June 11

Today Mr. Lazarow set out to ruin every single book, movie, television show, and graphic novel we have ever enjoyed with a little powerpoint on the Mythic Hero Archetype.

To begin, an archetype is a repeated experience in the lives of our ancestors. We inherit this experience through our collective unconscious. It is then exposed in myth, religion, dreams/fantasies, and literature. Each archetype comes from a universal, human existence. The archetype can manifest through a character type, a plot pattern, or a description. Archetypes provoke profound emotional responses because they resonate with images already existing in our minds.

This theory was created by Karl Jung. He believed that humans have urges and instincts in their subconscious which manifest themselves in fantasies and are present through symbolic motifs. They may appear as characters who help or hinder the "hero" on his.her path to enlightenment. They are seen as archetypal images such as a sequence of events, a certain kind of place, or a talismanic object.

The stories that provoke us deeply make use of these elements quite frequently.
Examples of the mythic heroic archetype include:
-journey/quest
-rite of passage
-loss of/search for Eden
-growth through conflict
-nature/life cycle
-religion (the search for God or a personal code)
-reconciliation of opposites (love/hate, heaven/hell, alienation/redemption, male/female)

As the story unfolds, we find these elements to help us make sense of our own lives.

The first quality of a mythic hero is that he/she must come from a obscure or mysterious background. The hero is either on the outside of a community or within a community but different. The "Threshold Guardian" allows a hero on the outside the freedom to act however they wish when their time of call comes. A hero on the inside, however, is forced to break all ties abruptly.

The second characteristic of a hero is that they are never a fool. They are not invincible, and may only be average in intellect, but they usually possess a great deal of common sense. Furthermore, each hero has his/her weakness. (Like kryptonite.)

The third quality of a mythic hero is that they have a path to follow. It may not be clear, but there is a goal at the end of this path. The hero is seeking something that is far form home. He/she may not know what to expect during the journey, but they know what the goal is.