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fandomhigh2020-05-13 11:59 pm
spin_kick_snap) wrote in fandomhigh2020-05-13 11:59 pm
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The Heroic Journey, Thursday, Period 4
To say that Kathy was nervous today would be an understatement. By this point, Dante could probably recite her lecture for her and more than once, Ronin'd had to nose her hands apart so she didn't accidentally hurt herself wringing them together.
She made her way to her classroom early to make sure that she had plenty of time to prepare. Like writing (and rewriting) her notes on the board to make sure they were perfectly legible. And her handwriting was even. And nothing was misspelled.
When they class arrived, they'd find the following written on the board:
Masculine Journey:
*The journey where the hero resists inner change until Act III, where he must choose to awaken and go onto victory or choose to rebel and go onto failure
*He starts with his power intact and awakens only when he realizes his power is holding him back from fully experiencing life.
*He must let go of his power to realize his authentic goals and connectedness;
*Thus, his journey is the path that leads him to give up that power and control.
*At the beginning of the story, the hero does not realize the power he has in the world only helps him reach the goals society deems acceptable. He does not realize that he must give up some of that power for him to fulfill inner goals that do are not socially approved.
*Generally, the hero is fully supported by the group and society as a whole when he chooses to embark upon his journey. He may even be assured that things will be taken care of in his absence.
*Action films, cop movies, buddy movies, epic narratives.
Feminine Journey:
*The journey where the hero must go deep inside herself and change throughout the story.
*She 'awakens' in Act I and journeys towards rebirth
*She comes into her power to realize her authentic goals and connectedness;
*Thus, her journey is the path that leads her to power and control.
*At the beginning of the story, the hero does not realize she's living a life filled with other people's goals and ambitions. They have no idea what they truly want or are capable of doing until they are forced to reexamine everything as part of their journey.
*Generally, the hero is not supported at the outset. She may face censure and public disapproval for her desire to leave the community and embark on her journey.
*Character-based stories, rom-coms, and Lifetime Originals
"Hi," Kathy said when all four of her students were sitting in their seats. "Welcome to The Heroic Journey, where we're going to examine the character arcs and themes that make up a surprising amount of classic and modern media. Ever wonder why there are so many farm boys who go off on adventures? Ever wonder why every gray-bearded old guy dies in a tragic scene? Or why the hero always loses before they can win? That's because all these stories are following the traditional heroic journey, or the monomyth. Over the next seven weeks, we'll be looking to examples from media to break that down and see how these play out."
She took a deep breath and gave the class a shaky smile. So far so good! "To be clear, there are generally two different kinds of heroic journey, the masculine and the feminine. Now, gender essentialism is bullsh--is nonsense, and any person of any gender can find themselves on either journey. But when these tropes were named, they were playing into gendered stereotypes of the time. For many, many years, it was thought that men should have power and be more active, whereas women were dependent and passive. That's why there's usually a difference in support. For men, it was considered right and natural for them to leave on an adventure. Women were expected to stay home with the children, to watch over things in the men's absence, so for her to leave home on an adventure was a transgression. So, according to these stories, the men have to learn that whatever temporal power they wield may actually hinder their personal growth, and women have to learn that however powerless they may feel, there's an inner strength there for them to draw upon. But there are plenty of people who have found themselves hindered by society and needed to regain their own power, and plenty of other people who thought they knew best and needed to be shown otherwise, so please don't think your gender determines what heroic arc you are on. Also, life is messy, so you may find yourself dealing with aspects of both, or even none at all."
Okay, good. Got it all out. The rest of the lecture was easy after that part.
"So, unless things have changed a lot, this weeks is for introductions. I'd like your name, where and when you're from," since it was almost never 'this Earth, current year,' "and for you to pick one of the bullet points on the board and tell me what you think it means." She smiled at them. "Don't worry if you're not sure or don't know the answer. This is class one, after all."
She made her way to her classroom early to make sure that she had plenty of time to prepare. Like writing (and rewriting) her notes on the board to make sure they were perfectly legible. And her handwriting was even. And nothing was misspelled.
When they class arrived, they'd find the following written on the board:
Masculine Journey:
*The journey where the hero resists inner change until Act III, where he must choose to awaken and go onto victory or choose to rebel and go onto failure
*He starts with his power intact and awakens only when he realizes his power is holding him back from fully experiencing life.
*He must let go of his power to realize his authentic goals and connectedness;
*Thus, his journey is the path that leads him to give up that power and control.
*At the beginning of the story, the hero does not realize the power he has in the world only helps him reach the goals society deems acceptable. He does not realize that he must give up some of that power for him to fulfill inner goals that do are not socially approved.
*Generally, the hero is fully supported by the group and society as a whole when he chooses to embark upon his journey. He may even be assured that things will be taken care of in his absence.
*Action films, cop movies, buddy movies, epic narratives.
Feminine Journey:
*The journey where the hero must go deep inside herself and change throughout the story.
*She 'awakens' in Act I and journeys towards rebirth
*She comes into her power to realize her authentic goals and connectedness;
*Thus, her journey is the path that leads her to power and control.
*At the beginning of the story, the hero does not realize she's living a life filled with other people's goals and ambitions. They have no idea what they truly want or are capable of doing until they are forced to reexamine everything as part of their journey.
*Generally, the hero is not supported at the outset. She may face censure and public disapproval for her desire to leave the community and embark on her journey.
*Character-based stories, rom-coms, and Lifetime Originals
"Hi," Kathy said when all four of her students were sitting in their seats. "Welcome to The Heroic Journey, where we're going to examine the character arcs and themes that make up a surprising amount of classic and modern media. Ever wonder why there are so many farm boys who go off on adventures? Ever wonder why every gray-bearded old guy dies in a tragic scene? Or why the hero always loses before they can win? That's because all these stories are following the traditional heroic journey, or the monomyth. Over the next seven weeks, we'll be looking to examples from media to break that down and see how these play out."
She took a deep breath and gave the class a shaky smile. So far so good! "To be clear, there are generally two different kinds of heroic journey, the masculine and the feminine. Now, gender essentialism is bullsh--is nonsense, and any person of any gender can find themselves on either journey. But when these tropes were named, they were playing into gendered stereotypes of the time. For many, many years, it was thought that men should have power and be more active, whereas women were dependent and passive. That's why there's usually a difference in support. For men, it was considered right and natural for them to leave on an adventure. Women were expected to stay home with the children, to watch over things in the men's absence, so for her to leave home on an adventure was a transgression. So, according to these stories, the men have to learn that whatever temporal power they wield may actually hinder their personal growth, and women have to learn that however powerless they may feel, there's an inner strength there for them to draw upon. But there are plenty of people who have found themselves hindered by society and needed to regain their own power, and plenty of other people who thought they knew best and needed to be shown otherwise, so please don't think your gender determines what heroic arc you are on. Also, life is messy, so you may find yourself dealing with aspects of both, or even none at all."
Okay, good. Got it all out. The rest of the lecture was easy after that part.
"So, unless things have changed a lot, this weeks is for introductions. I'd like your name, where and when you're from," since it was almost never 'this Earth, current year,' "and for you to pick one of the bullet points on the board and tell me what you think it means." She smiled at them. "Don't worry if you're not sure or don't know the answer. This is class one, after all."