The Hero's Journey

In order to attain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd.

-Miguel de Cervantes

Joseph Campbell spent much of his professional career studying heroism in both classical and contemporary eras. In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell outlines the journey of classical heroes from across the globe, detailing the road-markers that are common in the majority of hero myths/stories. The journey of the hero, called by Campbell the monomyth, is divided into three main parts: The Departure, the Initiation, and the Return (Campbell vii-viii). The Departure is begun by a call to adventure, the appearance of a herald or occurrence of an event that calls the hero to leave their world and begin a journey of torments, trials, and/or delights (Campbell 48). The final step of the Departure stage is the crossing of the first threshold. The first threshold is a gateway, guarded by “the highest spirit of reason,” marking the barrier between the world of the hero, and the world wherein the hero must journey (73).

The Initiation stage is where the hero begins the journey along the road of trials. Upon this road, the hero encounters a succession of obstacles that serve to thwart and hinder our hero (Campbell 81). Other encounters in the Initiation stage include meeting a goddess or some embodiment of feminine perfection, an encounter with a temptress, and ultimately confronting the figure from whom the boon of salvation comes, either peaceably or by force (91-126). Upon receipt of the ultimate boon, the hero now enters the third and final stage on the monomyth, the Return. The hero, possibly after some hesitation, returns to the world from whence they came, bringing the ultimate boon (148-169). The hero then often becomes the master of two worlds, allowing the old world to be renewed (196-209). Not all myths, legends, and folk-lore contain every element of the monomyth, but most contain many parts of Campbell’s heroic path (212).

The Inspiration

In 2007 the Writer’s Guild of America, west, a labor union composed of screen writers and assorted authors, went on strike. Director and author Joss Whedon, “frustrated with the lack of movement… finally decided to do something very ambitious.” With the help of family and friends, Joss put together the first supervillian online musical: “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.” The story follows the exploits of Dr. Horrible, a “low-rent superhero” who has all the horribleness of the Velveteen Rabbit. Throughout the forty-five-minute series, Dr. Horrible reports on his failed attempts to both woo fellow laundry person Penny and vanquish his arch-nemesis Captain Hammer. Whedon’s choice to use a supervillian as the protagonist shows the growing trend in contemporary society to haze the hero in sordid smog.

Towards the end of the series finale, Captain Hammer enthralls the audience with “Everyone’s a Hero in their own way,” a musical number in which Captain Hammer explains to the homeless that even the alcoholic bums can be heroes, albeit in a “not-that-heroic way." The you’re-all-second-place-winners-to-me message from the series’ heroic antagonist, as well as Whedon’s encouragement to the audience to root for the eponymous, villainous protagonist to receive admission into the Evil League of Evil serve to inverse the definition and characteristics of contemporary heroism.

This delightfully low-budget production served as a springboard into my search for the patterns and trends of heroes and villains throughout the ages. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is simply one example of an outright inversion of the moral system accepted by the audience. From animated blockbusters to award winning television series, we will continue to look at what a hero really is and, more importantly, what our modern heroes are becoming.

A Statement of Purpose

Men do not differ much about what things they will call evils; they differ enormously about what evils they will call excusable.
                              - G. K. Chesterton


Joseph Campbell once wrote of the path of a hero. In his book, Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell outlines the basic structure that nearly all heroic stories follow. I have spent a significant amount of time studying heroes and villains. In my research I have come across some startling discoveries. These posts/ramblings/articles/etc. will be a collection of thoughts and research regarding the relationship and structure of heroes and villains. 

Most of what differentiates the hero from the villain are rules. Laws dictate what is good and what is not good. When an organization establishes a set of rules, those who uphold those rules are considered heroic within that organization. If, however, there is another organization that has a set of rules that oppose the rules of the first organization, those who support the first are generally considered villainous.

And so it is my wish, that all who stray onto this blog and read this posting may remember that villainy and heroism are established by the law and just because you think yourself heroic, don't think for a second that your enemies do not think themselves every bit as heroic as you envision yourself.