What makes a hero? - Matthew Winkler
Summary
TLDRThe video script explores the universal 'Hero's Journey' narrative, as introduced by Joseph Campbell in 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces.' It outlines the 12 stages of this mythic structure, from the hero's ordinary world to their transformation and return, exemplified by characters like Harry Potter, Katniss Everdeen, and Frodo. The script encourages viewers to recognize and embrace the hero's journey in their own lives, facing challenges and growing from the experiences.
Takeaways
- 🌟 The 'Hero's Journey' is a common narrative structure found in myths and stories across different cultures, as identified by Joseph Campbell.
- 📚 Campbell's book 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces' explores this universal pattern and its manifestations in various myths.
- 🔄 The Hero's Journey is a cycle that starts and ends in the hero's ordinary world but includes a transformative journey through a special world.
- 🏠 The journey begins with the 'Status Quo', where the hero receives a 'Call to Adventure' that disrupts their normal life.
- 👴 Assistance often comes from a mentor figure who helps the hero prepare for the challenges ahead.
- 🚪 The 'Departure' marks the hero's crossing into a new, unfamiliar world filled with trials and adventures.
- 🤔 'Trials' involve the hero overcoming obstacles, solving riddles, or defeating enemies to progress on their journey.
- 😨 The 'Crisis' is the darkest moment for the hero, where they face death or a significant loss, leading to a rebirth.
- 💎 'Treasure' is the reward or power the hero gains after overcoming their greatest challenge.
- 🔄 The 'Return' sees the hero coming back to their ordinary world, often with a new perspective or status.
- 🛑 The 'New Life' and 'Resolution' indicate that the hero's life has been irreversibly changed by their journey, leading to a new status quo.
- 🎥 Popular books and movies often follow the Hero's Journey template, such as 'The Hunger Games' with Katniss Everdeen's story.
- 🧗♂️ The Hero's Journey is not just a story template but also a reflection of the human experience, encouraging us to face our fears and grow from our experiences.
- 🔍 Joseph Campbell's quote suggests that the challenges we fear may hold the answers or growth we seek.
Q & A
What is the 'Hero with a Thousand Faces'?
-It is a book by Joseph Campbell that studies myths from around the world and explains how they represent the mono-myth or Hero's Journey.
What is the 'Hero's Journey'?
-It is a narrative pattern that describes the stages that a hero goes through in a story, starting and ending in the hero's ordinary world but passing through an unfamiliar, special world.
What are the key events in the Hero's Journey cycle?
-The key events include the hero's status quo, call to adventure, assistance, departure, trials, approach, crisis, treasure, result, return, new life, resolution, and the upgraded status quo.
What does 'Call to Adventure' signify in the Hero's Journey?
-It is the point in the story where the hero receives a mysterious message, invitation, or challenge that sets the plot in motion.
Who is the character that provides 'Assistance' to the hero in their journey?
-In many stories, the assistance comes from a character who is older or wiser, providing guidance or support to the hero.
What does 'Departure' entail in the Hero's Journey?
-It is the moment when the hero crosses the threshold from their normal, safe home and enters the special world of adventure.
What challenges does the hero face during the 'Trials' stage?
-The hero faces various challenges such as solving riddles, slaying monsters, or escaping from traps during the trials stage.
What is the significance of the 'Crisis' in the Hero's Journey?
-The crisis is the hero's darkest hour where they face death or a near-death experience, leading to a rebirth or transformation.
What does the hero 'Claim' as a result of overcoming the 'Crisis'?
-The hero claims a treasure, special recognition, or power as a result of overcoming the crisis.
How does the 'Return' stage differ from the 'Departure' in the Hero's Journey?
-The return stage is about the hero coming back to their ordinary world after the adventure, often changed or transformed by their experiences.
How does the 'New Life' stage relate to the hero's personal growth?
-The new life stage signifies that the hero has outgrown their old life due to the experiences and transformations they underwent during their journey.
How does Joseph Campbell's concept of the Hero's Journey apply to modern stories like 'The Hunger Games'?
-Modern stories like 'The Hunger Games' follow the Hero's Journey template, with characters like Katniss Everdeen experiencing the call to adventure, receiving assistance, and going through various stages of the journey.
What is the symbolic meaning of 'In the cave you fear to enter lies the treasure you seek'?
-This quote by Joseph Campbell suggests that the most significant personal growth and rewards come from facing and overcoming our deepest fears and challenges.
How can the Hero's Journey be reflected in our own lives?
-The Hero's Journey can be seen in our own lives as we leave our comfort zones, face transformative experiences, recover, and then face new challenges, much like the hero in stories.
Outlines
🌟 The Hero's Journey: Myths and Modern Stories
This paragraph introduces the concept of the 'Hero's Journey' as described by Joseph Campbell in his book 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces.' It suggests that various heroes from modern literature and ancient myths, such as Harry Potter, Katniss Everdeen, and Frodo, follow a similar narrative structure. The paragraph outlines the stages of this journey, which includes a call to adventure, receiving assistance, departure into a special world, facing trials, approaching and overcoming the main crisis, claiming a treasure, and returning home transformed. It also invites the audience to consider how popular books and movies, like 'The Hunger Games,' adhere to this formula and encourages them to reflect on the hero's journey in their own lives.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Hero's Journey
💡Mono-myth
💡Call to Adventure
💡Assistance
💡Departure
💡Trials
💡Crisis
💡Treasure
💡Return
💡New Life
💡Resolution
💡Status Quo
Highlights
Harry Potter, Katniss Everdeen, and Frodo share a commonality with the heroes of ancient myths, all being variants of the same hero.
Joseph Campbell's book 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces' explores the concept of the mono-myth or Hero's Journey.
The Hero's Journey is a cycle that begins and ends in the hero's ordinary world, with a quest through a special world.
Key events in the Hero's Journey include receiving a call to adventure, receiving assistance, and departure from the normal world.
Trials involve the hero solving riddles, slaying monsters, and escaping traps.
The Approach stage is where the hero faces their biggest ordeal and worst fear.
In the Crisis stage, the hero faces death, potentially dies, and is reborn.
The Treasure stage sees the hero claiming a treasure, special recognition, or power.
The Result stage varies, with outcomes ranging from monsters bowing down to the hero or chasing him away.
The Return stage marks the hero's return to his ordinary world after the adventure.
In the New Life stage, the quest changes the hero, who has outgrown his old life.
Resolution involves untangling all the plot lines of the story.
The Status Quo is restored at a new level, signifying that nothing is the same after becoming a hero.
Many popular books and movies closely follow the ancient Hero's Journey formula.
The Hunger Games is used as an example to demonstrate how well it fits the Hero's Journey template.
The Hero's Journey myth exists in all human cultures and is continually updated through symbolic stories of our lives.
Joseph Campbell's quote encourages individuals to face their fears and seek the treasure within the symbolic cave.
The transcript encourages viewers to be sensitive to the Hero's Journey formula in their own lives and to embrace their call to adventure.
Transcripts
Translator: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Bedirhan Cinar
What do Harry Potter,
Katniss Everdeen, and Frodo
all have in common with the heroes of ancient myths?
(Roar)
What if I told you they are all variants of the same hero?
Do you believe that?
Joseph Campbell did.
He studied myths from all over the world and published a book called
"The Hero with a Thousand Faces,"
retelling dozens of stories
and explaining how each represents the mono-myth,
or Hero's Journey.
So, what is the "hero's journey"?
Think of it as a cycle.
The journey begins and ends in a hero's ordinary world,
but the quest passes through an unfamiliar, special world.
Along the way, there are some key events.
Think about your favorite book or movie.
Does it follow this pattern?
Status quo, that's where we start.
1:00: Call to Adventure.
The hero receives a mysterious message.
An invitation, a challenge?
2:00: Assistance
The hero needs some help, probably from someone older, wiser.
3:00: Departure
The hero crosses the threshold from his normal, safe home,
and enters the special world and adventure.
We're not in Kansas anymore.
4:00: Trials
Being a hero is hard work:
our hero solves a riddle,
slays a monster,
escapes from a trap.
5:00: Approach
It's time to face the biggest ordeal, the hero's worst fear.
(Roar)
6:00: Crisis
This is the hero's darkest hour.
He faces death and possibly even dies,
only to be reborn.
7:00: Treasure
(Roar)
As a result, the hero claims some treasure,
special recognition, or power.
8:00: Result
This can vary between stories.
Do the monsters bow down before the hero,
or do they chase him as he flees from the special world?
9:00: Return
After all that adventure, the hero returns to his ordinary world.
10:00: New Life
This quest has changed the hero; he has outgrown his old life.
11:00: Resolution
All the tangled plot lines get straightened out.
12:00: Status Quo,
but upgraded to a new level.
Nothing is quite the same once you are a hero.
Many popular books and movies
follow this ancient formula pretty closely.
But let's see how well "The Hunger Games" fits the hero's journey template.
When does Katniss Everdeen hear her call to adventure
that gets the story moving?
When her sister's name is called from the lottery.
How about assistance?
Is anyone going to help her on her adventure?
Haymitch.
What about departure?
Does she leave her ordinary world?
She gets on a train to the capital.
OK, so you get the idea.
What do you have in common with Harry Potter,
Katniss Everdeen, and Frodo?
Well, you're human, just like them.
The Hero's Journey myth exists in all human cultures
and keeps getting updated,
because we humans reflect on our world
through symbolic stories of our own lives.
You leave your comfort zone,
have an experience that transforms you,
and then you recover and do it again.
You don't literally slay dragons or fight Voldemort,
but you face problems just as scary.
Joseph Campbell said,
"In the cave you fear to enter lies the treasure you seek."
What is the symbolic cave you fear to enter?
Auditions for the school play?
Baseball tryouts?
Love?
Watch for this formula in books, movies, and TV shows you come across.
You will certainly see it again.
But also be sensitive to it in your own life.
Listen for your call to adventure.
Accept the challenge.
Conquer your fear and claim the treasure you seek.
And then,
do it all over again.
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