AVS Discussions
General => Misc. Fun Stuff => Topic started by: HomeTheaterGuy on July 06, 2026, 11:03:21 AM
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The "hero's journey"is a classic storytelling framework. It follows a protagonist who leaves their ordinary world, crosses into a special world of adventure, faces trials, undergoes transformation, and returns forever changed.
Here are some examples:
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope: The quintessential hero’s journey. Farmboy Luke Skywalker leaves Tatooine, meets a mentor (Obi-Wan), and destroys the Death Star.
The Matrix: Hacker Neo answers the "call to adventure" by taking the red pill, learns the truth about his reality from Morpheus, and accepts his destiny as The One
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Frodo Baggins takes on the ultimate quest to destroy the One Ring, leaving behind the comfort of the Shire to face the dark forces of Mordor.
Animated Classics
The Lion King: Simba is called to be king, runs away from his past after his father's death, faces a "road of trials," and returns to reclaim his homeland.
Finding Nemo: A famous example of the journey, where the overprotective clownfish Marlin leaves his comfort zone (the reef) to travel across the ocean to rescue his son.
Moana: Moana defies her father's rules, leaves her island to find the demigod Maui, and restores the heart of Te Fiti to save her people.
Adventure
Spider-Man: Peter Parker gets bitten by a radioactive spider, suffers a tragic loss, and must overcome his fears and guilt to become a hero.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Harry is called away from the dreary cupboard under the stairs, discovers he is a wizard, and enters the magical world of Hogwarts.
Batman Begins: Bruce Wayne leaves Gotham, trains with the League of Shadows, and returns to his ordinary world to face his deepest fears and become the Caped Crusader.
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Definitely! It's a time-proven recipe for success if executed properly with the right amount of fresh ingredients.
I wrote a paper on this in college applying it to Star Wars. Lucas studied Joseph Campbell's work while writing the many storylines for the movie and you can see the influence throughout.
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Scott, I took a college course on fantasy lit and and Campbell's influence was part of it. My paper however was on the "mentor" figure in these stories - Obi Wan, Gandalf, Uncle Ben, Dumbledore etc. This character is of course a parental figure but usually with special knowledge and/or wisdom imparted to the hero that is crucial to his or her development and success. Unfortunately, death is also usually in the cards for this character so that the hero is both motivated and has a path cleared to realizing their role as the primary power.
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Scott, I took a college course on fantasy lit and and Campbell's influence was part of it. My paper however was on the "mentor" figure in these stories - Obi Wan, Gandalf, Uncle Ben, Dumbledore etc. This character is of course a parental figure but usually with special knowledge and/or wisdom imparted to the hero that is crucial to his or her development and success. Unfortunately, death is also usually in the cards for this character so that the hero is both motivated and has a path cleared to realizing their role as the primary power.
One of the interesting things about Obi-Wan and the mentor role is that's it's been reported that Marcia Lucas' had to convince George to kill him off in Star Wars.
Given George's study of Campbell's work, I'm not sure if that's true or not.