Joseph Campbell et. al. (was Commandments)

[Aja Fair Romano]

No: HPFGUIDX 31036


Okay, I'm going to dive in. *takes deep breath*

Hi all.  My name's Aja, I'm very new here. I've been on the list 2 days
and yes, i'm overwhelmed by all the messages because it's been years since
I was on a high volume mailing list. But I'll get used to it. ;)

A brief intro: I'm 23, I live in Indiana, and I'm a theatre reviewer and
part time English student. I love Stephen Sondheim and I'd love to write
"Harry! the musical!" someday. *grin* I've been a huge Harry Potter fan
for three years and I got all my friends hooked on the books.  I've been
flitting around the mailing lists, fan fic communities, and the websites
since the start, but it was mostly just a fling until the movie came out,
when, after seeing it 8 times and taking *notes* on it the last couple of
times, I realized I was officially obsessed and I'd better hie myself over
to HPFGU.  So, here I am. 

Normally I wouldn't leap right in but someone mentioned Joseph Campbell
and I had to say brava!! I love Joseph Campbell and his take on myths and
what they mean for our lives. His conversations with Bill Moyers are a
truly amazing read. 

Anyway, to the point: I once had a discussion with someone about this same
principle.  We were comparing the end of GOF with the end of Empire
Strikes Back and I brought up Campbell's theories about the hero myth. 
While my friend recognized the hero myth at work in Star Wars, he was
reluctant to recognize it in Harry Potter because while there is a journey
that takes place in the growth of the central character and his
development as he learns to fight the bad guy, there really isn't a
*choice* involved in his decision to be the good guy.  He argued that
since Harry's parents were murdered by Voldemort, Harry's destiny was
therefore set, and his choice made for him.  Looking back, it occurs to me
that Hamlet would also fall in this category of a not-quite hero myth
according to my friend's perception.  Any thoughts on this, and how
Harry's parents' murder might have stunted his hero-growth??

Best wishes to all,

Aja

On Thu, 06 Dec 2001 18:31:53 -0000 Ftah3 wrote:

> Something I really appreciate about Rowling's stories is that I see a
> lot of what's called "Hero's Journey" mythology in them...  To whit,
> incidentally, George Lucas wrote the entire Star Wars story {including
> the episodes currently being filmed/released} based on Campbell's book
> "Hero with a Thousand Faces.")