Back to the Lego Movie

            Laura brought up the Lego Movie earlier and this is another post/comment to hers. I just saw the film and I agree that it is Awesome (see the movie), and it is a text that seems to have been made for this class. As Laura said, this film both works with and subverts the mono-myth. We’ve got the (bearded) mentor, herald, trickster, shape shifter, and shadow almost as caricatures of those roles, all done in a spirit of parody. Yet, there are a couple of serious moments (see the movie) that work to directly evoke and counteract the role of the hero.

http://williamsonsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/The-Lego-Movie.jpg

            What is really weird is that one of the conflicts of the movie is almost copy-pasted from the John Fiske article we read. I think I can safely say without spoiling anything that there is a conflict over the use of the “instructions” that come with Lego sets. There are some characters who want to follow them to the letter without deviation and those who want to ignore them completely. So there is the product as the manufactures have created them to be used and the way the people use them in subversion to the manufactures. But, now the manufactures have made a text permitting such use of their product, which Fiske would say was their effort to contain the subversion, something like the example he provided, the shopping mall promoting “mall walkers” (40-41).

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/2013/10/lego_a.jpg

            And there is more. Many of the Lego characters are a walking cross-textual spaghetti bowl.  As he is in the previews and posters I can mention that Lego Batman features prominently in the movie. There are all kind of jokes and references about him and every other superhero/character Lego person. And so all of these characters bring behind them their associated fandoms and tangled inter-connected fandoms. The film makes use of it all.

            In summary, everyone in class should see the Lego Movie. It is worth it on its own and may be useful in class. Laura is right about the song. Be ready for that.

Note: should anyone from Warner Bros. or Lego read this I would not mind being paid :)

Is the Dark Side Misunderstood?

            So I had mixed feelings about Campbell’s supposition of the Monomyth. I am always a little wary of texts that start with Freud (and or Jung) but this is probably the first time I that their theories have been applied in a way that even resembled sense. For the most part Campbell’s argument seems to follow logical steps from his base and that follow the evidence he points out. Unless I have read this wrong, he asserts that the Monomyth is essentially, and this is an over-simplification, a result (and vital part) of basic human psychology. I can argue the foundation but the better part of structure built on top of it appears sturdy enough. The very end of his argument, however, seems to have something really out of joint.

The last section in the chapter we read is on The World Navel. He discusses the point where the good material from the subconscious come (through the hero) into the waking world; “the hero as the incarnation of God is himself the navel of the world, the umbilical point through which the energies of eternity break into time” (41). So far I follow. This is what the hero must be if he is bringing that knowledge back. Campbell’s following statement does not seem to fit; “the World Navel, then, is ubiquitous. And sense it is the source of all existence, it yields the world’s plentitude of good and evil” (44), and further “Virtue is but the pedagogical prelude to the culminating insight, which goes beyond all pairs of opposites” (44). He follows these statements with the tale of Edshu and his multi-colored hat. Maybe this fits with the argument of insight that came before, but the hero of the Monomyth cannot possibly be as ambiguous as Campbell seems to be saying. Is not the hero saving people from their miss-development that leads to tyranny? So that at least has to actually be evil.

I just finished watching Star Wars and one of the things that stood out to me this time round was just how stark the division between the two sides are. Even Han, as the rough kind of hero, does in fact have to pick whether to side with the Rebels or leave with his reward, which is really an indirect way to side with the Empire. Luke even says that he hates the Empire, a comment that Obi-Wan seems to have no quam with. What’s more, Obi-Wan guides Luke to completely obliterate the Death Star. From what Campbell seems to be saying, the hero should come to something of a higher understanding from which he sees all sides, because none is actually evil. Perhaps I am completely missing what Campbell is saying but best I can tell that never plays out in any Monomyth I am familiar with. The Dark Side always remains so.

Oh and I thought this too. I see some similarities…

Helm's Deep
(http://staticmass.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/towers_5.jpg)
The Falcon
(http://www.coronasquadron.com/wallpics/s-flcn-str.JPG)

Star Wars: A Hero's Journey

I can't tell you guys how excited I am for Tuesday's discussion about Star Wars and archetypes. I think it might look something like this:

(But perhaps with a bit less Michael J Fox.)

So why am I so excited?

Everyone, it seems, has a Star Wars story, or even a few of them. My journey into loving Star Wars begins in the third or fourth grade. My mom and I rented all three of the films (yes, only three then) from our local video store and watched them back-to-back. I spent that summer writing a screenplay for "Episode VII" on something like 10 legal pads. The plot, as I recall, revolves around Luke training his sister to be a Jedi. (Maybe I should send it to JJ Abrams?) Star Wars introduced me to fan culture and fanfiction long before I knew either of those things even existed.

O Captain my Captain!

But my fascination with the movie deepened in the ninth grade. I had an amazing English teacher that year, Ms. Huff. She stood out a bit at the very traditional southern girls' school I attended. (I've always thought of her as my school's version of Mr Keating from Dead Poets' Society.)

A bit of a free spirit, she taught us the rhythms of poetry by teaching us to waltz. And she taught us about archetypes and mythology by showing us Star Wars.

Ladies and gentlemen, my eyes were opened.

I had never thought about the ways that all of the books and films that I loved were part of something larger, something connecting me to all of the people who ever have, or ever will, tell stories.

Even though I hope I have achieved a more sophisticated theoretical approach to texts than I had when I was 14, that lessons sticks with me. It's a formative moment in my education and my life, and it couldn't have happened without Star Wars.

Before I sign off for today, I wanted to share a link to a helpful article on Screened discussing how the Hero's Journey structure plays out in the film. I think you'll find it useful for our discussion next week. Click on the helpful diagram below to see it full size - you may want to consult it before, during, or after watching the movie for Tuesday's class.

from the Screened article linked above

So what about you guys? Do you have a Star Wars story to share? Are you a fan? Why or why not?