The Hero With A Thousand Bland Faces

[4thofeleven]

So, look, have I just sat through too many lectures in mythology or fantasy units about Joseph bloody Cambell, or does his 'monomyth' basically boil down to "The Hero goes somewhere and does something. Other characters will aid or hinder him." Because every time his work comes up, I end up beling less impressed at how many different myths and legends follow his scheme, and more baffled as to how a story could possibly *not* follow his system.

(Admittedly, it can be interesting to take the generic 'quest' story, and see how various traditions treat it - but I suspect you'd end up with more subversions than straight examples. Hell, Gilgamesh, the oldest written story, subverts the 'universal' quest narrative, by having the hero fail to attain immortality and return home empty handed and chastised for his arrogance!)

Comments

M night shyamalan

[sirhenryjones.livejournal.com]

I think that M night shyamalan is the only example where stories don't follow the system. Granted, it's because the stories have no content, but it's the only example I can think off.

The president has been kidnapped by ninjas. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the president?