ARCHETYPES *Summarized*

Fellow classmates, here is the summary of Archetypes. Hope you find it useful but don't miss to read the book. It's really great and fun book! Our lecturers wasted the screen writing class...

- Ali -

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

HERO

PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTION
A Hero is someone who is willing to sacrifice his own needs on behalf of others
The Hero archetype represents the ego’s search for identity and wholeness

DRAMATIC FUNCTIONS: AUDIENCE IDENTIFICATION
The dramatic purpose of the Hero is inviting the audience, in the early stages of the story, to identify with the Hero, to merge with him and see the world of the story through his eyes.
Hero needs a unique combination of universal and original qualities, some of them conflicting.

GROWTH
Another story function of the Hero is learning or growth.

ACTION
Another heroic function is acting or doing.
The Hero should perform the decisive action of the story, the action that requires taking the most risk or responsibility.

SACRIFICE
Sacrifice is the Hero’s willingness to give up something of value, perhaps even her own life, on behalf of an ideal or a group.

DEALING WITH DEATH
At the heart of every story is a confrontation with death.

CHARACTER FLAWS
Interesting flaws humanize a character so we can recognize bits of ourselves in a Hero.
Flaws also are starting point of “character arc” in which a character develops from condition A to condition Z through a series of steps.
Like all the other archetypes, the Hero is a flexible concept that can express many kinds of energy.

WILLING AND UNWILLING HEROES
It seems Heroes are of two types: 1) willing, active, gung-ho, committed to the adventure, without doubts, always bravely going ahead, self-motivated, or 2) unwilling, full of doubts and hesitations, passive, needing to be motivated or pushed into the adventure by outside forces.

ANTI-HEROES
Simply stated, an Antihero is not the opposite of a Hero, but one who may be an outlaw or a villain from the point of view of society, but with whom the audience is basically in sympathy.

Two types:

1) characters who behave much like conventional Heroes, but are given a strong touch of cynicism or have a wounded quality

2) tragic Heroes, central figures of a story who may not be likable or admirable, whose actions we may even deplore

GROUP-ORIENTED HEROES
They are part of a society at the beginning of the story, and their journey takes them to an unknown land far
from home.
Their story is one of separation from that group (Act One); lone adventure in the wilderness away from the group (Act Two); and usually, eventual reintegration with the group (Act Three).

LONER HEROES
In contrast to the group-oriented Hero is the loner Western Hero
Their journey is one of re-entry into the group (Act One); adventure within the group, on the group’s normal turf (Act Two); and return to isolation in the wilderness (Act Three).

CATALYST HEROES
Central figures who may act heroically, but who do not change much themselves because their main function is to bring about transformation in others; useful in continuing stories such as episodic TV shows and sequels.

MENTOR: WISE OLD MANOR WOMAN
A positive figure who aids or trains the hero
All those characters who teach and protect heroes and give them gifts.

PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTION
Mentors represent the Self, the god within us, the aspect of personality that is connected with all things
Stand for the hero’s highest aspirations
Often former heroes

DRAMATIC FUNCTIONS TEACHING
Teaching or training is a key function of the Mentor
Mentor also learns from the hero.
GIFT-GIVING: Mentor also temporarily aids the hero, usually by giving some gift
The gift or help of the donor should be earned, by learning, sacrifice, or commitment.

MENTOR AS INVENTOR
Sometimes the Mentor functions as a scientist or inventor, whose gifts are his devices, designs, or inventions.

THE HERO’S CONSCIENCE
Some Mentors perform a special function as a conscience for the hero.

MOTIVATION
Another important function of the Mentor archetype is to motivate the hero, and help her overcome fear.

PLANTING
A function of the Mentor archetype is often to plant information or a prop meant for the audience to note but forget about until the climactic moment

SEXUAL INITIATION
In the realm of love, the Mentor’s function may be to initiate us into the mysteries of love or sex.
TYPES OF MENTOR

DARK MENTORS
The power of the Mentor archetype can be used to mislead the audience.

FALLEN MENTORS
Mentors are still on a Heo’s Journey of their own, going through all the stages of a hero’s journey, on his own path to redemption.

CONTINUING MENTORS
Mentors are useful for giving assignments and setting stories in motion.

MULTIPLE MENTORS
A hero may be trained by a series of Mentors who teach specific skills.

COMIC MENTORS
A special type of Mentor occurs in romantic comedies. This person is often the friend or fellow office worker of the hero, and is usually of the same sex as the hero who gives the hero some advice about love.

MENTOR AS SHAMAN
Mentor figures in stories are closely related to the idea of the shaman: the healer, the medicine man or woman, of tribal cultures. Just as Mentors guide the hero through the Special World, shamans guide their people through life.

FLEXIBILITY OF THE MENTOR ARCHETYPE
The Mentor or donor is not a rigid character type, but rather a function, a job which several different characters might perform in the course of a story.

INNER MENTORS
Internalized Mentor archetype that lives within the hero as an inner code of behavior
The energy of the Mentor archetype also may be invested in a prop such as a book or other artifact that guides the hero in the quest.

PLACEMENT OF MENTORS
Although the Hero’s Journey often finds the Mentor appearing in Act One, the placement of a Mentor in a story is a practical consideration.

THRESHOLD GUARDIAN
Powerful guardians at the threshold, placed to keep the unworthy from entering.
Usually not the main villains or antagonists
Hired to guard access to the chief’s headquarters
Also they might be neutral figures who are simply part of the landscape of the Special World
They may be secret helpers
Placed in the hero’s path to test her willingness and skill

PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTION: NEUROSES
They stand for our internal demons: the neuroses, emotional scars, vices, dependencies, and self-limitations that hold back our growth and progress.

DRAMATIC FUNCTION: TESTING
Testing the hero
One of the most effective ways of dealing with a Threshold Guardian is to “get into the skin” of the opponent.

SIGNALS OF NEW POWER
As useful Allies and early indicators that new power or success
As a source of strength
Ideally, Threshold Guardians are not to be defeated but incorporated (literally, taken into the body).
Heroes must learn to read the signals of their Threshold Guardians

HERALD
A new person, condition, or information that shifts the hero’s balance, issuing the challenges and announcing the coming of significant change (delivering the call to adventure)
It may come into play at almost any point in a story, but is most
Frequently employed in Act One

PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTION: CALL FOR CHANGE
Announcing the need for change

DRAMATIC FUNCTION: MOTIVATION
Heralds provide motivation, offer the hero a challenge, and get the story rolling

TYPES OF HERALD
Positive, Negative, or Neutral figure
A Mentor frequently acts as a Herald

SHAPESHIFTER
Its very nature is to be shifting and unstable. Its appearance and characteristics change as soon as you examine it closely

PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTION
To express the energy of the animus and anima, a complete set of both male and female qualities which are necessary for survival and internal balance

PROJECTION
These projections of our hidden opposite sides, images and ideas about sexuality and relationships, form the archetype of the Shapeshifter.

DRAMATIC FUNCTION
Bringing doubt and suspense into a story
A common type of Shapeshifter is called the femme fa tale, the woman as temptress or destroyer

MASK OF THE SHAPESHIFTER
Like other archetypes Shapeshifting is a function or a mask that may be worn by any character in a story

SHADOW
The energy of the dark side, the unexpressed, unrealized, or rejected aspects of something
The Shadow can also shelter positive qualities that are in hiding
The negative face of the Shadow in stories is projected onto Villains, Antagonists, or Enemies

PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTION
Represent the power of repressed feelings
Stands for psychoses that not only hamper us but threaten to destroy us

DRAMATIC FUNCTION
To challenge the hero and give her a worthy opponent in the struggle

MASK OF THE SHADOW
Like other archetypes the Shadow is a function or mask which can be worn by any character. It can express positive as well as negative aspects

TRICKSTER
Represent the energies of mischief and desire for change
All the characters in stories who are primarily clowns or comical sidekicks

PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTION
Natural enemies of the status quo
They cut big egos down to size, and bring heroes and audiences down to earth.
By provoking healthy laughter they help us realize our common bonds, and they point out folly and hypocrisy.
They bring about healthy change and transformation, often by drawing attention to the imbalance or irrationality of a heavy psychological situation

DRAMATIC FUNCTION: COMIC RELIEF
The need for balance: Make ‘em cry a lot; let ‘em laugh a little.

TRICKSTER HEROES
A catalyst hero with all the expressions of a Trickster: Bugs Bunny
Tricksters are often catalyst characters