Avatar: A Hero's Journey

Avatar required 10 years to complete and was a visually stunning. A film with visionary technology, graphics, and film techniques. Director James Cameron developed and pioneered many of these techniques while creating this film, and propelled motion capture technology and film to a new level. The characters were well written and the actors chosen fit their roles very well. One of the characters in this epic film was Mo’at the spiritual leader of the Omaticaya clan. (Khare, 2009)

Watching a film, one can easily recognize plot, theme, characterization, etc., but not many realize what basic principle lies behind nearly every story conceived: the hero’s journey. This concept allows for a comprehensive, logical flow throughout a movie. Once the hero’s journey is thoroughly understood, anyone can pick out the elements in nearly every piece. The hero’s journey follows a simple outline. First the hero in question must have a disadvantaged childhood. Next the hero will find a mentor who wisely lays out his/her prophecy. Third the hero will go on a journey, either literal or figurative, to find him/herself. On this journey the hero will be discouraged and nearly quit his/her quest. Finally, the

Millicent’s journey is figuring out whether or not she wants to be in a high school sorority. Her call of action occurs when she is nominated to participate in the process of initiation to be a part of the sorority. She refuses enrolling at first because her good friend wasn’t invited to be a part of the initiation process as well. She is persuaded by her sister’s past experience with being in that sorority which becomes the supernatural aid for her. Then, she finally decides to go through the process and abide by all of the rules that they give her which is the crossing of the first threshold. Next, she enters the belly of the whale when she completely becomes submissive and completes the first task that would be the start of many. “Tomorrow she would come to school, proudly, laughingly, without lipstick, with her brown hair straight and shoulder length and then everybody would know.” She then undergoes a long road of trials which includes not wearing makeup or doing her hair, wearing certain types of clothing, starting certain conversations, and not talking to boys. Next, she has a meeting with a goddess or in other words her “big sister” in the sorority who would end up bossing her around, but she has to learn to love and respect her. Then, she is tempted to talk to a boy that approaches her during initiation, but she knows she is being watched so she has to try her hardest to not steer off of her original journey. “I won’t say anything she thought, I’ll

Spiderman, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Cat Woman; when you hear the word hero or heroine that is who you think of. The most famous heroes of all time, as well as the not so famous heroes such as Hazel, fit the archetype of a hero; they are all courageous, resourceful, and strong-willed. Most people don’t notice that almost all action/adventure movies and novels are the same. All of their stories fit the archetypal pattern of a heroic quest. A heroic quest consists of twelve steps that the hero completes throughout his or her journey. In this essay, I will be explaining the parallels between Watership Down by Richard Adams and the archetypal pattern of a heroic quest; as well as the parallels between

Change is inevitable. Whether it be positive or negative, change is constantly happening. More than often change can take you from the known world and spit you into the unknown, where you return a changed person. While embarking on the journeys provoked by change, you are on a hero’s journeys. The hero’s journey was popularized by Joseph Campbell. When describing what prompts hero’s journeys, Joseph Campbell said,

It goes without saying that The Hero's Journey is an intriguing path for a story to follow. The Hero's Journey is a narrative pattern created by Joseph Campbell. James Cameron’s Avatar is a story about Jake Sully. Jake's brother was killed and because the two share the same DNA, Jake must take his place as an Avatar. Throughout this movie, friendships are formed, enemies are made and many lives are lost. In this essay, the path of The Hero's Journey will be looked at. Specifically, the Ordinary World, Meeting the Mentor, Tests, Allies and Enemies and the Ordeal. Avatar perfectly captures The Hero's Journey throughout the movie. From the Ordinary World to the Returning with the

It describes the typical adventure of the archetype known as The Hero, the person who goes out and achieves great deeds on behalf of the group, tribe, or civilization.” The 12 stages of this are ‘the ordinary world’, ‘the call to adventure’, ‘refusal of the call’, ‘meeting with the mentor’, ‘crossing the threshold’, ‘tests, allies and enemies’, ‘approach’, ‘the ordeal’, ‘the reward’, ‘the road back’, ‘the resurrection’ and finally ‘return with the

In the year 2009, James Cameron wrote and directed one of the most remarkable films I have ever seen ‘Avatar’. This science-fiction saga has a story line that is engaging and captivating for its audience. Avatar took place on a moon called Pandora. Humans discovered very valuable natural resources on Pandora and did whatever it took to obtain what they needed from Pandora. The people of Pandora are Na’vi’s, a 10 foot tall, blue-skinned humanoid alien group that lived in the rainforest or Pandora. The Humans found a way to interact with the Na’vi’s by artificial yet organic avatars that were controlled with a human mind and conscience. Jake Sully, a paraplegic marine who was given the task to manipulate the Na’vi’s into leaving their home. Sully entered

Archetypes are defined as “a typical character, an action or a situation that seems to represent such universal patterns of human nature.” (“Archetype”) The short story “On the Rainy River” by Tim O’Brien is about the internal struggle and the journey he faces after he is drafted to serve the army. The classical hero’s journey archetype is similar to Tim O’Brien’s journey in his short story, “On the Rainy River,” with the exception of the arc length and depth of transformation.

The movie Avatar is about how the human race invades a planet called Pandora to mine a certain kind of resource and fights with the Na’vi, the race of creatures that live on Pandora. The main character Jake Sulley decides to take his brothers

Avatar uses a variety of film genres and styles. One of the styles is the Cowboys versus Indians theme. It is clear that Avatar is a product of post-colonialism: it shows the Na'vi as the relatively harmless yet environmentally respectful and spiritually in tuned indigenous population, while the humans are a corporate military whose only goal is mine the resources of Pandora. The film presents an anti-military narrative. The soldiers are portrayed as cruel, violent, and brainless brutes, with only mercenary intentions. They are the stereotype of the ultimate warrior. They perpetuate the “might is right” myth. All of them are males, except for a female helicopter pilot, who ultimately defects to the

An archetype is defined as an image, story-pattern, character, setting, symbol, or situation that recurs frequently in literature and in life. It demonstrates universal human experiences and associates strongly with readers through a subconscious understanding. In the Epic of Gilgamesh the main character, Gilgamesh, is an example of a superheroic archetypal hero. He took on an epic quest for everlasting life by following the archetypal steps of a hero’s journey. Through suffering due to tragedy, realizing the nature of his quest, seeking help from a mentor, experiencing failure, and returning home with a companion, Gilgamesh’s story followed the situational archetype of a hero’s journey.

Set on the planet Pandora, Avatar is a science-fiction story of a money-hungry corporation’s attempt to conquer and excavate the land of humanoids known as Na’Vi. Jake Sully is a paraplegic, who is sent to space to complete his deceased brother’s mission because they share the same genome, which is necessary to navigate the expensive avatar that had already been cloned. We learn that the avatar is basically a mind-transporter used to be a part of and learn about the Na’Vi community. During his first expedition in the land of the Na’Vi, Jake gets lost and encounters one of the main female members of the tribe who ends up taking him under her wing and

An archetypal hero must have specific characteristics before embarking on a quest. For example many heroes, experience some sort of traumatic event during childhood. In the movie Star Wars IV: A New Hope the archetypal hero Luke Skywalker experiences the

While analyzing Avatar, it’s safe to say that there isn’t one main theme, but plenty. One main theme of Avatar is the flow of energy and the beauty of nature. “She said all energy is only borrowed, and one day you have to give it back,” (Cameron, 2009). Another huge theme in Avatar is the battle between Mother Nature and humans. “Our Great Mother does not take sides. She protects only the balance of life,” (Cameron, 2009). This quote is said by the Na’vi character Neytiri when Jake tries to ask Mother Nature to help him in his battle against the humans. In the end, Mother Nature does end up taking a stand and fighting for the preservation of life. Issues like corporations destroying nature for profit, the lack of respect for living creatures, and the failed policies of "military diplomacy" that the USA continues to pursue are just a few of the other themes behind Avatar. It would be ridiculous to say that the deep, meaningful themes from Avatar are just a copy of the weak, childish message from Pocahontas.