Heroic archetype
The first archetype I noticed was a heroic archetype: The protagonist in this movie is a young boy named Percy Jackson who finds out he is a demigod- that is he is half human half god.His father is the god Poseidon. All kids of gods have supernatural strengths which allow them to survive in a world filled with Greek monsters that are out to get them. One day, Zeus's master lightning bolt gets stolen and he immeidiatley blames Percy,saying that he stole the lightning bolt for his father, Poseidon, in order to increase his father's power. Percy, however, did not steal the bolt, but is forced to find the bolt and return it to Zeus,otherwise a massive war will take place between his father and Zeus that would destroy all modern day society.This shows that Percy is an apocalyptic hero, a hero that faces the possible destruction of society.
Situation archetype:
The entire basis of the movie is based upon the idea of a journey, that Percy must go on a journey with a couple of companions in search of the lightning bolt. He must endure many trials and tribulations along the way and will have to persevere in order to reach his goal of finding the lightning bolt and ensuring peace amongst the gods.
Stages of a heroe's journey
This movie also possess the stages of a hero's journey:
1. Departure- Percy gets pulled out of his normal, school life and gets placed in a special camp for demigods where he ultimately learns his heritage and who his father is. A mentor figure explains the situation to him, about how the lightning bolt was stolen and how he must be the one to find and return it. Innitially Percy,is reluctant to go on this journey, but is almost forced into accepting.
2. Initation- As soon as Percy and his friends leave the camp, their world becomes more dangerous,with danger around every corner. Their initation is when they enter Medusa's lair,and almost get turned to stone. After that,they become more wary and careful, ultimately more mature.
3.The Road of Trials- Percy and his friend endure many tests of strength, recourcefullness,and endurance. They battle Medusa, a three headed dragon, narrowly escape from the Lotus lair,and manage to enter the Underworld and then escape from it after. He manages to find the bolt in the Underworld only to have someone steal it from him once he returns to the surface.
4. The Innermost Cave- When someone who Percy considers a friend steals the bolt from him(Luke), Percy is faced with his greatest battle yet. He battles Luke,and has to call upon his greatest power,his ability to control water in order to defeat him. Percy was being pulverized by Luke , and at the point of almost defeat,he had to summon his last strength and motivation in order to fight back and regain the lightning bolt from Luke.
5. Return and Reintegration with Society- After his battle Percy returns the bolt to Zeus and restores peace amongst the gods. All is well. As a result of his journey, Percy has matured,created new friendships, and has ultimately saved the world.
Character archetypes
Most of the characters in this movie fit into particular archetypes
- Hero: Percy Jackson is the hero, the person who must fulfill a task in order to ensure peace in the world.
- Mentor: Percy's mentor or teacher is Chiron. Percy meets Chiron when he arrives at Camp Half Blood in the beginning of the movie. Chiron teaches Percy skills and strategy to help on his journey.
- Hunting group of companions: These are Percy’s friends, Annabeth and Grover who are loyal and fight alongside Percy.
- The devil figure: This characters main purpose is to oppose the hero in his or her quest. This character would be Luke, a supposed friend who turns on Percy and attempts to sabotage their journey and prevent them from getting the lightning bolt.
- The creatures of nightmare- There are many monsters in the movie who threaten the lives of our hero and his companions. These monsters include Medusa, a three headed Dragon, Furies, and a giant bull.
It’s interesting how even a kid’s movie such as this is filled with archetypes and follows the plot of a hero’s journey. This means that a hero is called to adventure and must endure many trials, hardships, but will ultimately succeed in his endeavour of overcoming evil, in the end much like Percy Jackson does. Do you know of any other movies or books which follow this idea of a hero’s journey?
Can the idea of a hero’s journey be seen in our own lives? Obviously not to the same extent as in fictional movies and myths, but can’t our own lives be compared to a quest, a journey of finding ourselves and achieving happiness? A quest that will shape us, mature us, and bring us into contact with others? Can our own lives be said to be unique, personal, unprecedented journeys?
I think our lives can be compared to a hero's journey. We are faced with personal trials and challenges like school. We seek to achieve happiness and knowledge that will help us in the long run (going through university, getting a job)). These personal trials do shape us in who we want to become and along the way we have mentors(parents & teachers).
ReplyDeleteExactly! Our lives are just like hero’s journeys! And I think that’s part of the reason why this archetype is used so relentlessly in movies and books. Since we can relate to this archetype because it’s present in our own lives it appeals to us and we enjoy hearing the story of a hero faced with challenges and hardships. In movies, the hero almost always succeeds and I think when we watch or read a story with this archetype where the hero faces many trials and then succeeds in the end, it indirectly fills us with hope that we too can be like the hero and succeed in our own challenges and difficulties. Or I could be totally wrong; do you think that’s why the archetype of a hero’s journey is used over and over again?
ReplyDeleteThe hero's journey is mostly the same in a lot of plots and maybe thats the reason its used over and over again so we can directly relate to it. Maybe they're trying to imply that everyone has their own journeys and really the hero is just one of us.
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