This presentation looks at current movies, going through the steps of The Hero's Journey as proposed by Joseph Campbell and suggests some online activitites for the ESL classroom. Presented at 2das Jornadas de Literatura y Medios Universidad de San Martín, Argentina.

1. MAKING THE COMPLEX SIMPLE:
THE HERO’S JOURNEY IN FILM
2das Jornadas Internacionales
Literatura y Medios Audiovisuales
en Lenguas Extranjeras
Universidad Nacional de San Martín
lES en Lenguas Vivas “J.R. Fernández”
19, 20 y 21 septiembre 2013
Bárbara Paola García
www.madaboutelt.com

2. SOMEONE WHO DID SOMETHING GREAT
A PERSON WITH SPECIAL POWERS
SOMEONE WHO HELPS OTHERS
AN ADVENTURER
SOMEONE WHO IS NEVER AFRAID

3. OTHERS
62% 35%
3%
Kids 11 to 14 years old

4. JOSEPH CAMPBELL
AMERICAN MYTHOLOGIST
(1904-1987)
THE ARCHETYPAL HERO
(FOLLOWING JUNG)
THE MONOMYTH
(HERO’S JOURNEY)

5. AN ARQUETYPE
A recurring pattern of character or situation found in
mythology, religion and stories from all cultures
Universal, the product of the collective unconscious
and Inherited from our ancestors
We don’t “invent” arquetypes; they are part of
our ancestral memory and they simply appear
In religion and our production of art
The archetypal hero is not out there in the world;
he/she is a deeply rooted part of us

6. ARQUETYPAL HEROES
SHARE CERTAIN
CHARACTERISTICS

7. UNUSUAL BIRTH
SPECIAL WEAPON
SUPERNATURAL HELP
GREAT OBSTACLES
SEE THE PATTERN?

8. THE MONOMYTH
An archetypal plot
An ancient story pattern found
In texts from hundreds of years
ago as well as in new Hollywood
blockbusters
An internal journey - the
transformation from ordinary
Into extraordinary

9. THE MONOMYTH
“lt will always be the one,
shape-shifting yet marvelously
constant story that we find,
together with a challenging
persistent suggestion of more
remaining to be experienced
that will ever be known or told.”
Joseph Campbell
The Hero with the Thousand Faces

10. THE MONOMYTH
HARRY POTTER AND THE
SOURCERER’S STONE
THE NARNIA CHRONICLES – THE LION,
THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
THE WIZARD OF OZ
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Following Christopher Vogler
The Writer’s Journey

11. DEPARTURE
1
THE HERO IS INTRODUCED IN
HIS/HER ORDINARY WORLD

12. DEPARTURE
2
CALL TO ADVENTURE

13. DEPARTURE
3
REFUSAL OF THE CALL

14. DEPARTURE
4
MEETING WITH THE MENTOR

15. DEPARTURE
5
CROSSING THE FIRST THRESHOLD

16. DEPARTURE
6
TESTS, ALLIES, ENEMIES

17. DEPARTURE
7
APPROACHING THE INMOST CAVE

18. INITIATION
8
ORDEAL (CENTRAL CRISIS)

19. INITIATION
9
REWARD

20. RETURN
10
THE ROAD BACK

21. RETURN
11
RESURRECTION

22. “Only birth can conquer death –
not of the old thing again
but of something new.”
Joseph Campbell
The Hero with a Thousand Faces

23. RETURN
12
RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR
There’s
no place
like
home!

24. “HEROES TAKE UP JOURNEYS,
CONFRONT DRAGONS,
AND DISCOVER THE TREASURE
OF THEIR TRUE SELVES.”
Carol Pearson
The Hero Within

25. WE ALL FIGHT
OUR JABBERWOCKIES
FROM TIME TO TIME.
RELAX AND
ENJOY THE JOURNEY!

26. IN THE CLASSROOM
http://www.readwritethink.org

27. IN THE CLASSROOM
http://www.readwritethink.org

28. IN THE CLASSROOM
http://marvel.com/games/play/31/create_your_own_superhero

29. IN THE CLASSROOM
www.comiclife.com

30. IN THE CLASSROOM
http://whatwouldyoulook.com/

31. Thank you!
Find this presentation at www.madaboutelt.com
@madaboutelt

32. REFERENCES
Campbell, J. (1949) The Hero with a
Thousand Faces. New Jersey: Princeton
University Press.
Pearson, C. (1944) The Hero Within:
Six Archetypes We Live By. New York:
Harper & Row.
Vogler, C. (1998) The Writer’s Journey:
Mythic Structure for Writers. California:
Michael Wiese Prod.