The monomyth, or heros journey, explained with examples from the matrix, star wars, harry potter, and the lord of the rings. This article is a precursor to an upcoming three article series examining reys heros journey in the force awakens. Jd wiker has contributed to numerous star wars products, most recently the dark side sourcebook, the new jedi order sourcebook, and the star wars roleplaying game revised core rulebook. This examination of reys journey will mainly follow christopher voglers outline of the heros journeywith several of campbells steps mentioned. Star wars movie, and to an extent the whole original trilogy. Not sure if this was posted already, but posting just in case. A new hope to give detailed accounts of the stages of the monomyth, josephs campbells theory of the heros journe. Lets take a look at how the heros journey manifests in star wars. Forbes takes privacy seriously and is committed to transparency. George lucas was one of the early film directors to directly base his story on the 17 stages of the heros journey. We wanted to feel like our lives were a quest, and the road to goal achievement was a daily adventure. We drew on the inspiration felt from epic stories like lord of the rings, star wars, and harry potter.
Teaching joseph campbells the heros journey creative english. Learn how to craft an incredible story by exploring star wars and the heros journey. In addition to writing for wizards of the coast, inc. There are several versions of the heros journey and many stories include only a few of the stages. Star wars and the heros journey lesson prestwick house. The time we spend on coruscant represents this approach in the phantom menace. The heros approach to said cave represents him walking into danger, so on his approach, he prepares as best he can. Simba refuses to return to pride rock and accept his destiny groundhog day. Theres no more immersive experience of the star wars universe than that provided by any or all of the three different fantasy flight games star wars roleplaying systems age of. This paper will describe how lucass picture meets the elements departure, initiation, and return. A comparison and explanation of star wars with joseph campbells monomyth. Interpretations of joseph campbell and the heros journey. A new hope heros journey phases application directions.
The film has been released on december 2015 and has achieved an impressive number of records stuff like being the highest grossing movie of 2015. Lucas had already written two drafts of star wars when he rediscovered joseph campbells the hero with a thousand faces in 1975 having read it years before in college. Journey to star wars is a disneylucasfilm publishing initiative that connects the star wars sequel films with previous film installments in the franchise. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The plunge luke encounters a series of ordeals including the monster in the sewage, the collapsing trash room, attacking stormtroopers, and so on. Galaxy of heroes is a mobile game by ea capital games where players collect, level and battle with heroes and villains from the star wars universe. This blueprint for the hero s journey gave lucas the focus he needed to draw his sprawling imaginary universe into a single story. I survive phase 1 and 2 just fine but get killed by the swarm of troopers at the end. As george lucas used campbells monomyth to structure his film and its sequels, it is a great film to use when teaching the heros journey. New liferesolution c3po and r2d2 other important characters the death stars tractor beam pulls them in, and han. In an early draft of star wars, obiwans first meeting with luke is lifted directly from the hobbit, acknowledging gandalf as a source of inspiration. A new hope created by george lucas, the elements of the movie are very similar to those of joseph campbell the hero with a thousand faces or the heros journey. Joseph campbell came up with idea of distilling epic myths from around the world into a basic, common narrative framework. One day he finds r2d2 which contains princess leias message for obiwan.
While writing the original drafts of star wars in the early 1970s, george lucas came across the works of professor joseph. He wrote the hero with a thousand faces, in which he outlined the 17 stages of a mythological heros journey. This 37page presentation uses highinterest images from the lion king and star wars. Star wars galaxy of heroes, swgoh heros journey, swgoh 101 january 27, 2019 reys heros journey. With star wars, george lucas created a sprawling universe with unique characters, expressive cultures, and new languagesall of which he showcases in the famous cantina scene. The aim of this paper is to show that the temporal journey of the hero in the film series star wars, episode ivvi, can be organized into a fractal. The herald the shadow luke is working on his uncles farm on tatooine. About half a century later, christopher vogler condensed those stages down to 12 in an attempt to show hollywood how every story ever written shouldand, uh, doesfollow campbells pattern. His work has been used by george lucas star wars and chistopher vogler the writers journey.
One of the most famous examples of the heros journey is the original. The heros journey in star wars nerdy novel duration. And these are, in my opinion, the most interesting feature of the latest star wars movie. Storm troopers lukes known world is on the desert planet of tatooine where he works for his uncle lars. The ones from the classic trilogy open the ground to a host of new heroes and villains. A new hope quotes creating a fantastical, yet believable world outside of the one we know is one of the greatest challenges a screenwriter can face. I think that the characters are the best part of the story. The last jedi proved the heros journey isnt all its cracked up to be. The particular theme adopted by the hero in star wars can be characterized as the one fairy tale which characterizes it as the modern form of a fairy tale. Tune in next week for the final section of the heros journey, the return. Includes a helpful infographic of how the heros journey plays out in a new hope.
It is now the third highest grossing film of all times, after avatar. Its important to note before we dive in that the heros journey goes handinhand with the chosen one trope, which highlights a character of vital importance to the. Joseph campbells heros journey center for the study of. Teaching joseph campbells the heros journey creative. Luke and the team board the death star to save the princess. Lucas was strongly influenced by campbells formulations of the monomyth, which were in turn h. The hero with a thousand faces and its application to. Finally,there is the return, in which the hero returns to the world of the nonheroic in order to solve the crisis that instigated the journey. This monomyth is the heros journey, which has a roughandready common structure of stages in myths taken from a wide variety of cultures.
Examples of works that utilize the heros journey include star wars, harry potter and the sorcerers stone, the hunger games, the hobbit, the lord of the rings, and enders game. Breaking down the heros journey plot structure well. Exploring star wars and the heros journey writers digest. How did the heros journey fit into star wars, for both. As george lucas used campbells monomyth to structure his film and its sequels, it is a great film. This paper examines how george lucas uses the heros journey throughout the original star wars trilogy, consisting of anew hope, the empire strikes back, and the return of the jedi, and how george. It currently includes the initiatives journey to star wars. Essay about star wars and the heros journey 414 words. This page summrarizes the brief explanations from every step of the heros journey. Star wars origins joseph campbell and the heros journey.
Heros journey in star wars successfully depicts the theme of hope to defeat the evil from the universe. Im using luke g10 leia g10 r2 g8 will gear him to 9 soon st han g10 leader, for its defense bonus. A new hope created by george lucas, the elements of the movie are very similar to those of joseph campbells the hero with a thousand faces or the heros journey. The heros journey fits best into star wars through the story of luke.
Example of the negative cycle caused by refusing the call. Heros journey event discussion star wars galaxy of. Known world unknown world call to action threshold guardians. In the two aforementioned stories, the wizard gandalf and jedi master obiwan kenobi represent the primary mentor in the initial heros journey cycle. Star wars is the heros journey for the modern man the. Reprints issued after the release of star wars episode iv. A practical guide to joseph cambells the hero with a thousand faces by christopher vogler. The hero has been resurrected, purified and has earned the right to be. The stages of the heros journey all stories consist of common structural elements of stages found universally in myths, fairy tales, dreams, and movies. In reaction to campbells work, a man named george lucas composed what many have called a myth for our times the star war series, in which young heroes of. Rey jedi trainings special event reys heros journey has returned to swgoh and has created a new guide specifically to aid those seeking one. Analyze myth, legend, and literature on a whole new level by using the lens of the heros journey. As a class, discuss how the series, follows the structure of the heros journey, and fill out the handout with specific plot events that conform to the. Thompson is a freelance rpg writer and developer and the system administrator for the university of tennessee in knoxville.
The stages of the heros journey tallinn university. The heros journey pdf this pdf identifies the stages of the heros journey present in the 1977 film star wars also known as episode iv. The hero s journeylike the journey of life itselfis made up of three acts, and each act is made up of the steps of the journey the hero must makea journey that will change him irrevocably and bring him to wholeness. A practical guide to joseph cambells the hero with a. In star wars, luke returns to the rebel base as a hero and receives a reward and recognition. These sections are all about exposition, telling us what we need to know about this odd universe and the galactic war. In star wars you see luke skywalker being bored to death as a farm boy before he tackles the universe. Rey, standing over kylo ren, has finally and completely, become the next hero of the star wars universe. Ive mentioned before that one of the things i really noticed about the force awakens wasnt simply that it was derivative in many often positive ways of the original trilogy but also that, like the very first star wars film, the story was structured on the heros journey. Luke refuses the quest until he learns his aunt and uncle are dead the lion king. Luke is the only one of his friends that have not left for the academy. Now that the enthusiasm has cooled down, the questions remains.
A new hope in 1977 used the image of mark hamill as luke skywalker on the cover. The return with the elixir is the final reward earned on the heros journey. In the heros journey, the cave represents a place of danger. By the way, you can read my first why i really love star wars post here.
Tiers are played by requirements, starting at 3stars. This use of a universal archetype of myth explains why star wars was so popular, since it appealed to our unconscious patterns of thought. Star wars and the hero myth british council learn english. The heros journey consists of three distinct phases. Star wars and the hero myth read about how the film star wars follows a pattern found in myths to practise and improve your reading skills. This supernatural character often gives them the means to complete the quest. Star wars and the heros journey the university of texas at austin. Lukes journey has been studied through the lens of a new hope as well as the whole original trilogy and it works better for just a new hope escaping death star via millennium falcon. And what better journey to model than the one storytellers have been borrowing from for thousands of years. Indeed, star wars creator george lucas was an admirer of joseph campbell, and consciously patterned the star wars saga on the heros journey. Lucas was strongly influenced by campbells formulations of the monomyth, which were in turn heavily influenced by carl jungs work with archetypes and the collective unconscious.
The heros journey really kicks off when we meet luke, but there is a lot of movie before that. For a history and breakdown of the heros journey concept see my prologue article, the heros path. What follows is a simple overview of each stage, illustrating basic characteristics and functions. Nicholson english 263 block 4b september 30, 2009 star wars and the heros journey in star wars. She has, whether literally or symbolically, shown herself to be the scion of the skywalkers and our hope for the future. Star wars is the heros journey for the modern man november 28, 2015 by kent sanders leave a comment movies reflect the changing roles of men in the 21st century. Lucas also believes that star wars is such a popular saga because it taps into a timeless storystructure which has existed for thousands of years. The heros journey heroes are almost always started on their journey by a character who has mastered the laws of the outside world and come back to bestow this wisdom upon them. You see, that was in a lot of ways the entire point of making the first movie. This blueprint for the heros journey gave lucas the focus he needed to draw his sprawling imaginary universe into a single story.
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