Star Wars Analysis: Day 1; Carl Jung

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1st: LAB: Let's finish the last few minutes of Star Wars.

Analysis: Write an analysis of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey archetype and/or the four functions of myth using the film Star Wars by George Lucas.

Your task: Examine the effect and significance of Lucas' use of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey Archetypes and/or the four functions of myth in the film Star Wars.

Hero Journey:
  • Status Quo/The Ordinary World
  • The Call to Adventure
  • (Refusal of the Quest)  
  • Accepting the Call
  • Entering the unknown
  • Supernatural Aid
  • Allies/Helpers
  • Acquiring/given a gift/Talisman
  • Tests & The Supreme Ordeal
  • Reward (finding the treasure)
  • The return/journey home
  • Master of Two Worlds/Restoring the World
Special Archetypes:
  • Heroes
  • Shadows (villains/antagonists/adversaries)
  • Mentors
  • Heralds/messengers
  • Threshold Guardians/Monsters/(represent hero's weaknesses)
  • Shapeshifters (represent change or reversal of fortune)
  • Tricksters (mischief-makers/fools)
  • Allies
  • Tempter/Temptress
4 Functions of a Myth:
  1. Evoke existential thought (what is the meaning of one's life?)
  2. Present an image of the Cosmos (where do I belong in the world? How did this world come to be?)
  3. Validate society or culture (what are the rules of the 'game'? How do I fit into society's roles?)
  4. Make sense of an individual's life: birth, growth, adulthood, maturity, death/change...
A few words about writing an analysis:

An analysis is usually an essay in which you study something (in this case a film) to understand how it works, what it means, or why it might be significant. Usually, we use deduction (or induction) to break down (or build) the object into parts. These parts are analyzed, then explained how they fit together to make meaning or how the object can be of use.
When writing your body paragraphs, consider using the SEC method:
  • State: State your idea or claim (or state your next idea or claim)
  • Example: Give an example (paraphrase examples from the text or use direct textual support...quotes)
  • Comment: Comment on the example you used (connect it back to your thesis or claim). 
Repeat. 

NOTE: It is usually acceptable after or as the introduction to write a SUMMARY of Star Wars.

If you need a break, or finish your analysis:
  • Review pages 24 - 62 in Edith Hamilton's Mythology. Create a fictional god or goddess (or pantheon) of Gods that might exist in our world today (or ones you make up). This can be humorous. For each god/goddess, consider what this god/goddess' sphere of control or aspect is: how does the god/goddess represent him/herself, what does he/she symbolize, or what "job" does the god/goddess hold in your pantheon. For example, Zeus is the god of rain and the sky, and he was the ruler of all the other gods--which meant he is also the maker of rules/laws (or government). He also slept around a lot, impregnating innocent ladies (rain makes the flowers grow you know). His special symbol is the lightning bolt. Other examples: Hades is the god of the underworld, Poseidon is the god of the sea, Hestia is the goddess of the hearth and/or home, Athena the goddess of wisdom, etc. Create your own pantheon. Ex. Trumpus: god of lies, dissent, and subterfuge, etc.
  • Write a poem about Jason, Medea, Perseus, Ariadne, or Theseus from their POV, or from the POV of one of the characters in these stories.
  • Research and write an alternative story of the myth of the Golden Fleece, Perseus, or Theseus from a modern/contemporary perspective. You may combine the different myths (like Percy Jackson) or use elements of the myths to create your own short story idea. One way to do this is to base your characters on the characteristics of one of the heroes or gods/goddesses of these myths.
  • Two or more gods/goddesses meet in a public place. Write a scene, script, 10-minute play, or film a scene about what happens next.
2nd: CLASSROOM:

Carl Jung & the Collective Unconscious. Myth poetry from modern/contemporary poets.

HOMEWORK: Please read any of the following myths from your Mythology book: Chp. 1 (The Gods), Orpheus and Eurydice, Pygmalion, Daedalus & Icarus, Part 4: The Trojan War, The House of Atreus, The House of Thebes, Midas). Know these allusions, characters, stories, etc.

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