Joseph Campbell: Myth Resource Center

MOYERS: Joseph Campbell once said all the great myths, the ancient great stories, have to be regenerated in every generation. He said that's what you are doing with Star Wars. You are taking these old stories and putting them into the most modern of idioms, the cinema. Are you conscious of doing that? Or are you just setting out to make a good action-movie adventure?

LUCAS: With Star Wars I consciously set about to re-create myths and the classic mythological motifs. I wanted to use those motifs to deal with issues that exist today. The more research I did, the more I realized that the issues are the same ones that existed 3,000 years ago. That we haven't come very far emotionally.

Okay folks, considering that there are many influences on Lucas such as Campbell, Kurosawa, and Flash Gordan, I think it would be a good idea to start taking a closer look at how these might influences might effect the next two episodes, and how the affect the entire saga as a whole. I will start by examining Joseph Campbell who probably had more influence on Lucas than anyone. From Campbell's "A Hero of a Thousand Faces" we see a description of the archetypal hero. Anakin's slightly different because he's a tragic hero, but he also follows along the same archetypes. There are many steps that a hero will take in myth and it would be a good idea to examine each on of them. So let's take a look at each one of them. I looked around for Campbell stuff and one site had a good synopsis of all these steps so I'll post them here. My suggestion is to just focus on one of them at a time. Taking all at once is a bit too much.

Table of Contents

Departure
1. The Call to Adventure
2. Refusal of the Call
3. Supernatural Aid
4. The Crossing of the First Threshold
5. The Belly of the Whale
Initiation
1. The Road of Trials
2. The Meeting with the Goddess
3. Woman as Temptress
4. Atonement with the Father
5. Apotheosis
6. The Ultimate Boon
Return
1. Refusal of the Return
2. The Magic Flight
3. Rescue from Without
4. Crossing of the Return Threshold
5. Master of Two Worlds
6. Freedom to Live

STAGE: departure

STEP: 1. The Call to Adventure

brief description: The call to adventure is the point in a person's life when they are first given notice that everything is going to change, whether they know it or not.

pithy quote:"This first stage of the mythological journey - which we have designated the "call to adventure" - signifies that destiny has summoned the hero and transferred his spiritual center of gravity from within the pale of his society to a zone unknown. This fateful region of both treasure and danger may be variously represented: as a distant land, a forest, a kingdom underground, beneath the waves, or above the sky, a secret island, lofty mountaintop, or profound dream state; but it is always a place of strangely fluid and polymorphous beings, unimaginable torments, superhuman deeds, and impossible delight. The hero can go forth of his own volition to accomplish the adventure, as did Theseus when he arrived in his father's city, Athens, and heard the horrible history of the Minotaur; or he may be carried or sent abroad by some benign or malignant agent as was Odysseus, driven about the Mediterranean by the winds of the angered god, Poseidon. The adventure may begin as a mere blunder ... or still again, one may be only casually strolling when some passing phenomenon catches the wandering eye and lures one away from the frequented paths of man. Examples might be multiplied, ad infinitum, from every corner of the world."--(Campbell 58)

STEP: 2. Refusal of the Call

brief description: Often when the call is given, the future hero refuses to heed it. This may be from a sense of duty or obligation, fear, insecurity, a sense of inadequacy, or any of a range of reasons that work to hold the person in his or her current circumstances.

pithy quote:"Refusal of the summons converts the adventure into its negative. Walled in boredom, hard work, or 'culture,' the subject loses the power

 

WOW! I'm very impressed. If you weren't already on my favorites list you would be after this. you put a lot of time into this. I can see how it relates to the OT as well as the PT in future episodes. It would be interesting seeing a woman tempt Anakin to the darkside.

 

Sup yodaman, haven't seen you in a while.

Well i didn't read your post but it looks like it would be pretty dang cool.....

 

*Very* good and in-depth post on this vital area of speculation. I've seen people say things like, "Well, Lucas uses mythology and was influenced by Campbell, etc.", but I've never seen the actual source material that inspired Lucas himself.

Bravo.

 

Thanks guys. I didn't really have to put that much effort into it. It was mostly just copying and pasting. There's just so much speculation that can be derived from this so I couldn't resist posting it. I guess I'll go ahead and begin the initial speculation.

Stage: Initiation
Step: 4. Atonement with the Father

What makes this so interesting is that Anakin has no father. Of course the father figure may be replaced "by whatever holds the ultimate power in his or her life." Perhaps this is the force in general. Ultimately Anakin must face some powerful entity, which will most likely will be Sidious. I believe Anakin's search for power in the force will be realized in this encountered. The reason he would seek such power is because perhaps the Jedi and their "feeble" powers are unable to help him such as in saving his mother. Frustrated by such slow progress and weak tricks, Anakin finds in Sidious someone who offers him this greater power which he can perform his own brand of justice. It is noted that the hero is "killed" and this is perhaps Anakin's turning point where Vader "destroys" Anakin from a certain point of view. He becomes consumed by this lust for power that the good and innocent person he once was becomes no more.

 

Wow. This is very impressive, yodaman. What I find most intriguing is the point about woman representing all the carnal temptations that come to repel a true hero. Until now, most of us have assumed that Padme will be the one to bring out the best in Anakin, and that he will sacrifice himself for her good. But what if she is actually the character who leads Anakin down the path of corruption?

Notice how few characters of ancient mythology have ever had happy marriages. Most of them ended up either abandoning their wives somewhere out of despair and frustration, or were cheated on by their deceitful wives. If Lucas follows this mythological pattern in the prequels, I think Padme will turn out to be a negative character who is much more detrimental to Anakin than TPM suggested she would be.

 

A terrific and thorough post, yodaman. This is really great stuff. Hopefully, I'll be able to comment on some of these points later.

(Personally, I think Amidala fits under the "Meeting with the Goddess" thing more than a "Tempress" -- though I could see it as Amidala being perceived as a distraction from his duties, particularly if Anakin defies the Council to be with her or something. I would just be surprised if GL did such a poor job foreshadowing Amidala as potentially being Anakin's biggest problem, especially given the rather clear foreshadowing he did with Shmi, with his relationship with Obi-Wan, etc.)

 

Bravo!

Perhaps some screenwriters should read this so that we can have better films...

 

Here's an interesting little illustration I've found. It's a pictured description of the hero's cycle.

http://homepages.go.com/~episodeii/heroiccycle.gif

Unfortunately I don't know enough about Campbell's writing to interpret each detail carefully, but it's interesting nonetheless.

 

Glad I checked to NS forum today. I've read a number of Campbell's works (including Hero with a Thousand Faces) and actually started to compile a table that relates each step of the Hero's Journey to Anakin's journey from EPI through EPVI. I have to leave for Sunday brunch now, but I'll try to come back later to discuss.

 

whoa... that was good. I looked at the 'myth chart' on the link, and there seemed to be a lot missing; rotj seemed to end three-quarters through with ani returning to the light side. Perhaps when GL was originally thinking of doind 9 films, the last three would have to do with that last quarter after he dies? Or perhaps he decided not to do three more films (sequels to the OT) during rotj, and decided to have Vader die instead of living and facing a trial?

--Mr. P

 

yodaman, I like your theorizing regarding Atonement with the Father. One of the ways the hero begins this stage of his journey is to go on a ?father quest?. Anakin?s quest for his ?father?, i.e., the Force, may lead him to seek forbidden knowledge that will destroy him and everyone around him.

It?s also possible to view Palpatine as the father [substitute] with whom Anakin is atoned. Palpatine fits two paternal archetypes in Campbell?s works: the ogre-father and the mystagogue. The ogre-father is both monster and man, at once terrifying and beautiful, brutal and compassionate. The mystagogue is the father or father substitute who initiates the son into the mysteries of life. It is his role to cut the son from the umbilical cord and purge him of all ?infantile cathexes?

Palpatine, appearing to Anakin as a compassionate father substitute, offers Anakin the chance to share the power and mysteries of The Force, but only if Anakin renounces his infantile status as a padawan, cutting the Jedi umbilical cord as it were. Part of Anakin?s initiation will be to renounce the mental, spiritual and physical restrictions of his Jedi training in order to find the quicker and easier path to his destiny as the Chosen One. In doing so, Anakin unleashes the dark side in himself and is consumed by it. It is only then that the ogre-father reveals his other side: ?One side was beautiful; but the other was rotten, maggots were dripping.? By that time it is too late.

It's interesting that the "Atonement" stage usually follows the son's separation from the mother. I suspect that Shmi will no longer be in the picture by this time.

 

Hi Aunt Darthy and welcome to the non-spoiler forum. You just made an extremely good post and make a lot of good points. I wish I were as well versed in Campbell as you. Oh well, I guess I'm going to have to buy the book if I want that to happen. Anyways, I like your portrayal of Palpatine as the father figure for Anakin. It's somewhat interesting how Anakin's lack of a father will play out in his life. His only real opportunity of gaining any type of father figure was with Qui Gonn. I wonder how that relationship will later affect him in this saga. It doesn't seem as if Obi Wan will be any kind of father figure to Anakin so Palpatine certainly fills that void.


Stage: Return
Step: 1. Refusal of the Return

It would seem most likely that after obtaining these great powers of the darkside, Anakin ultimately uses it to do good. He probably ends up saving the day in some miraculous way that so that all, including even the most powerful Jedis, are in awe and fear of his powers. In performing this great act, Anakin solidifies his status as a great hero. When it's time to return to the more humble state of the Jedi Order, Anakin refuses to do so and would rather hold on to his great powers and use them so that he may "bring order to the galaxy." He believes he is the one to help the Republic make its way out of its declining state.

 

yodaman, before tackling 'Hero' and other academic works of Campbell (he can be infuriatingly long-winded and obscure), I recommend the excellent ?Star Wars: The Magic of Myth? and Campbell?s own ?The Power of Myth.?

INITIATION, part 5
APOTHEOSIS
This stage is the hero?s divinization or transformation of consciousness, and coincides with Anakin?s transformation into Darth Vader. During the apotheosis, the hero may undergo a spiritual or even physical death, only to reborn as something greater (or more monstrous).

It is part of Star Wars lore that Anakin will undergo a physical transformation as a result of great bodily harm. More significant even than his physical death (or near-death) is the concurrent destruction of the last vestiges of his humanity. When he rises from the ashes (like the legendary phoenix), the person of Anakin is gone; what emerges in his place is a dark god whose humanity is hidden by a demon mask. Campbell says of Vader in ?The Power of Myth?: ?The monster masks that are put in people in Star Wars represent the real monster-force in the modern world. When the mask of Darth Vader is removed, you see an unformed man, one who has not developed as a human individual.?

Anakin/Vader?s apotheosis, his symbolic godhood, is represented by the title ?Lord?. When Lucas first envisioned Vader, he told Ralph Quarrie he wanted him to look like ?a dark lord riding on the wind.? ? a deadly and mysterious quasi-divinity. The dark ?monster-force? of Vader stands in direct juxtaposition to the still-flickering light of human sensibility and civilization, represented by leukos (Greek for ?light?) in the person of his son Luke.

Because this is one of Anakin?s pivotal transformations, I believe we will see him as Darth Vader at the end of Episode III. The impact of this moment will be unforgettable. It would also be in keeping with the theme of apotheosis for Lucas to juxtapose the "birth" of Vader with the birth of Luke, showing the simultaneous emergence of both the monster and his redeemer.

 

Very good Aunt Darthy. The visual cue of Anakin rising from the ashes to be reborn as a demon type character is an impressive one at that. I particularly like your interpretation of the juxtaposition between birth of Vader and the birth of Luke. It would wonderfully emphasized if Lucas decided to show both births near simultaneously.

Stage: Initiation
Step: 2. The Meeting with the Goddess

Exactly how Padme will fit into the overall story and her relationship with Anakin is something that's puzzled me. This stage here would be interesting way to view her character in the context of Anakin. Supposedly this "sacred marriage" is to be considered the "union of opposite," or more importantly a representation of a self-unification. So what does this suggest about the relationship between Anakin and Amidala? Will their relationship be opposite, but complementary? Perhaps his head strong and impatient manner will be countered by her down to Earth nature and overall calmness.

More interesting his how the hero no longer sees himself in a dualistic manner. Certainly there is duality with Anakin in that he is both impatient and brash, and also selfless and kind. It's an interesting combination that may ultimately prove to be his source of error. It is because of his kindness that he develops his own unique brand of justice and his brashness disallows him to fully comprehend the folly of his ideals and his willingness to disobey the Jedi Order. Perhaps in joining fully these dualistic sides of Anakin, Padme ironically becomes the catalyst in his quest for the ultimate boon, i.e. the power of the force.

 

yodaman, duality is indeed a key motif in the Marriage with the Goddess. Padme is Anakin's 'anima' or feminine aspect. As her Sanskrit name implies (Padme=lotus=wisdom and compassion), she represents a strong connection to the Light Side of the Force. Losing or rejecting this aspect of his nature may help tip him in the opposite direction, away from the light side toward the dark. On the other hand, sometimes the Goddess herself, however good and innocent, can imperil the hero by tempting him away from the hero path...

INITIATION, Part 6
THE ULTIMATE BOON
This is the hero?s reward and/or the ?magic elixir? he will carry back from the kingdom of adventure to heal the sufferings of the real world. In some cases, however, the hero drops or spoils the exilir before he can accomplish his mission.

Anakin?s reward is complete mastery of the Dark Side of the Force, as well as more mundane power that comes with being the Emperor?s right-hand man and commander of the Imperial Navy. The ultimate boon or ?magic elixir? is the Balanced Force (i.e., the Light Side). As the Chosen One, Anakin was to have restored this boon to a galaxy sickened by the cancerous Sith. But by helping the Emperor destroy the balance of the Force, he perverts the ultimate boon into the ultimate bane.

At the same time, unbeknownst to him (?), Anakin is the source of another ?boon? to mankind -- a New Hope for the galaxy represented by his son Luke (the Light), whose faith and compassion will someday redeem him, enabling him at last to restore the Ultimate Boon of the Balance of the Force.

 

Come on people. There has to be more ideas than just what Aunt Darthy and I are giving. Anyways, I'll try giving a little summation of all the steps that have already taken place in the movies.

Stage: Departure
Step: 1. Call to Adventure

Obviously this is when Anakin must help out the gang and Qui Gonn recognizes that he is the Chosen One and decides to take him to Corurscant to be trained as a Jedi.

Stage: Departure
Step: 2. Refusal of the Call

Anakin momentarily tells his mom that he can't do it, but she eventually convinces him to go on.

Stage: Departure
Step: 3. Supernatural Aid

It's possible that this may actually occur later, but for now I'm going to believe that Anakin's "lucky" shot on the droid control ship was powered by the force itself and served as his aid. It probably won't be the last time, though.

Stage: Return
Step: 3. Rescue from Without

The hero needs a rescuer who will bring him back to everyday life. This would obviously be in the form of his son Luke. He attempts face off against his father, but with interesting results. "If the hero. . . is unwilling, the disturber suffers an ugly shock." I'm sure Luke was shocked when he got his hand lopped off. Eventually he gives it another go, though.

Stage: Return
Step: 4. The Crossing of the Return Threshold

Here is where the hero return back to the world in which he came. "Why re-enter such a world? Why attempt to make plausible, or even interesting, to men and women consumed with passion, the experience of transcendental bliss?" Anakin chooses to return to the light side of the force and forego the powers he had obtained to complete the quest for the ultimate boon.

Stage: Return
Step: 5. Master of the Two Worlds

This is perhaps the most intriguing scenario that Anakin accomplishes in that he becomes the master of both worlds, meaning the light side and the dark side of the force. In a way, this revisits the question of whether he had to fall to the darkside of the force. Perhaps this suggests this is so in order to give him a true and unbiased choice between good and evil. Where those before him either chose good or evil out of mere obedience and ignorant towards the opposing view, Anakin understand both sides. His choice in this matter is true and free and therefore not tainted by the outside, but pure from within. "Freedom to pass back and forth across the world division, from the perspective of the apparitions of time to that of the causal deep and back - not contaminating the principles of the one with those of the other, yet permitting the mind to know the one by virtue of the other - is the talent of the master."

Stage: Return
Step: 6. Freedom to Live

"Mastery leads to freedom from the fear of death, which in turn is the freedom to live. This is sometimes referred to as living in the moment, neither anticipating the future nor regretting the past." And of course we see Anakin asking Luke to remove his mask without the fear of his eventual death. "Nothing retains its own form; but Nature, the greater renewer, ever makes up forms from forms. Be sure there's nothing perishes in the whole universe; it does but vary and renew its form." True enough in that Anakin takes his place as spirit in his new form.

 

Departure: Crossing the Threshold

Maybe we have already seen this stage when Anakin was taken as Obi-Wan's Padawan in the end of Episode I. He has left his own world that he knew, and was on the path to becoming a Jedi Knight. If the Jedi council was to be the threshold guardian, then Anakin has just met with them at this time and is let into the new world. Although the time when Anakin becomes a Jedi Knight would also make sense for this stage, but by then he is more familiar with the world as opposed to when he is just a little boy and knows nothing of the Force.

 

Just filling in the gaps:

DEPARTURE, Part 3
THE SUPERNATURAL AID
The supernatural aide often comes in the form of a wise, old mentor (often a wizard, good witch , fairy godmother or hermit). The mentor helps the hero get past his fears, builds confidence and gives guidance. The mentor may be one who has been down the hero-path in the past and now offers wisdom from that experience. The mentor provides the adventurer with amulets and talismans against the dangers he is about to encounter. He/she usually withdraws or dies before the hero can face his supreme ordeal.

In TPM, Anakin is guided by Qui-Gonn Jinn (Jinn=genie), an experienced Jedi master and himself a hero. The talisman he gives the boy is knowledge of the Force, which is itself the ultimate supernatural aide. In keeping with mythological tradition, Qui-Gonn dies before Anakin faces his trials in Episode II, and is replaced by Obi-Wan Kenobi.

This stage of the hero?s journey is paralleled almost perfectly in AHN. Ben Kenobi, ?that crazy old wizard?, sets Luke on the path of adventure, giving him his father's lightsabre as a talisman against the dark side. Like Qui-Gonn, he dies before the pupil faces his supreme ordeal (the Death Star). Yoda, disguised as a crazy hermit, replaces Ben as supernatural aide in ESB, preparing Luke for his encounter with Vader.

Other supernatural aides/talismans include:
* Merlin/Excalibur
* Cinderella?s fairy godmother/the glass slippers
* Glinda, the good witch of the North/the ruby slippers

 

Well I think we will see Anakin being aided by someone else in episode II. I just don't get the feeling that Qui Gonn completely fulfills this role. He helped and taught Anakin a little bit, but I don't really see his influence going that far. Perhaps he somewhat fits this step, but then again Lucas is not above the repetition of these themes. I expect someone will come along in episode II and give him even greater help than Qui Gonn had.

 

Can't really think of anything to say here that would be a worthwhile contribution.

But it does make for a good read.

 

Cool thread, yodaman (and you, Aunt Darthy). Eventually I'll get my attention span in shape and post some thoughts of my own...

 

Glad to see this thread is still alive.

INITIATION, Part 5
THE BELLY OF THE WHALE
The hero descends or falls into a dark, dangerous place (a literal or figurative netherworld). He emerges transformed and is reborn to a new stage of his adventure.

PT Parallels:
In TPM, Anakin flies into the belly of the Trade Federation mothership, which he destroys, seemingly by accident. By dint of this act he is transformed from an ordinary boy into a Jedi padawan, overcoming the objections of the Jedi Council to his training. A very literal example of the motif is shown earlier, when the Gungan bongo is menaced by a variety of sea monsters, including the Sando Aqua Monster, which consumes the other smaller fish. Obi-Wan's near-fall into the reactor shaft on Theed gives him the strength and resolve to finish off Darth Maul, who plummets into the belly never to return.

Since this is Lucas? all-time favorite mythological motif, appearing in every SW episode to date, it?s almost certain we?ll see examples of ?the belly of the whale? in Episode II/III. Star Wars lore has it that Palpatine has an underground throne room. Maybe Anakin finds it or is invited to enter. A Sith temple or a cloning chamber would also fit the bill. Of course, the ultimate ?belly? scene is expected to take place in Episode III, when Anakin falls into a molten pit (or it?s symbolic equivalent) and is transformed into Darth Vader. It's fun to speculate about other variations of the theme.

OT Parallels:
* Death Star garbage compactor (AHN)
* Death Star trenches (AHN)
* Asteroid space slug (ESB)
* Dagobah cave (ESB)
* Air shaft on Bespin (ESB)
* Carbonite freezing chamber (ESB)
* Rancor pit (ROTJ)
* Sarlacc pit (ROTJ)
* The 2nd Death Star (ROTJ)
* Reactor shaft (ROTJ)

 

Love the thread, guys.

I thought it might be relevant to cite an article called "The Phantom Menace: Repetition, Variation, Integration" that was published in the academic journal "Film Criticism" this past Spring.

I think the article is relevant because it places TPM within the context Campbell's monomyth: departure, initiation, and return. In it's own words:

The integrating viewer can now perceive that Star Wars 1 through 6 will give us the same pattern arching over all 6 films, in relation to Anakin as hero: with his departure in THE PHANTOM MENACE, initiation in episodes 2-3, and return in 4-6 (beginning with his discovery of his son Luke in 4-5, and ending with his self-sacrificial death for Luke, and therefore resurrection, at the end of 6).

A great article. I'd be happy to scan and fwd to anyone unable to get a copy themselves.

-The Senator

 

SenatorBinks, I would love to have a copy. Lucas has admitted on many occasions that 'Hero' is the blueprint for the SW saga:

"I didn't know what I was doing at the time [writing Star Wars]. I started working, started doing research, started writing, and a year went by. I wrote many drafts of this work and then I stumbled across 'The Hero With A Thousand Faces'. It was the first time that I really began to focus. Once I read that book I said to myself, This is what I've been doing. This is it. [?] It was 'The Hero With A Thousand Faces' that just took what was about 500 pages and said, Here is the story. Here's the end; here's the focus; here's the way it's all laid out. It was all right there and had been there for thousands of years.." (Source: The Hero's Journey - Joseph Campbell on his Life and Works, 1990)