Hero's Journey: Toy Story?

In tenth grade I did an in-depth study of the Hero's Journey in Toy Story, and I thought I would summarize some of my interesting and analytical findings of each character in the story and how they fit their role in the Monomyth.

Woody acts as the archetypal Hero in the film Toy Story. Throughout the beginning of the film, Andy creates contrast with Woody and everyone else by wearing the symbolic cowboy hat that Woody wears. In addition, Andy’s bed sheets and imaginative drawings are all representative of a cowboy motif. This evidence allows the audience to infer that Woody is Andy’s favorite toy to play with. Thus, Woody is given more importance when compared to the other characters in the beginning of the film. Another clue that shows Woody as the Hero of the Monomyth is that he is wearing a symbolic sheriff badge on his shirt. A sheriff is generally seen as the leader of a town or group of people. Thus, the golden badge on Woody’s shirt represents his greater importance to the toy community in Andy’s house. One of the most symbolic scenes in the movie for me was when Woody stands on the podium above all the other toys to deliver the morning announcements. This shows that Woody is superior when compared to other toys in the house. 

The Herald is the character or event in the Monomyth that provides motivation, challenge, or alert to the Hero that change and adventure are about to occur. This character or event can be thought of as the agent of fate that delivers the call to adventure. In the film Toy Story, Buzz Lightyear acts as the Herald in the Hero’s Journey. Buzz Lightyear acts as the Herald by providing a challenge to Woody’s leadership abilities and his amicable relationship with Andy. Buzz challenges Woody’s leadership by proving that he can fly around Andy’s room with his eyes closed in front of all of Andy’s toys. In addition, Buzz teaches Rex how to roar louder. Lastly, Buzz begins to rub Slinky’s chin. These examples prove that Woody’s leadership is now being taken over by Buzz. Andy's relationship with Woody also begins to disintegrate as we see that Andy's bed sheets and behavior are more geared towards a Buzz Lightyear theme. 

The Mentor is the character that motivates the Hero to overcome their fear in the Monomyth. The Mentor also instructs, teaches, and trains the Hero once they have accepted the Call to Adventure. Bo Peep, the shepherdess, acts as the Mentor character towards Woody in Toy Story. Bo Peep claims, “Don’t let it get to you Woody. I know Andy’s excited about Buzz, but he will always have a special place for you” (Lasseter 1995). Throughout the appearance of Buzz in the Ordinary World, Woody has felt a fear that he is being replaced by Buzz as Andy’s favorite toy. Bo Peep tries to make Woody overcome his fear by reminding him of the special relationship that he has with Andy. The color pink is symbolic of caring and friendliness. Bo Peep is seen throughout the film as wearing a pink dress; therefore, Bo Peep’s clothing is representative of her role as a mentor character. She cares for the well being of Woody by providing rational logic that inspires Woody to forget about his emotional fear of being replaced. This motivation to overcome the emotional thought comes in to play later on in the First Threshold.

Although there are many characters in the Hero's Journey, these were three of my favorite ones because of the large role they played in the film itself through their Monomyth archetypes. 

 

Superheroes and Frankenstein?

Just the other day I was watching the most recent Spiderman movie (which I absolutely hated by the way...) and reached a realization right as Peter Parker was bit by a radioactive spider. Superhero movies are actually commenting on the idea of nature versus nurture! Do we act the way we do because of how we are born or because of how life treats us? Which role plays a greater factor in defining a person and his existence?

In my opinion, Shelley uses creation as an unnatural act to emphasize the substantial role that parents, experiences, and one's environment play on an individual. For example, Victor's creature claims, "but where were my friends and relations? No father had watched my infant days, no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses..." (Shelley 108). The fact that the creature is elucidating his lack of guidance from his creation till this point in the story reflects Shelley's preference on the idea of nurture over nature. Correspondingly, after watching Batman Begins one time over, I noticed immediately that Batman was truly influenced by his environment. Think about it. Bruce Wayne, coming from an affluent family, is taught the lessons of benevolence, care, and sacrifice for the greater good of others from his parents. For example, Thomas Wayne, Bruce's father, claims "Your great grandfather built the first trains in Gotham. The city's been good to our family-it was time to give something back." Not only this, he witnesses the horrific murder of his two parents and is left to live as an orphan the rest of his life. Wayne did not have any innate instincts to become a hero who fights for and protects Gotham City from villains. He didn't have any radioactive bug bite him, or bathe himself in some sort of toxic bath. The experience and the lessons from his parents influenced his personal values against the villainous corruption of Gotham City and led to his creation as the Batman. Both the creature and Batman are seen as products of their environment.

After thinking about all the superheroes out there, I think a more relevant one to talk about is Superman. The most recent movie Man of Steel placed emphasis on the idea of nature versus nurture right from the beginning. For example, new infants of Krypton were created in vaults with predetermined roles on what their contribution would be to society (similar to a Brave New World type concept). Superman was the exception. His parents partook in the first natural birth on Krypton for over thousands of years, and sent their child to Earth to bridge the gap between Krypton and Earth. I believe that the contrasts of natural and artificial births are used to display the importance of nurture on one's existence. The idea that there is no predetermined role before one's birth that determines one's role in society. Superman's experiences to help those around him influence his role as a hero.

Pursuit for Knowledge. What is the underlying reason? Is it worth it?

Throughout the text Frankenstein, Shelley comments on the idea of the unrestrained pursuit for knowledge and its effects. Throughout the beginning of the novel, Victor does seem to have good intentions with the creation of his eventual creature. for example, he contemplated the pursuit of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter and how it might aid in renewing life where "death had apparently devoted the body to corruption" (Shelley 48). However, the question that remains is whether or not Victor truly was looking out for the benefit of society or whether it was his own human hubris and curiosity that led to his quest? Time and time again throughout our history we see that it seems to be the latter. In the story of Adam and Eve, Eve was influenced by the Satan in the form of a serpent to eat the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Satan convinces Eve to eat the fruit by claiming, "You won't die! God knows very well that when you eat it you will become like Him - you will know good from evil!" Eve eats the fruit and convinces Adam to do the same, which causes God to banish them both from the Garden of Eden forever. It can easily be seen that it is Eve's human hubris and curiosity led her to eat the forbidden fruit. She was tempted by the superiority of of becoming God himself, a concept that seemed to entice her. 

Does the unlimited pursuit for knowledge truly outweigh the costs? While I was researching a scholarly article for the book, I came upon Robert Oppenheimer, the creator of the atomic bomb, and I actually searched up his reaction to the bomb in an interview. In response to the test detonation of one of his bombs in New Mexico, he quotes the Bhagavad Gita, "Now I am become death. The destroyer of worlds." His unrestrained pursuit for discovery eventually led to the immediate death of over 300,000 people from Hiroshimi and Nagasaki. Wouldn't the world be better off without the so called 'scientific imperative' to better society as a whole? Oppenheimer described his own creation a "sin" that he would have to live with the rest of his life. We see the detrimental effects of a  pursuit for knowledge again in the discovery of the Americas. Christopher Columbus may have discovered new land; however, his discovery led to the Middle Passage (a brutal trip in which millions of African people were transported across the Atlantic in harsh, disease infested, unhygienic, and crowded boats). Theoretically, one can infer that the discovery of the Americas led to the suffering of millions of African people.

Throughout our history, it seems as though the unrestrained pursuit for knowledge may not outweigh the costs. However, society has also shown the benefits of a pursuit for knowledge through the creation of the first antibiotics. Penicillin has helped millions of patients that have been sick with bacterial diseases, and revolutionized the medical world.  I believe that Shelley's is raising the ethical question on what is the right balance between advancing or transforming our society through the context of a pursuit for knowledge.