Hercules and the Hero's Journey
This week's movie discussion was on the Disney classic Hercules! Using the archetype of a hero's quest as our guide, we were able to pick out the lessons and themes. Here is an overview of the exercise the kids completed
1. Call to Adventure
-Hercules longs to know who he really is and discovers his father is Zeus (the God!). Zeus tells him of his quest - to become a hero by doing a selfless act.
2. Assistance
-Hercules goes to Phil the Satyr, a famous trainer of heros, so he too can be on the right path.
3. Departure
-Phil sends Hercules to Thebes once his training is complete.
4. Trials
-Hercules had to fight all the different things Hades was sending his way like: the hydra that kept growing heads, the big snake, the Titans,
-The people of Theves didn't care for his help, they wanted someone "more qualified"
5. Approach
-Hercules goes to fight Hades himself.
-Hercules finds something to save the people of Thebes from.
6. Crisis
-Hades holds Meg captive in the underworld and also took away Hercules's powers, but Hercules still sacrifices himself to rescue her soul from the pit of souls.
-The hydra only got more powerful as it's heads were cut off.
7. Treasure
-Hercules becomes a God because sacrificing himself for the well being of another proved him to be a hero.
-Hercules gains the respect and love of the people of Thebes
8. Result
-Meg comes back to life!
9. Return
-Hercules is able to return to his biological family on Olympus because he is a God now.
10. New Life
-Hercules tells his father he wants to live on Earth with Meg
11. Resolution
-Hercules knows who he is, has a friend/Guru in Phil, and was able to save the one he loves.
12. Status Quo
-People are no longer scared of Hercules, he has another set of family, he understands himself better, and everyone lives happily ever after.
While doing the assignment, we realized that crises within a journey are not always cyclical, some steps are repeated over and over until the end.