In the last post, I wrote about how our minds view reality through the prism of narrative and story. To develop this further, let’s dip into the Hero’s journey, and how the elements of story contained within the Hero’s Journey fit into the architecture of our minds.
Archetypal storytelling
According to Jungian psychology (nice soft entry into this post!), our subconscious minds are collectively shaped by universal forces such as entropy and spacetime. These forces have caused our subconscious to develop a deep, instinctual framework of forms (mother, wise man, trickster), events (birth, separation from parents, death) and motifs (the flood, creation, the apocalypse) through which we view reality.
These Jungian archetypes are common to all of us, and appear in myths, legends and stories across the world and throughout history. Back in the late 1940s, American professor of literature Joseph Campbell saw that these archetypes not only fit neatly into many of the ancient myths and traditional stories he was researching across the globe, but that they also apply to our daily lives.
According to Campbell, “We are all heroes struggling to accomplish our adventure. As human beings, we engage in a series of struggles to develop as individuals and to find our place in society. Beyond that, we long for wisdom: we want to understand the universe and the significance of our role in it.”
The myths we tell ourselves
In other words, the myths we create are structured representations of the struggles we go through in life to grow and learn. If we’re all subject to the same forces and struggles, this explains why the mono-myth (the common roots that tie all myths together) exists.
Let’s take a look at the framework Campbell developed - The Hero’s Journey, or as I like to call it, the “build-your-own myth kit”. The Hero’s Journey consists of 3 main parts with various optional sub elements: separation, the trials and victories of initiation, and the return and reintegration into society.
We used Star Wars as an example of the Hero’s Journey for a reason - George Lucas was an avid fan of the book and used it extensively to create the Star Wars universe. Let’s then represent the various sub-sections of the Hero’s Journey with the adventures of a certain young farm boy.
Separation
The first phase of the Hero’s Journey is where the hero separates himself from the world he knows. Think the first half of A New Hope.
The call to adventure/call of destiny - a couple of drones who just so happen to have been involved in the rebellion against the Galactic Empire get sold to uncle Owen and Luke by the Jawas. Luke gives them a bath and discovers Leia’s message to Obi-Wan.
Refusal of the call - Luke goes to bed instead of finding Obi-Wan.
Supernatural guide/protective figure helps them prepare - Could this be a certain General Kenobi by any chance? Also, a certain green-skinned Degoban in later instalments?
Crossing the first threshold by making way to an unknown zone and facing a guardian - The little trickster himself, R2D2 buggers off restraining bolt-free into the Jundland (Jungian?) wastes. Luke and C3PO follow his tracks and get jacked by a crew of Sand People.
The belly of the whale - the hero almost gets killed but overcomes - In this instance, our hero Luke overcomes the odds with a little help from Obi-Wan “the Sand People are easily startled, but will be back, and in greater numbers” Kenobi.
The trials and victories of initiation
This is the bit where the hero starts changing into the person they are destined to become.
The road of trials - This can either take the form of a list of tasks, or one extended journey to prove one’s worth. These trials represent psychological danger - e.g. the fall into the Dark Side. This covers basically everything in the original trilogy up to the final fight in the Emperor’s throne room on the newly-built Death Star circling the forest moon of Endor.
The meeting with the goddess - the chance for the hero to show his maturity through soulful communion. A little bit tricky, this one, as Leia kind of morphs from the Goddess (“you’re a little short for a storm trooper”) into his sister, who he still proves his worth to. I’d like to nail down Mr. Lucas and have a chat to him about that one!
The temptress - Sometimes the hero resists as she is leading him astray. I think the whole seductive nature of the Dark Side of the force can be seen as the temptress here.
The innermost cave - A run in with a father figure (e.g a priest/sacred figure/Obi-Wan/Yoda) who tests and approves of the hero’s new psychological maturity. The father may also take the form of a monster/Vader/Emperor. Think of the literal cave Luke enters on Degobah with Yoda, and the fact he panics when confronted with Vader. This extends out to the fight at the end of Empire, where Luke confronts the true horror of Vader being his father.
Apotheosis - Becoming a god after confronting the father figure. Think about the final confrontation in Jedi - Luke resists Vader (just), staying on the side of the light.
The ultimate boon - taking possession of an object that symbolises their apotheosis. In Luke’s case, it’s the fully embracing the Light Side of the Force.
Return and reintegration into society
Refusal of the return - Luke wanting to stay with Vader and not abandon him when the Death Star is falling to pieces.
The magic flight - The Y Wing Luke uses to leave the Death Star.
Rescue from without by a friend - Lando, Solo, Leia et. al. blowing shit up in all areas, plus the rebel fleet in battle in orbit.
Crossing the return threshold - Getting out of dodge at light speed when the Death Star blows up.
Master of the 2 worlds - Obi-Wan, Anakin and Yoda having a ghost barbecue with Luke.
Freedom to live - Ewok party time.
Not all of these elements are present in all stories, but the key themes - a voyage into the unknown triggered by an outside force, a trail of trials that leads to manhood, and the conquering of a foe followed by a return to the promised land of balance between the two worlds, is a story we all know, love and can get behind.
When you understand we process reality in a narrative format told through stories, you have a toolbox for collating important experiences and datasets into meaningful, engaging structures for your audiences. The Hero’s Journey therefore represents the metaphorical instructions you need to follow when creating a story that is correctly assembled. In the next blog post, we’ll take our toolbox and instructions, and see what we need to build stories in a business setting.