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Heroes, Anti Heroes, and Villains
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Introduction

Joseph Campbell was a curious mythologist. In the field of comparative mythology, most scholars invested their time exploring how one culture’s myths are different than another.

Instead of focusing on the many differences between cultural myths and religious stories, however, Campbell looked for the similarities. And his studies resulted in what’s called the monomyth.

The monomyth is a universal story structure. It’s a kind of story template that takes a character through a sequence of stages.

The main character in the monomyth is the hero. The hero isn’t a person, but an archetype—a set of universal images combined with specific patterns of behavior. Think of a protagonist from your favorite film. He or she represents the hero. The storyline of the film enacted the hero’s journey. The Hero archetype resides in the psyche of every individual, which is one of the primary reasons we love hearing and watching stories.

Campbell began identifying the patterns of this monomyth. Over and over again, he was amazed to find this structure in the cultures he studied. He saw the same sequence in many religions including the stories of Gautama Buddha, Moses, and Jesus Christ.

Campbell outlined the stages of the monomyth in his classic book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Jeffrey, S. (n.d.) How to Use the Hero’s Journey for Personal Development. Retrieved from https://scottjeffrey.com/heros-journey-steps/

Hero's Journey Step by Step

Aslan, Marco. (2018, August 1). Hero's Journey Step by Step. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uV_sqcbyIw

Joseph Campbell and the Myth of the Hero Journey

Academy of Ideas. (2016, June 16). Joseph Campbell and the Myth of the Hero's Journey. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4288NRq1vVc

The Hero's Journey

RAW Spirituality. (2017, August 16). The hero’s journey: Joseph Campbell  [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNPcefZKmZ0

 

Glossary

The Hero's Journey and the Monomyth: Crash Course World Mythology #25

CrashCourse. (2017, September 2). The hero’s journey and the monomyth: crash course world mythology #25  [Video file]. Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XevCvCLdKCU

Odysseus

CrashCourse. (2017, February 27). A long and difficult journey, or The Odyssey: crash course literature 201 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=MS4jk5kavy4

TED Talk Heroic Journey

Tedx. (2018, April 2). Developing the heroic journey mindset [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=QJiTZyvrcAA

A Host of Heroes TED Talk

Ted- Ed. (2013, April 29). A host of heroes – April Gudenrath [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=_p9Q8Dj3X2c

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