Joseph Campbell's Archetypes

Today, we begin to embark upon our own Hero's Journey into identifying character, plot, and story archetypes. Joseph Campbell came up with the theory of the monomyth (one-myth): every hero's story is the same story told again and again with endless variations of details. We brainstormed qualities of a hero and found that many characteristics fit with almost every character you can name! Think: orphaned, brave and loyal, blessed with a super power or ability, mentored by wise old (wo)man, sacrifices him/herself for the good of others. Are we talking about Katniss? Superman? Power Rangers? Robin Hood? Harry Potter? It could be any of them! And this is the power of the monomyth.

Check out this trailer for a documentary of real-life heroes exploring the meaning of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey.

Additionally, we went into a little more detail for the archetypes of other characters (think: the beautiful, tempting love interest; the comical, bumbling friend; the sneaky character that you aren't sure is good or bad...). Check out this hilarious video (one of my favorite we'll do all year) that illustrates examples of many character archetypes.

We'll be looking at the archetypal journey itself tomorrow, but find all our notes and musings on this PowerPoint for Archetypes and the Hero's Journey.