This past week, I saw the new Marvel film, Ant-Man. Despite not knowing all the hardcore-fan-only tidbits and easter eggs like my two friends, I still really enjoyed the movie and its many unexpected laugh out loud moments. (Plus, Paul Rudd is always great and I will fight anyone who opposes this opinion). During the movie, though, I got to thinking about how the film was a great example of “The Hero’s Journey”, a narrative template/device that we had touched on briefly during Media 1. I thought it would be interesting to further analyse this concept, given that one of the exploration points for Film 3 has to do with comparing traditional and non-traditional drama narrative techniques.
As a basic idea, “The Hero’s Journey” is a summary of a type of psychologically motivated/goal oriented character storytelling that is present in the majority of popular cinema today, especially in the superhero genre. There are many variations of this journey, one of which is shown in the below diagram, but the general setup is the same for all the versions. To understand each of the steps, I’ll try to give the general explanation and then put it in relation to Ant-Man (spoilers ahead).
1. Ordinary World
The introduction of the main character’s everyday life before the “big event”, establishing their quirks, flaws and motivations. Usually there is something that is causing them stress (this will be fixed by the resolution of the film).
In Antman: Scott Lang, a well meaning thief, is released from prison. He is refused by his ex-wife to see his daughter unless he can provide child support.
2. Call to Adventure
A significant, out of the ordinary event shakes up the Hero’s normal life and leads them on an adventure.
In Antman: Scott is convinced by his friends to commit a burglary in order to find money for his child support payments, which leads him to find the Ant-Man suit.
3. Refusal of the Call
At first, the hero tries to turn away from the adventure due to fear of the unknown or belief that they are not capable.
In Antman: Scott is surprised after discovering the true powers of the suit and tries to return it.
4. Meeting the Mentor
The hero is approached by the ‘mentor’ who will offer the hero training, knowledge, equipment or advice, and often making the hero realise the benefit of the adventure.
In Antman: Scott is approached by Hank Pym (the owner of the suit).
5. Crossing the Threshhold
The hero commits to leaving their ordinary world to embark on their journey.
In Antman: Scott agrees to be the new Ant-Man.
6. Tests, Allies and Enemies
In this new world, the hero figures out their allies and enemies. Trials and tribulations in this stage also show the hero as they progress in the special world.
In Antman: Scott is given explanations of the history of the suit as well as the dangers of what his enemy, Cross’s replica suit Yellorjacket could do. He is trained by Pym and his daughter to understand the suit and his new allies, the ants.
7. Approach
The hero and his allies prepare for the major challenge in the special world.
In Antman: Scott trains and prepares with Pym to execute their plan of infiltrating Cross’s headquarters and steal the Yellowjacket.
8. The Ordeal
The Hero must draw upon all of his skills and his experiences gathered upon the path to the inmost cave in order to overcome his most difficult challenge. Some form of death may occur, but will eventually lead to new life.
In Antman: When the original plan to steal the Yellowjacket goes awry and Scott is captured, he must think of new alternatives to defeat Cross himself.
9. The Reward
The hero completes the challenge, defeating the enemy or overcoming his/her innermost personal challenge.
10. The Road Back
This step is the reverse of the Call of Adventure, in which the hero must find their way back to the ordinary world, letting go the the extraordinary situations they have just been placed in.
11. Resurrection
This is the climax of the film, where the hero will have their most dangerous/high stake encounter. There is a final ultimatum where the hero must make a choice to sacrifice. Ultimately the Hero will succeed, destroy his enemy and emerge from battle cleansed and reborn. By the hero’s action, the polarities that were in conflict at the beginning are finally resolved.
In Antman: The last three steps are simplified in Antman, in that there is one major call to fight that builds up in the climax. This involves Scott making the ultimate sacrifice to destroy Cross and the Yellowjacket, risking his own life to save his loved ones and Pym’s legacy.
12. Return with Elixir
The hero returns, transformed by his journey, to the ordinary world. His earlier motivations will be fulfilled after his success.
In Antman: Scott defeats Cross and satisfies Pym’s wishes. After recognition of his efforts, Scott is given permission to see his daughter again, fulfilling his initial motivations.
References:
1. http://www.thewritersjourney.com/hero’s_journey.htm
2. http://www.movieoutline.com/articles/the-hero-journey-mythic-structure-of-joseph-campbell-monomyth.html
