girl, Annabeth, become closer and closer friends, soon becoming girlfriend and boyfriend. Later on, the three discover that one of the other boys at the camp, the one that gave Percy and his friends’ weapons to continue on, had hid the lightning bolt the shield that Percy obtained. After figuring this out, they return the stolen lightning bolt to Zeus, who allows Percy to meet his original father. The three did not want to go back to life they were living, in the end they did though. Overall, I think Percy Quinn and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief would be a great example of Hero’s Journey.
ReplyDeleteSarah - E
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In the movie Legally Blonde, the Hero’s Journey clearly serves as the back drop to the film. Elle Woods a spunky, blonde with lots of ambition gets dumped by her beloved boyfriend Warner, because he claims she is not smart enough for him. The departure portion of the film is when she decides to go to Harvard Law School, which is the same school Warner is going to. She does this so she can show Warner that she is smart and that they should be together. To get into the law school her friends help her get good scores on the l-sat and the male professors reviewing her film application surprising liked her enthusiasm. This shows that she has supernatural aid, and things just happen to fall in place for her while she is trying to get into the school. Then she crosses the first threshold by going to her first class, she is unprepared for this new and unknown world and is rudely ordered to leave class by the professor, and to come back only when she is prepared to learn. The part of the film that is the initiation or fulfillment is when she is bullied by many students because they see her as a dumb blonde; these pessimistic people are part of the road of trails. In other words they are the obstacles in her way of being a successful student at Harvard and proving to Warner she is smart. Then an internship opportunity arises and she is chosen for an intense court case. This could be her big break and she feels on top of the world right now, this part of the movie is the apotheosis. Next the Return portion of the film starts when she is being very successful in the internship, but then the male professor that chose her for the internship hits on her and tells her he picked her because he was physically attracted to her. Elle gets very upset by this and almost quits the case; this part is the magic flight. But then the defendant, one of her good friends, fires the professor from the case and hires Elle as her attorney, and she is able to win the case for her defendant. This is the rescue from without because her friend, the defendant, helped her gain her confidence back by hiring her instead of the scumbag professor, who hit on her. In the end she realizes she does not want to be with Warner anyways. I think with my examples of these moments during the film, it is very clear that in Legally Blonde, Elle Woods is the hero and she goes through all three stages of the Hero’s Journey; the departure, the initiation/ fulfillment, and the return.
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Sasha-G
I think that the movie, Shrek, has the Hero’s Journey backdrop in the movie’s plot. Shrek is sent to rescue Princess Fiona by Lord Farquaad. At first, Shrek does not want to accept this challenge, but when Farquaad offers to give him his swamp back if he rescues her for him he decides to accept the quest. The first threshold is when Shrek and Donkey arrive in Duloc and Shrek fights the knights in order to rescue Fiona. At that time, they had no idea what adventure they would have to endure. Shrek does not like Fiona at first but then becomes accustomed to her. Donkey represents the Meeting of the Goddess step in the journey because he tries to cheer up Shrek throughout the adventure. Donkey has faith that they can get back to Duloc to return Fiona. Farquaad represents the Atonement with the Father step in the journey because he does not think an ogre can complete this task. But eventually, Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona return. Shrek falls in love with Fiona and learns that she is cursed. The curse is that Fiona turns into an ogre at sunset every night, true loves first kiss fixes her. Since Shrek became accustomed to Fiona, he does not want to leave her and be alone at the swamp. Shrek then stops the wedding between Farquaad and Fiona and Shrek marries her himself. Shrek becomes more good-natured from then on and tries to live a happier life with Donkey and Fiona at the swamp.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0126029/- James Gibert, E Block
In the movie The Hangover, the three steps of the Hero's Journey was shown. The departure was when Doug, Allen, Stu, and Phil all left for Las Vegas because they wanted to celebrate a bachelor party. The Initiation fulfillment was Doug was about to get married, so he wanted to take his best friends on a final trip before getting married. The final step, the return was that Allen, Phil, and Stu managed to find Doug for the rescue from without.
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Ido Caspi-G
In the movie Troy Achilles was the greatest warrior of the time. The call of action is he was called by Greece to take over Troy. He does not want to go though because he believes the war is just for the king’s pride. He then decides to go. His round of trials is that he goes to Troy and takes the beaches. He is also forced to fight smaller battles. Then he is forced into the belly of the whale when he fights with the king and stops fighting. This example of fulfillment of initiation is his cousin dies and this forces him to go back to the fight and kill Hector. This gives him support he needs to save Greece. His return is that he dies but his legacy keeps Greece fighting and they later win the war
ReplyDeleteBen-D
I watched the movie Freedom Writers. It is a triumphant story of a heroic English teacher who takes on the responsibility of teaching inner city teens the basics of learning English. She also teaches them what it is like to love, to care and to strive to succeed. On her first day of teaching she is overwhelmed at how uneducated her students are. She is excited to take on the challenge but she is also a little bit scared. I think her first metamorphosis is when she is hosting her class’s parent’s night and all of the parents fail to show up. Instead of sulking, she decides to read her student’s journals. This is when she finally realizes how difficult the lives of her students are. She goes through much trial and tribulation to capture the minds of her students finally succeeding. As soon as everything is beginning to go well, her husband divorces her because she is more dedicated to her students than her marriage. She gets back on her feet and decides to take on a second job as a saleswoman so she can afford to do certain activities in her class that aren’t funded by the school. This is when she is haunted by the fact that the students she has been teaching will be graduating to a higher level English class next year. She decides to go to the head of the school board and ask him to let her teach her students in the years to come. To my surprise, the school board changes the rules so she can teach her students for the next two years. Finally, she is free to teach her students and they are free to learn.
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Gabrielle C
In the movie Toy Story 3, The Hero’s Journey was clearly laid out. The departure in the movie was when the toys left Andy’s house to go to Sunnyside day care. Their call to adventure was when they thought Andy didn’t want them anymore because he put them in a garbage bag when really; they were going to the attic. The first threshold was when the toys arrived at the Sunnyside Day Care and were introduced to the new toys and surroundings. The initiation was when they arrived at Sunnyside to start their new lives. The road of trials was when they were put into the toddler section where they weren’t handled with care, and when they met the evil bear and his mean friends. The meeting of the goddess was when Woody met the telephone in the toddlers section that wanted to help them escape and gave them a way out. The return from the journey was when the toys realized that they had a much better life at Andy’s and tried to go home. The magic flight was when the bears, ken, the baby, and the other evil toys were blocking the exit to hold them as prisoners. And the master of two worlds was when they were given to the little girl who appreciated the toys like Andy did and the toys appreciated her love after experiencing their harsh journey.
ReplyDeleteRiley-E
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In the movie Shrek, the main character Shrek could be called a hero and like all heroes he goes on a great adventure that includes the three signature aspects of a hero’s journey the departure, fulfillment and return. As a result of all fairytale creatures being sent to live on Shrek’s property, he ventures to the Lord Farquaad’s palace and asks to get his own house back. Lord Farquaad makes an ultimatum with Shrek; he tells Shrek that he can have his place back to himself if he goes and retrieves Princess Fiona for him. Adventure calls but Shrek, hesitant and argumentative at first, accepts this journey with the help of a supernatural talking donkey by his side. The ogre Shrek comes to a point of no return (also known as the “Whales belly”) when he ventures very far from his home in the swamp and reaches the castle guarded by a fire breathing dragon. Shrek and Donkey, after a road of trials and errors, achieves the goal of defeating the dragon and rescuing Princess Fiona from the castle. At the point of fulfillment and after what you can call the “Ultimate Boon” in Shrek’s story, he is surprised when the Princess is supposed to court her savior Shrek. Now, Shrek must return to Lord Farquaad himself and bring back Fiona. Shrek does not specifically refuse to return but Princess Fiona is reluctant because she wants the man she will love to be the one to save her. But ironically, Shrek begins to fall in love with Princess Fiona on their return. Shrek, a master of two worlds must choose between getting his home back and returning the princess to the awful Lord Farquaad who wants to marry her like he first agreed to do or living his heroic life as it is with Fiona. After deciding to bring Fiona too her fiancé, Shrek notices that Fiona loved him and so he rebelliously interrupts Fiona’s and Lord Farquaad’s wedding to tell Fiona how he really feels. Fiona and Shrek then acquire the freedom to live happily and ever after.
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Caroline – C
The Hero’s Journey theory obviously serves as the backdrop for the book Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief. In the beginning of the book, Percy Jackson is asked to retrieve the lightning bolt of Zeus; which is an example of a call to adventure. For a brief moment, he considers refusing the call to adventure because he thinks that he is unfit to complete this task, but he eventually accepts the task. As his supernatural aid, he is given a sword disguised as a pen and will use it frequently for the rest of the series. The rest of the book is mostly the stage of the road of travels; where Percy goes through a series of obstacles with his friends Annabeth and Grover in order to find the lightning bolt. After he succeeds in solving the problem, Percy becomes a master of two worlds when he decides to go home with his mother for the school year and will return to Camp Half Blood, a camp for children of Greek gods, during the summer. At the end of the book, Percy is free to live at home without his hated stepfather and knowing that he is the son of Poseidon.
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Sarauniya-C
A good example of the Hero's Journey is in the book The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. The first part of the Hero's Journey is the departure. When Gandalf asked him to come on the journey, Bilbo initially declined the offer. But after dwelling on it for a bit, he decided that it would be an exciting adventure and he joined the dwarves on their quest. The next part of the Hero's Journey is the fulfillment. Bilbo had many encounters with danger, including an altercation with a group of giant spiders. Another part of his fulfillment is his desire to return home again. Even in his darkest times, this thought always kept him going. Also, the Ultimate Boon is the gold inside of the dragon's lair. The last part of the Hero's Journey is the return. After Bilbo and the dwarves get the gold and kill the dragon, Bilbo returned home. Once home, Bilbo realized that what he really wanted out of this journey was not gold and riches, but an escape from his boring life in the Shire. He yearned for adventure. These are all reasons why The Hobbit is a great example of the Hero's Journey.
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Twomey-G
The movie Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a great example of a hero’s journey. In the movie, Percy Jackson discovers he is the son of Poseidon, the god of the sea. He departed from his home to go to Camp Half Blood, a camp for kids who have one god as a parent and one mortal. When he first arrives at Camp Half Blood, Percy finds his best friend Grover, who he thought was disabled, is a satyr sent down from Mount Olympus to help him in his journey. Along with the help of his friends Percy is to go to Hades, the god of the underworld, and prove Hades did not steal Zeus’s thunderbolt. Towards the end of the story Percy is fulfilled to find his mom alive and that he saved the world from the biggest battle of the gods. He then returns back to his home with his long lost dad and his mom knowing that he achieved balance in both worlds.
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Haley-c
In The Blind Side, Leigh Anne Tuohy was known as the hero of the movie. In the beginning, Leigh Anne notices that her son, S.J., made a new friend named Michael Oher. The next day S.J. had a school play and after the play they were in the car and they saw Michael walking up the street. Leigh Anne sees Michael and she asks him “Do have a place to stay tonight?” he nods his head saying yes. She goes back to him and says “Don’t you lie to me!” and he shakes his head no. So she decides to let him stay at her house for one night. That night she talks to her husband, Sean, saying if she made the wrong decision of letting Michael stay. For the next couple of days, Leigh Anne lets Michael stay and gets to know a lot more about him and his past. Later into the movie, the Tuohy’s decide to make Michael apart of their family and he thought that he already was a part of the family. Above all, Michael was honored to be a part of their family. The next couple of weeks Michael decided to play football for his school. With the love and support from his new family, he could be able to become a better football player and be a good brother to his siblings. Since Michael has been playing football, he has been getting many college offers from different schools around the United States. His family is alumni of Ole Miss, so he decided that he wanted to go there. When he chooses to go to Ole Miss, he has to go talk to a woman about how his life has been since he was living with the Tuohy’s. After he had the discussion with the woman, he thought, “Why are you doing this for me? Is it only because you want me to go where you wanted or do was it for me to do what you wanted?” He was so mad at Leigh Anne and ran off to where he used to live. The next day, Michael calls Leigh Anne saying that he needs her. When she finally came, she looked at Michael and knew that he was in trouble. Now that he has had that moment with his mother, he knows that he wants to go to Ole Miss because his family went there and he loves his family. When Michael left for college, she was going to miss him deeply. She will always remember that she has changed Michael’s life and Michael has changed hers too.
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Alisen- G
A movie that follows the Hero’s Journey is Transformers. In Transformers Sam Witwicky is the hero. In the beginning or as it is called the departure part Sam is confronted by the Autobots who are good robots from a different planet and is asked to help them find a special cube and save the world. At first he is a little hesitant, but after some convincing he accepts the challenge. During his quest he is offered aid from the Autobots, and ultimately enters the threshold when he steps into the car/robot named Bumblebee. In the next part known as the initiation/fulfillment section Sam and the Autobots start searching for the cube but are held back by the Decepticons who are the other robots who want to use the cube for evil. During this part Sam gets attached to a classmate named Mikaela who supports him through his journey. In the end, Sam finds and destroys the cube and saves the world. In the return section Sam does not want to give up Bumblebee, but learns he does not have to. The movie ends with Sam living his regular life but having bumblebee as his car and a memory of the past. Overall, Sam’s journey and this movie is a perfect example of the Hero’s Journey.
ReplyDeleteJenna-E
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0418279/
The “Hero’s Journey” is a term used to describe how the hero in a novel or film progresses through his adventure. The movie “Shrek” is a good example of this journey as seen in film. In the beginning of the movie, Shrek, a solitary ogre, is living in his swamp when a bunch of fairytale creatures suddenly move in. Shrek then goes to the king, Lord Farquad, to ask him to get rid of his invaders. Lord Farquad tells Shrek to rescue a princess for him if he wants his swamp back. This is Shrek’s Call to Adventure. After his meeting with Farquad, Shrek meets up with Donkey, who helps him through his Road of Trials to get to the princess. Once Shrek saves Princess Fiona (the Ultimate Boon), he has to fight the dragon that guards the tower. This is the Refusal of the return, because the dragon is his obstacle. As Shrek makes his return journey with the princess, he experiences Apotheosis when he realizes that he loves the princess. This makes Shrek decide to interrupt the wedding and marrying the princess instead of Lord Farquad marrying her. This act makes Shrek the master of the swamp and everything else, ultimately giving him the freedom to live his own life.
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Drew - D
In the movie Avatar, there are many good examples of the hero’s journey concept. For the departure section, Jake Sully gets off of the ship that he had just been on for the travel to Pandora and looks around. He sees a completely different world with many new machines and technologies that he had never even known existed. However, the fact that he was paralyzed in war and cannot walk holds him back from this journey. Jake goes into the Whale’s Belly when he enters the chamber that allows him to control his Avatar. When controlling his Avatar he realizes that he now has legs and can walk and run. The result of this is that he breaks out of the holding chamber sprints when outside. During the initiation part of the movie, Jake is brought down by Dr. Grace and Parker because they let him know that he was not the person that was supposed to be here and that he knows nothing about what he is getting into. Jake faces many obstacles during his journey like when he is attacked by the little, black demon-dogs the night he was separated from the group. However, Neytiri finds him and saves him. Neytiri is eventually the woman that Jake marries. Jake is taught and trained how to be an Avatar. However, the company that is overseeing the project wants to destroy the Avatar’s home to obtain a valuable rock. Jake realizes that this is not the right thing to do. He helps the Avatars battle their way through the fight with the humans. Jake and the Avatars eventually end up winning the war and the humans are forced to return to Earth and not have anything to do with Pandora. For the return part of Avatar, Jake realizes that he does not want to go back to his normal, human life. He decides to change into an Avatar for good and stay with the Avatar colony for his whole life, never returning to his human self.
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Zack Backstrom - D
The Host by Stephanie Meyer is a book that incorporated the Hero’s Journey in its story. Wanda, the name of the soul who inhabits Melanie Stryder’s body, is struggling to make a decision of whether to stay in contact with other fellow souls or go on her own way to the desert, where Melanie is directing her to go. Normally, the host of the body doesn’t have a voice and they slowly fade away, but Wanda seems to be one of the rare exceptions; Melanie’s thoughts are all still there and affecting some of her decisions. Wanda decides to run away to the desert, guided by Melanie, and she goes off on a journey to find Jared, her lover, and Melanie’s little brother. When Wanda finally arrives into her uncle, Jeb’s, secret hideout, where Jared and her brother are staying, all the residents there are reluctant to take Wanda in, thinking that she might be a spy trying to give up their location to the other souls. As the book progresses, Wanda is accepted more into the community and everybody loves her. The problem now is that Melanie is jealous that Wanda might be taking over more love from Jared and her little brother than she is, and Wanda feels as if Melanie is now a sister to her; They have grown to truly respect each other throughout the whole journey. Wanda has now come to the decision that she will leave Melanie’s body and asks to be buried right near their secret hideout, seeing as though that was the place that Wanda had ever felt like she belonged. Wanda is reluctant to because she has grown to love all the people that she has lived with for the past months, like Jared, but she finally comes to the decision to leave Melanie’s body. In the end, Wanda had woken up to find herself in another body of her own and the host wasn’t even there so she had gotten the best of both worlds, seeing as though she had given Melanie’s life back to her and she could come back as her own person to the people she loves the most. The Host was a wonderful example of a story using the Hero’s Journey backdrop.
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Julia-G
Shrek the movie followed the Hero’s Journey excellently. The Hero’s Journey has three categories which are Departure, Initiation, and Return. It followed Call of Adventure (Departure) because at the beginning of the movie, Shrek was asked to rescue Princess Fiona. It followed Refusal of the Call (Departure), when Shrek told Prince Charming that he did not want to go searching for Fiona. Furthermore, Shrek the movie follows Road of Trials (Initiation) when Shrek had to find Princess Fiona and defeat the Dragon. Lastly, the movie Shrek followed freedom to live (Return) when he got back to his swamp and was living a happy life with Fiona. Therefore, Shrek the movie followed the Hero’s Journey nicely.
ReplyDeleteKennedi Walker – E
http://www.imdb.com/find?s=all&q=shrek
The movie Shrek is a great example of a story that follows “the hero’s adventure.” At the beginning of the movie, Shrek’s swamp is intruded by many magical creatures that the king had put there. To get rid of them Shrek went to the king who told him he would move them if he went and retrieved Princess Fiona, who was trapped in a castle, to be married to the King. Shrek did not want to go, but then realized he had to if he wanted his swamp back. There are many obstacles on the way, such as meeting Donkey who annoyed Shrek very much, and then having to fight the dragon until he finally reached the princess. After completing his goal, Shrek only needed to get back but thing started getting bad again. The princess did not want to go with Shrek when she found out he was an ogre, and furthermore Shrek later finds out that the moonlight makes Princess Fiona turn into an ogre herself. Shrek begins to fall in love with Fiona but then she decides to go to the King herself and marry him. Shrek ends up interrupting the wedding and marrying Fiona himself for a happy ending.
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David Terral - G
A Movie that I enjoyed that follows the three steps of the Hero’s Journey is Disturbia. This was a brilliant film starring Shia LeBeouf, who plays the most important character, Kale, a typical teenager who becomes a hero after risking his life to stop a murderer. The first step of the Hero’s Journey is the departure. In the beginning of the movie, Kale was driving himself and his father home after a day of father son fishing. As they were driving, they were hit by a car which caused them to have a massive wreck, slaughtering Kale’s father. The next day at school, Kale’s Spanish teacher has the audacity to mock Kale’s father. Kale loses control of his temper and assaults his teacher, which eventually leads to three months of house arrest. This was his call to adventure, because he had to make almost a brand new life for himself without friends, school, or really getting a chance to get out of his own home. Kale makes off fine home alone at first. He just likes to watch television, eat junk food, and play Xbox live all day long. Things change when his mother cuts off his T.V. and internet. Kale becomes so bored, that not only does he build the ultimate tower of Twinkies, but he begins spying on the neighbors, this being his First Threshold, or the beginning of his journey. He soon becomes addicted to spying, especially on his one new attractive neighbor, Ashley. She finds out about his peeping and decides to come over one day. After many days of Ashley, Kale, and Kale’s best friend hanging out, they get into the Whale’s belly after discovering from much peeping that one of their neighbors is a cold-blooded serial killer. Before Kale could become a hero, at the beginning of the initiation, he had to persevere through a long road of trials. The killer suspects something and discovers that Kale and his friends are spying on him. He informs the police, and the police begin to keep a special eye on Kale. Nobody desires to believe a teenager on house arrest. Not only that, Kale also gets into a fight with Ashley who begins to get too freaked out to help Kale on his mission. The killer even has the nerve to become friends with Kales mother. Kale has atonement with his mother when she’s almost sure that his neighbor is a friendly man, and she is in denial of his disturbing hobby. Kale’s apotheosis happened through much spying, when he realized that the killer only preyed on red heads, such as his own mother. He could never put his mother in such danger so he, Ashley and Ronnie put themselves through much danger in order to try and save her, even if it means Kale’s house arrest ankle bracelet goes off. In the end, at the ultimate boon, Kale manages to take the life of the killer, and save his mother. His return threshold was when the police took him off of house arrest for “good behavior”. Kale then experienced the freedom (literally) to live. He could finally walk over 100 feet away from his home, he could go out into the real world for the first time since his father’s death, and he and Ashley ended up a couple. This movie was seriously a journey, and Kale was a very courageous and heroic character, deserving of his rewards.
ReplyDelete- Jamie Hawkins (E Block)
(Movie Link)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486822/plotsummary
Even though there are many movies that follow the scheme of the Hero’s Journey one especially stood out. Shrek in my opinion fits the Hero’s Journey the best. Shrek demonstrates departure when he refuses to go to get the princess. Although when donkey comes to his assistance he changes his mind and goes on the quest. Shrek not only demonstrates departure but also Fulfillment. This is shown when Shrek has to get to the top of the castle but the dragon is there. In order to get past the dragon his has to trap him. On his journey back form saving the princess exhibited return. Now that Shrek has retrieved the princess, he gets his swamp back. As a result of this rescue Shrek and Fiona fall in love. Now he has two different choices of life he can live. He can either live by himself (like before) or with Fiona. In conclusion Shrek definitely expresses the Hero’s Journey.
ReplyDeleteAshton- D
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0126029/
In the movie, Notorious by George Tillman Jr., Christopher Wallace lives a poor New York life. As a kid Christopher is a momma's boy but as he matures he starts to deal drugs and fight with his mother. Rapping was just a small thing for him to do when he got bored. His friend D-Roc soon gets arrested and his friends start to really recognize his rapping skills. He soon picks up the nickname Biggie Smalls. He then meets producer P-Diddy and becomes one of the greatest rappers to ever live. One night at a club in Los Angeles, Christopher is shot dead in his car at a red light. Biggie Small’s legacy still continues today. His call to adventure was when Christopher focused mainly on rapping rather than selling drugs on the streets. This was a new way to make money and he was very talented at rapping. Christopher’s apotheosis was when he figured out that we can’t change the world unless we change ourselves. After Christopher starts a family and has a daughter, he realizes that he cannot go back to his old life and needs be there for his wife and kid. This in my opinion is the refusal to return. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472198/
ReplyDelete- Elliot 8-C
The Hero's Journey serves as a backdrop for the movie Shrek. Wanting to keep his swamp Shrek ask Lord Faquaad to prevent other creatures from coming. The lord proposes to allow it if Shrek goes on a journey to find his princess. At first he declines, but then ultimately he comes around to do it. After arriving at the castle he must get around the dragon to reach the princess. After completing the task he must now escape the castle without being killed by the dragon once again. After an epic battle he is finally able to bring the princess back. After spending time with her he begins realizing he does not want to go back to the swamp alone, but with the princess. He then mistakingly thinks she does not like him he leaves her to marry the lord. Later, he realizes he needs her and goes to object the marriage. He then succeeds and they live happily ever after.
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Walt-E
The movie, Shrek, follows the Hero’s Journey, which means there is a departure, fulfillment, and a return. He is called on this adventure to capture Princess Fiona when Lord Farquaad puts all of his fairy tale creatures next to Shrek’s house. Lord Farquaad will not take the creatures away unless Shrek retrieves the princess, so even though he does not want to go on this journey he goes anyway because he wants the creatures off his property. This is the only way Lord Farquaad will do so because he wants to marry Princess Fiona. He ends up going and taking along a talking donkey with him. Once he gets started he realized it was a lot more work (Whale’s Belly). As soon as he gets to the castle he has a lot of road blocks to deal with like, crossing a tiny bridge with boiling hot lava surrounding them. Then a fire breathing dragon comes out of the castle blocking the way of Shrek and Donkey. They have to try to fight it and distract it so one of them can go get Princess Fiona. Their plan worked and they made it and got the princess from the top of the tower. All of a sudden when they have the princess the dragon comes back to try to get them away again but they manage to get out and they start on their long journey back home. What Shrek didn’t know is that Princess Fiona turns into an ogre at sunset. Around the time of sunset the princess demands shelter so Shrek and Donkey don’t find out. What she didn’t know was that Shrek saw her turn into an ogre. Finally they reach home where Shrek brings her to Lord Farquaad and demands the fairy tale creatures off of his land. In the end Shrek ends up marrying Princess Fiona because she turns into an ogre forever and they are able to live their lives happily and ever after.
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Charlotte Huger- G
In The Blind Side, Leigh Anne Tuohy takes in homeless boy, Michael Oher. She had no idea what she was getting herself into. At one point, in fact, she wasn’t even sure if she wanted Michael to stay in her house. It was hard for her to continue going with him and to continuously help him out. However, at one point, she realizes that everything that she has done was the right thing and she knew that what she was doing was right. She becomes a better person and realizes it. Helping Michael get into the NFL and into the school of both his and her dreams was difficult. She wasn’t sure if she was doing the right thing by almost forcing him and pressuring him into going to her school choice. Once Michael chooses his school, though, she realizes that, although he picked the school that she wanted him to, she would be happy no matter what he chose. She is happy, simply because he’s happy.
ReplyDeleteKatherine-E
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0878804/
In The Lighting Thief a boy named Percy Jackson has find Zeus's stolen lighting bolt and return it before the summer solstice or war would breakout. The departure is hard for Percy because he finds out that his father is Poseidon, the god of the sea. He has to leave his home and go to a safer place for kids like him called Camp Half-Blood. Later he is suspected of stealing Zeus's master lighting bolt and must find it before the summer solstice. On his journey there are many monsters that try to trick him, tempt him, and kill him. In the end he was tricked by a god and in the end had the lighting bolt for about half of his journey. He returns the bolt, makes peace with his father and returns to Camp Half-Blood. These were the steps to Percy Jackson's journey.
ReplyDeleteCora-D
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Lightning-Thief/Rick-Riordan/e/9781423131892/?itm=1&USRI=the+lightning+thief+percy+jackson+and+the+olympians
The hot tub time machine fits the hero’s journey very well. The call to adventure is when Lou tries to kill himself and brings the friends back together, and they go to “K-Val”. The supernatural help was the ability to fix their lives by going back in time. The fulfillment was once they were back in time trying to follow their past. Meeting the goddess was when Adam the main character tries to fix his relationship between his girlfriend (breaking the rules). The refusal is when Lou instead of going back to his crappy life stays in the past and fixes his friends lives out.
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---Ronnie-E
While the qualities of The Hero’s Journey can be found in nearly every book, The Hunger Games especially reflects nearly all of these traits. The call to adventure begins when Katniss’s sister, Prim, is called to be a tribute in the Games, where only one of twenty four children can survive. The relationship that these two share is so strong that Katniss feels as though she must risk her life by volunteering to take Prim’s spot in the Hunger Games. Since the Games is designed to be one huge road of trials for the competing tributes, Katniss faces constant struggles caused by both her fellow adversaries and the Gamemakers, who make sure that no part of the Hunger Games is easy. She must fight for her life every day, while trying to decide if she should team up with the other District 12 tribute, Peeta, or play for only herself. It seems as though the ultimate boon has been acquired when a rule change is made, and now her and Peeta can both make it out of the arena alive. It seems that all will go well, but then magic flight takes place. Although they are the last two tributes, the Gamemakers announce that upon a closer examination of the rule, only one of them can survive. The rescue form comes in the appearance of a thought from Katniss, in which she believes that if they both attempt killing themselves simultaneously, both will be allowed to live, and she is correct. After a trip to the Hunger Games and coming so close to death, Katniss is no longer afraid of something as trivial as death.
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Nathaniel- G
1. In the hangover , the night before they had a wild time in Vegas. Upon waking up , they could not find their friend Doug. Looking for Doug , they stumble across obstacles such as a baby. Not knowing who the baby belongs to , they bring the baby along with them. As time went on , they were afraid that they would not find Doug because he could have been dead. Stu then thinks and began to remember where Doug could be. They then find Doug. When finding though , they did not want to leave the city of Vegas .
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Kendall-G
Lots of movies and books portray the Hero’s Journey. Shrek is one of the more definite and obvious examples. In Shrek’s departure he is summoned by the king to find a princess trapped in a tower guarded by a dragon or he will never be free again. At first Shrek refuses the call but was eventually forced to. His supernatural aid is finding his new best friend a talking donkey named Donkey. Donkey helps Shrek along his adventure and throughout all of his trials. Shrek’s first threshold is when he has to rescue the princess from the tower that is guarded by the dragon. Shrek gets through the trial and ends up making friends with the dragon. Shrek then goes through many trials and tribulations to get back to the king and return the prince so that he can keep his freedom. Along the way, Shrek falls in love with the princess and realizes that he doesn’t want to give her up to the king. That’s Shrek’s refusal to his return. But eventually he has to face the facts that he has to battle the king to keep his women. He then is almost defeated but then his rescue from without is Donkey and his girlfriend the dragon. His return threshold is when he gains his freedom, keeps his woman and gets to go home. Now Shrek is finally free and has completed his journey. He can now get ready for his next Hero’s journey, Shrek 2!
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Jay Tyler
The Sword of Shannara, by Terry Brooks follows the hero’s journey. In his departure, Shea Ohmsford is forced to go on a journey to kill Brona, the evil Warlord, but he does not want to. He is forced to when he is attacked. In his initiation, he is attacked by skull bearers, or winged hunters. He gets to Skull Mountain after retrieving the sword of Shannara, and realizes that the sword has magical powers. He then finds and kills Brona with the sword. In his return, one of his friends dies to help him escape. After that, when he falls asleep in his camp, he wakes up near his home. He walks the rest of the way. He settles back into his house and lives a free life.
ReplyDeleteAli Rahman - D
The hero’s journey is shown in many movies and books but one movie that exhibits it well is Shrek. It shows this because he goes through the three main parts of a hero’s journey departure, fulfillment and return. Shrek is called to adventure by Lord Farquaad. At first he refuses the call but then he departs to retrieve Princess Fiona from a castle with his super natural friend, Donkey. The first threshold is when he has to defeat the dragon that was protecting the castle. Shrek then goes through other trials on his way back to return Princess Fiona to the king. His fulfillment is when he rescues the princess successfully. On his return he begins to fall in love with the princess and has a refusal to give her back to the king. He decides to give her to Lord Farquaad like he is supposed to though. He is almost defeated but then Donkey and his dragon come to save him. His final threshold is when he gets the princess back and gets to go live a happy life in his home. This means he has now earned his freedom and not be afraid to live.
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Cole- G
The hero’s journey is found in almost all stories but I am going to focus on the movie Saving Private Ryan and its unique story. Saving Private Ryan begins with the actual ending of the hero’s journey when it portrays how in the end Captain Miller gives Private Ryan the freedom to live and how he completed his journey to bring him home. Captain Miller’s call to adventure was the storming of the beach so after he finished his offensive his departure would be when he left Omaha beach on his mission to find Private Ryan. But his attempted refusal to go was when he could have stopped his fulfillment of his mission was when were thinking of leaving the mission after the death of their medic which is like woman as temptress in the hero’s journey and his fulfillment was when he made it to Ryan but the movie stops following the hero’s journey when the captain dies and the rest of the outline is filled by private Ryan’s departure from the battlefield.
ReplyDeleteJoshua Edwards-C
I think a good example of a hero’s journey was the movie 300. The hero would be King Leonitis. The departure is follows the list we wrote in class for the most part. The call to the adventure would be when the Persian messenger came to Sparta and informed everybody about the huge Persian army coming to take over. King Leonitis himself does not refuse the call but some people tell him not to go, mainly the wizard guys. Leonitis’s army did receive aid (from the other army they meet along the way), but it is not supernatural. After traveling a long distance his army finally reaches the whale’s belly, when they see how huge the other army really is. After Leonitis’s army speaks with a rich Persian guy he starts a road of trials, where they have to fight off different waves of enemy forces with different kinds of fighters in each wave. There is no female temptress in Leonitis’s journey; instead he is tempted by God King Xerxes. Xerxes says that is they stop fighting Leonitis will be promoted to a higher military position. After fighting for days, Leonitis learns they have no way to win because the Persians found a way to surround them. The Ultimate Boon was when king Leonitis and his men all died, but only after significantly weakening the Persian army. In near future a soldier sent back to Sparta by King Leonitis lead another army to fight the Persians again, but this time the armies were more equal in size. There was not much of a departure in this movie because everybody in the Leonitis’s army died, besides the guy he sent home.
ReplyDeleteCharles - C
The movie Iron Man follows the Hero’s Journey because of the fact that Iron Man is a hero. Iron Man departure is when he goes to the Middle East and get ambushed, he gets captured and is put against his will to build more suits. Instead he step into the First Threshold and build the suit on him. With this suit he escape’s and gets a Supernatural Aid. After he returns to Los Angeles he metamorphosis’s (Whale’s Belly), he chooses to save the earth from evil people. In the initiation and fulfillment Iron Man realizes the goddess in his secretary. In the return part of the hero’s journey he never has the chance to stop being attached to his adventure.
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Matthew – D
The movie "Spiderman" shows many characteristics of a Hero's Journey storyline. The Departure part of the movie is when Peter Parker is bit by the spider. Peter Parker showed Refusal when he did not want to become spider man. He eventually did become spider man though when his grandfather is killed. The second characteristic of a Hero's Journey is Fulfillment. Peter Parker goes through this stage when he goes through his many trials. Some of these such trials are the fights with the green goblin, and Peter's best friend Harry. But, Peter Parker overcomes these trials and succeeds in his journey. The final characteristic of a hero's journey is the return. At first Peter wants to stop being spider man, but he relizes that he is needed, and he becomes Spider Man. But, he is also still Peter Parker and Spider Man, so he is the master of two worlds.
ReplyDeleteSlade Rand-C
The book that I chose for the Hero’s Journey is the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. At first there is the departure, when Primrose, Katniss Everdeen’s sister, is picked to go to the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is punishment by the Capitol for a war that happened a long time ago. Anyway, Katniss volunteers for her sister because she knows if she doesn’t, her sister will die. So Katniss is sent to the Hunger Games along with her someone from her district named Peeta. Once they are in the Hunger Games, Katniss get a bow and a quilt of arrows. She is very good at archery, and thinks that her and Peeta might have a chance of winning the Hunger Games after all, when in the beginning they didn’t even think they had a shot at all. He is the fulfillment. Lastly there is the returning. Once Peeta and Katniss actually win the Hunger Games, Katniss tells Peeta that she does not love him. They take this differently, because throughout the Hunger Games Katniss thought that they were using the love thing as a way to get sponsors, but Peeta actually did love Katniss, so it was really hard for him when he found out that she didn’t love him. When they got back home they practically couldn’t look at each other due to what they had just found out.
ReplyDelete-John David – D
The movie The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe follow the Heroes Journey. In the beginning, the siblings are reluctant to going into Narnia because they are unsure what will happen. They also know they are not supposed to be going into the room with the wardrobe in it. Finally, when they all enter Narnia, they are told that the land of Narnia is under a devious ruler, called the White Witch. They realize that it is their destiny to team up with Aslan the lion to defeat the White Witch so that Aslan will become ruler of Narnia once again. Fortunately, to help defeat the White Witch each child is given a different gift to help them in the war. After defeating the White Witch and her army, Aslan goes back to being power, and the children are crowned king, queen, prince, and princess of Narnia. After realizing how many friends they have in Narnia, they do not want return to their real life, but realize they must. In the end, the children went on a wonderful journey, but cannot return to Narnia.
ReplyDeleteHannah – E
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363771/
I have found that the movie Shrek followed the steps of a hero’s journey. First, in departure Shrek got the call to adventure by a king who needed him to rescue a princess. Shrek initially declined this request until the king told him that he would give him his swamp back, this shows the refusal of the call. Second, in initiation or fulfillment Shrek traveled to the castle and freed the princess. After freeing the princess Shrek and Fiona bond and discover feeling for each other. Finally, in the return from the castle Shrek finds out that Fiona is an ogre and that she doesn’t want to marry the king. Shrek then rescues Fiona from the king and they live happily ever after in the swamp.
ReplyDeleteJames – D
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0126029/plotsummary
The movie Step Brothers follows the Heroes Journey. Brennan Huff and Dale Doback become brothers and have to live with each other after their parents marry each other. This is the departure because they leave their original lives of living with their single parents to becoming roommates. This causes a feud between Brennan and Dale causing them to fight excessively, threaten each other, and use vulgar language. Then they discover that they have a lot in common so they become best friends. Their friendship causes their parents to divorce and causing both Dale and Brennan’s friendship to fall. Then they finally get jobs and start having normal lives. Brennan gets an idea of reuniting his parents and his friendship with Dale by getting a job at his brother’s company. He tells Derek, Brennan’s brother, that he can take the big one, the Catalina Wine Mixer, which is supposed to be a really big deal. In short, he reunites his family, his friendships with Dale, Derek, Dale’s dad, and his so called love interest who is his therapist by singing like an angel.
ReplyDeleteIn the movie 300, Leonidas is called to adventure when the Persian Empire threatens to invade and conquer Sparta and all of Greece. Leonidas departs with 300 of his own men to fight back against the Persians. Leonidas and his men experience supernatural aid when many Persian ships are sunk in a random storm on the sea. On the road of trials for Leonidas, the Spartans face overwhelming hordes of varying enemies, but the Spartans overcome these obstacles. In the film, Xerxes can be considered the temptress, as he offers Leonidas wealth, power, and luxury if he surrenders. The ultimate boon for Leonidas and the Spartans comes in the last battle. Surrounded by waves and waves of enemies, and knowing that he and his men face death, Leonidas refuses to back down, and heaves and spear towards King Xerxes, grazing the side of his face. Earlier on in the movie, Leonidas had promised Xerxes that world would know of the stand that the Spartans put up against the Persians, and that even a god-king can bleed. Unfortunately, there is no return for Leonidas and the 300 Spartans, but it is because of their sacrifice that all of Greece bands together and fights, and defeats, the Persian Empire army.
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ReplyDeleteThe book I chose to analyze into the Hero's Journey is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Harry recieves the call when he is brought to the burrow during the summer before his fifth year at Hogwarts. In this particular book in the series, Harry does not recieve much help because Dumbledore decides it will be in Harry's best interest if he ignores him. Harry's first threshold is when he enters Hogwarts and he realizes that no one believes anything he's said about Voldemort's return. The Whale's Belly is for a while in the book when Harry is being oppressed by Umbridge and is always angry. It seems that everything and everyone is always in Harry's way, but somehow he prevails. He is conned into going to the Department of Mysteries to rescue Sirius, who is not actually there. The fulfillment of the quest is they stop the Death Eaters from retrieving the prophecy. The Magic Flight is Sirius's death. Not everything that is included in the Hero's Journey fits with this book, but much of it does.
Miranda- G
A film that follows The Hero's Journey as it back drop is the movie The Professional. In the beginning of the movie for the departure the protagonist Leon is faced with a 12 year old girl who just lost her family asking him to teach her how to be a "hit man." At first Leon is absolutely putting his foot down and refusing, until he realizes this girl is capable of doing it. Leon takes her through a road of trials, testing her and giving her tasks before any big mission. In the end, Leon and the girl face a serious mission where they are being attacked, Leon must give up his life and his fear of defeat to let the girl live. Ultimately, The Professional is a perfect example of The Hero's Journey. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110413/ Kyla-D
ReplyDeleteJoseph Campbell a professor invented a monomyth about a hero's journey. In Campbell's discovery each journey included three main parts, a departure, initiation or fulfillment of the journey and finally a return. In the Movie, "Lethal Weapon" officer Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) acts as a hero and follows the journey and steps. As the movie begins Riggs is a loose cannon because of the death of his wife. To depart into his Journey Riggs rejoins the force to put his talent to good use and get his mind of his wife. Riggs is called toward adventure because he misses the excitement and action while on the force. Riggs initiation begins. He runs into the road of trial where he catches bad guess but some occasionally get away. Riggs then, "meets the Goddess" or his fellow officer Mortaugh who helps Riggs with a huge Drug Bust that is unraveling. Finally Riggs hits the Ultimate Boon where he catches the dealers with the help of Mortaugh and realizes that he can let his wife go and that life will go on. Riggs returns to the force and gets promoted in the act of, "crossing the threshold." Riggs realizes his freedom to live with his newest addition of friends and that he can let his wife go even though he misses her
ReplyDeleteAidan C
http://video.barnesandnoble.com/DVD/Lethal-Weapon/Mel-Gibson/e/12569828445/?itm=1&USRI=lethal+weapon
In the movie Gran Torino, Walt Kowalski follows the Hero’s Journey fairly well. In his departure, Walt’s supernatural aid was his wife and because she got him through hard times he helps the Hmong family. His refusal of the call was to not help but eventually he gave in. In his initiation, his woman as temptress was his wife and could also be the girls of the family whom he had grown to like. His apotheosis was him not being racist anymore and to respect all groups of people. His return was to never go back which were his refusal and his freedom to live his life and since he knew he was dying to try to fight the gang in the end. This shows how Kowalski went through the hero’s journey in the movie.
ReplyDeleteAbbas-C
I think a good example of a hero’s journey was the movie 300. The hero would be King Leonitis. The departure is follows the list we wrote in class for the most part. The call to the adventure would be when the Persian messenger came to Sparta and informed everybody about the huge Persian army coming to take over. King Leonitis himself does not refuse the call but some people tell him not to go, mainly the wizard guys. Leonitis’s army did receive aid (from the other army they meet along the way), but it is not supernatural. After traveling a long distance his army finally reaches the whale’s belly, when they see how huge the other army really is. After Leonitis’s army speaks with a rich Persian guy he starts a road of trials, where they have to fight off different waves of enemy forces with different kinds of fighters in each wave. There is no female temptress in Leonitis’s journey; instead he is tempted by God King Xerxes. Xerxes says that is they stop fighting Leonitis will be promoted to a higher military position. After fighting for days, Leonitis learns they have no way to win because the Persians found a way to surround them. The Ultimate Boon was when king Leonitis and his men all died, but only after significantly weakening the Persian army. In near future a soldier sent back to Sparta by King Leonitis lead another army to fight the Persians again, but this time the armies were more equal in size. There was not much of a departure in this movie because everybody in the Leonitis’s army died, besides the guy he sent home.
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Charles Kelley - C
In the book The Eternity Code by Eoin Colfer the main character Artemis Fowl teams up with captain Holly Short of the elfin underground police squad to retrieve a stolen object from a gang leader in Chicago. They survive many trials and are able to defeat the gang leader by setting up a clever trap aided by the Chicago Police Force. Artemis then learns that his purpose is to aid the elfin police force to keep an underground colony of elves existence secret to humans. I recommend this book to all sci-fi loving readers.
ReplyDeleteBen L-D