Archetypes November 30th

Who is the “hero” of the film? What is Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey? How are myths similar to popular stories? Why do we like the stories we like?

I personally think that the hero of the movie is Michael Corleone. This is because throughout the movie he is called a war hero by many of his fellow friends and family members and not only that, but he also took matters in his own hands even when he vowed he did not want to get mixed up into that business.

Even though his character is first somewhat weak since we do not know much about him and do not have a full and in depth knowledge of his background or what his character is like but throughout the movie we see it developing. He initially did not want to take any part in the family business but when his father was shot, his view changed dramatically and all he wanted was revenge. Joseph Campbell’s hero’s Journey starts off with the return of a hero. This is true to The Godfather because Michael Corleone arrives back from War in the beginning of the movie. He received a warm welcome as a savior with a lot of people calling him a hero. But then he faced the whole ordeal with the shooting of his father and that somewhat was like a test on what path he should choose. He chose to get revenge and that shows that he is a hero perhaps to his family.

Other stories that I can think of that are somewhat similar to Joseph Campbell’s theory is perhaps Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter is already thought of as a hero since he was the one who escaped death from Voldemort, (You know who), who was an evil person and thought of as a hero figure because of this. He goes on to be gawked at and treated a little bit differently because of this when he returns to Hogwarts, which falls under Joseph Campbell’s theory of the return of a hero. Even though he wasn’t really aware of Hogwarts before he was 11 years of age, he was still thought of as a hero. The series goes on to show how much of a hero he is because he often saves the day and fights evil Voldemort because he is the one who can.

I feel that we are likely to favour stories like this since we often feel sympathy or an emotional attachment to the characters. My immediate reaction to when Michael Corleone was going to dinner with the chief and Sollazo was routing for him to murder them because that was what he was set out to do. This is an awful thought however, I feel that he was getting justice for his father. It portrays him as a better guy than the other characters since the police officer was a dirty cop and Sollazo seemed to have been in charge of shooting his father. I feel that most people would love a nice happy ending and a story of a hero may contain this, or at least it has the action and the adventure. Suspense also plays a key part in stories in order for us to want to know more, want to know what happens. I feel that stories like this also have elements of good versus evil which has been a classical tale.