The Hero's Journey, our entertainment, and it's meaning.

[Material Defender]

Do you know about the Hero's Journey? It's a worth a look at and helps tell a lot about story telling in general. It also can help define and bring meaning to a piece by understanding it on a more fundamental level.

I think where it's helped me the most appreciate again is Mass Effect 2. Mass Effect is a trilogy, with ME1 involving all the steps in crossing the threshold into the world of the absurd. ME2 does most of the steps, from the death as the descent into darkness, the road of the trials, the meeting with the Goddess... kind of skipped, and power as a Temptation involving what to do with the station question. ME3 obviously focuses on "Atonement with the Father" or "Atonement with the ancients" perhaps be better here, upon achieving this Shepard has an apotheosis of sorts via the "Transcendence" type deal with the end. Return of course being the way Shepard's decision effected everyone and how what has been learned permutes into all.

Now, if we use this as a viewpoint, it makes the characteristic argument that I've had that ME2 was a bad story in that it's episodic fall apart. Of course it is, its about the path of trials. Shepard grows from the journeys with his companions, becoming a stronger leader and a stronger soldier throughout it. Path of Trials tend to have an episodic tendency to them, I mean the Trials of Hercules were that way in that they are fine stories that can be told on their own, but are not devoid of context. It's doubtful Shepard would have the proper skills to face the reapers without her road of trials. I've come to appreciate the story again from understanding this aspect and viewpoint.

I'm curious if anyone else had moments where the brilliance of the hero's journey and the meaning of it shone through for you, or something else. And of course, it's not just a formula of course. Without meaning that is supposed to be inherent in a story, it's a pointless facade.

[FirsthandTuna]

Had to learn about the Hero's Journey in English class when we were reading the Epic of Gilgamesh. I probably wouldn't have been able to appreciate Gilgamesh if I didn't have that to consider as I was reading.

I really can't see it with Mass Effect except for a few parts. A number of the points that I can see connecting to the Hero's Journey wouldn't fall into place especially if ME is Part 1, ME2 is Part 2, and ME3 is Part 3. The Call is present at the very beginning, but The Refusal of the Call isn't. The Mentor isn't a plot point that shows up. If anything, Anderson leaving the Normandy is the opposite of The Mentor. The Crossing of the First Threshold could be interpreted as leaving to go on your first mission as a Spectre, but a more accurate adherence to it would be Eden Prime, which would fuck up the order of the Hero's Journey. The Belly of the Whale could be Virmire, I suppose.

The Road of Trials is one of the ones that really makes me disbelieve that Mass Effect adheres to the Hero's Journey, because it roughly would take place in the middle of all three Mass Effect games, so you'd be inserting it into each of the three major parts of the Hero's Journey. It's also supposed to take place at the beginning of Part 2. The Meeting with the Goddess could be meeting Liara in Mass Effect 2 since she's a creepy stalker who went to inordinate lengths to get your body back instead of fucking dealing with it very protective of Shepard, but that's only if you interpret it very loosely. Woman as the Temptress could be, amusingly, your relationship with the Illusive Man. Atonement with the Father doesn't exist in Mass Effect 2 unless you count the optional reacquiring of your Spectre status. Apotheosis and the Boon I can't see in Mass Effect 2 at all.

Mass Effect 3 has no Refusal of the Return. Gathering information about the Crucible might be the Flight, but I don't really remember all that much of that part. The Rescue, Return, Mastery, and Freedom are all absent.

This is, of course, all assuming that the individual games are the dividing line between the overarching parts instead of looking at the whole series and drawing the lines where it might make sense. It fits more closely like that, but there are still so many things missing or out of place that I can't say I think Mass Effect adheres to the Hero's Journey.

tl;dr This is what it feels like to have no life.