Select a contemporary T.V. Show or movie and elaborate the
construction of the Journey of the Hero (Post #7)
A contemporary movie that shows the
Journey of a Hero within its plotline is Evan
Almighty.
The Journey of the Hero usually consists
of a hero’s: 1.) departure from an environment familiar to him, 2.) initiation
into an unfamiliar environment where he must prove his character and 3.) return
to his familiar environment. Usually, the hero’s journey into the unfamiliar
environment is due to answering a call to the hero from either destiny, god or
a “force”.
In the movie, Evan Baxter is a
newly-elected Congressman and former news anchor that lives in a big house in
Virginia with his wife and kids. As a new Congressman, he has a political
campaign to “change the world” and help his community. To help him achieve
these political goals, Evan prays to God.
God appears to Evan and tells him that
he must push all of his responsibilities aside to build an arc outside because
a flood is coming. Evan first resists. However, God tells Evan that he must
build the arc because this will be the only opportunity Evan will ever have to
truly “change the world” and help his community.
Evan leaves his large home to be outside
instead. Outside, he works tirelessly day after day to build the arc. As he
goes to Congressional meetings each day, people sneer, and Evan gains a
reputation as someone that is going insane. Eventually, Evan is thrown out of
Congress. Thus, he spends one-hundred percent of his time outside.
More and more people believe Evan is
going crazy (including his wife) as he continues to work on building the arc.
He eventually finishes the arc and shows it to everyone in his community (his
family, reporters, politicians) outside. The community mocks his arc and even
threaten to destroy it.
However, a nearby lake starts to swell
and suddenly, the community realizes that Evan is not so crazy after all. As
the lake yields a giant flood, the people in the community flock onto the arc.
They are saved by Evan’s arc.
After the flood is over, the members of
the community get off the arc and deem Evan a true hero. Not only is Evan given
back his position as a congressman on Capitol Hill, but also he returns to his
large home with a proud family supporting him. In the end, Evan truly does
“change the world” and helps his community.
In Evan
Almighty, Evan’s story demonstrates the Journey of a Hero. In the beginning
of the movie, Evan departs from a familiar environment, which is his large home
and Capitol Hill. He departs his familiar environment to answer a call from god
(which is to build an arc). Evan goes into an unfamiliar environment, which is
the outdoors. In the outdoors, he proves his character by continuing day after
day to build the arc despite the ridicule of his community. At the end of the
movie, Evan returns to his familiar environment, his large home and Capitol
Hill.
While your summary could have been shorter, I believe you manage to prove your point. Interestingly, Evan pairs with Jonah, Moses and other heroes that initially rejected their call
ReplyDeleteI agree, since Evan's initial rejection to building the arc. I think this is definitely a "call to adventure" since it was a call from the Lord himself, much like Joan of Arc, Jonah, Moses, etc.
ReplyDeleteI like this a lot! I think you really clearly map out the points of how Evan is a hero and possesses the characteristics of one. I like this choice of movie because of the clear biblical references.
ReplyDeleteEvan shows courage, something a few other characters our classmates failed to show and in fact became a product of their environment and fell in line with everyone else. He stuck to what he believed and in the end he was praised for it. You are always on the borderline of being a genius or being insane in those situations.
ReplyDeleteI honestly would have never seen Evan as a clear cut hero but I think that it could make a lot of sense after reading your analysis.
ReplyDelete