Who Wants To be a Millionaire?

In the movie Slumdog Millionaire, there are many references to classic Greek archetypes. Interestingly enough, these archetypes have much in common with Bollywood archetypes. Bollywood movies, just like Hollywood movies often have characters that fall into very recognizable roles.

Jamal Malik
The Classic Romantic Hero/ the Hero
Jamal is driven throughout the film by his search for Latika, who he has been in love with since they were children. Between him and his brother, he is the moral centre, and the only time we see him doing something wrong is when he is under the influence of his brother as a child, stealing and hustling to survive. During his stint on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire", Jamal is pictured in a white shirt and light coloured pants, as though to emphasize his purity.

Latika
The Damsel in Distress
Latika is the reason for Jamal’s journey throughout the movie as he tries to find her and help her. She is also shown as an object of desire to many characters in the film besides Jamal, even Jamal’s brother. In the end, a life with Latika represents Jamal’s “Ultimate Boon”. She is pictured in light, warm coloured clothing to emphasize her femininity and remove her wholly from the more agressive role of the Temptress. Interestingly, she also often has shiny adornments on her clothing, giving her an extra layer of being desired as on object by many characters, just like a precious metal. A classic Damsel in Distress, Jamal and Salim must together work to save her.

Salim
The Mentor/The Trickster/The Scapegoat
Salim is an extremely convoluted character playing many roles throughout the film. In the beginning he protects Jamal after their mother is killed. He comes up with ways to survive until Jamal, Latika and Salim are taken to a camp run by the modern day Fagin, Maman. Ultimately escaping the camp after Maman almost blinds Jamal to increase his begging potential, Salim shows the darker part of his nature. Jamal and Salim jump onto a train, and Latika, who makes her escape with them, is left behind when Salim lets go of her hand as she tries to climb into the train car. He then reverts to his earlier state of Mentor, hustling to provide for Jamal and him. As they get older he turns Trickster, caring for his brother one minute and betraying him the next. In the end, Jamal and Latika are able to be together because of Salim sacrificing his own life to the thugs that employ him, making him the Scapegoat.

An interesting point that Slumdog Millionaire brings up is that ‘’the Ultimate Boon” generally received by the Hero at the end of their journey is not necessarily material. Though Jamal does win the million dollars (or twenty million rupees), the real prize is Latika’s love. Somehow, this seems like nobler goal. It further reinforces Jamal’s role as the Hero.

Question:

• In many ways, the lesson taught in Slumdog Millionaire is similar to the theme of Up. What comparisons can you draw?

Archetypes and the Hero's Journey in "Survivor: Heroes vs Villains

Besides the obvious archetypes of the whole 'Heroes vs Villains' setup, this season of Survivor definitely got me thinking about traditional character archetypes. It seems that even without a script, people naturally fall into some incarnation of an archetype.

Russell

Russell stopped at nothing during the game to get to the end, double crossing anyone to get further ahead. He pulled off some notable blindside, and betrayed the leader of the Heroes, JT. He is cast as The Devil Figure, due to his ruthlessness.

Parvati

Using her controversial strategy of flirting to get her way, Parvati made it all the way to the final three by masterfully manipulating those around her. Her main alliance was Russell, though she pulled off some sneaky moves of her own. Her allegiance to the 'villain' side and her use of flirting as a game strategy casts her as The Temptress.

JT

During the season, JT was a charming country boy who excelled at physical challenges. He was likeable and seemed to be the ultimate hero. He was finally blindsided by Russell after a failed attempt to sway Russell to his side. JT's morality labels him firmly as The Hero.

Sandra

Sandra was a member of the Villain tribe, but her alliance was slowly picked off, in a series of moves masterminded by Parvati and Russell. Finally, she was the only member left on the Villain tribe outside of Russell and Parvati's alliance. She was completely isolated from her tribe, but managed to survive and even eventually win the game. This segregation from her tribe marks her as The Outcast.

The game of Survivor has several recognizable elements of The Hero's Journey that reoccur each season.

"Call to Action"- the survivors arrive on the island, leaving behind family and friends to start their quest.

"Road of Trials"- survivors endure challenges, as well as physical discomfort on the island.

"The Ultimate Boon"- one survivor wins the grand prize of $1,000,000

"Return and Reintegration with Society"- survivors return to their families


It's strange that these elements of The Hero's Journey show up in a reality show and begs the question of why we are facsinated with Greek myths and their archetypes. Are these stories based on the human condition, or do we, if given the chance, emulate The Hero's Journey without even realizing it? What I'm trying to say is, in the case of The Hero's Journey and character archetypes, does the journey imitate life, or does life imitate the Journey?

Question:

• What do you think about the relationship of The Hero's Journey/ archetypes to the human condition?

• If you watched this season, can you think of any other survivors who embodied certain archetypes?
  

GI Joe Rise of the Cobra- terrible movie, great Greek references

Okay, first of all, GI Joe was honestly the most ridiculous movie ever (a submarine gets crushed by sinking ice. I mean, seriously?)- but it did have some important attributes of the hero's journey.

So instead of focusing on Duke's (the main character's) story, I want to talk about the Baroness/Anna. The catalyst starting her on "The Call To Adventure" is the death of her brother in Afghanistan, where he was supposed to be under the protection of her fiance, Duke. This cuts off her two closest relationships, her brother and fiance. She joins up with the villain, James McCullen and his henchman, known simply as 'the Doctor' for mysterious reasons. (Also, she starts wearing skintight black leather suits, for reasons unknown). Then, she encounters her 'Road of Trials', when she is pitted against her former fiance, Duke, and deals with her lingering feelings for him. Finally, she enters "the Innermost Cave' (in this case a mental state) when it is revealed that the Doctor is actually the brother she thought died in Afghanistan, who for some reason decided it would be better to inject her with mind-altering nano-robots to turn her evil, instead of revealing he is alive. (Like I said, this movie isn't heavy on logic) At the end of the film, it is presumed she begins her "Reintegration into Society", happily reunited with Duke.

Anna also represents a common archetype in Greek mythology: The Temptress. These women, often evil, use their femininity to gain power over men, much like Catwoman from Batman or Megara in the Disney version of Hercules. Even Anna's clothes further the idea of this archetype- after all, when you first think of this role, you think black, tight clothes- symbolizing evil and seduction. This reminded me of the passage in the House on Mango Street entitled "Beautiful and Cruel". It seems Esperanza was referencing the role of the Temptress.

When recognizing these aspects, it reminded me of something I discussed in my blog about the anti hero- that the hero's journey isn't just for heroes, but can be applied to many different kinds of characters. In this case, Anna is a villain for most of the movie, but because her behaviour is induced by outside forces, she doesn't seem to be a true villain. This begs the question of what classifies a hero- intent or behaviour, something I will do more thinking on and get back to you!

Questions:

• What to you classify Anna as? (Heroine, anti-heroine, villain etc.)



• What are some other examples of the Temptress in movies/books/TV ?



• What is more important to classify someone as a hero/villain- behaviour or intent?
  
  
• (Just for fun) Who do you identify with more, the Temptress or the Damsel in Distress?(I'll talk more about the Damsel in Distress in a later post)

Anti Heroes in Modern Culture

When reading the story of Achilles, you can immediately see that he doesn't posses the qualities associated with a a hero: self sacrifice and chivalry. Achilles is a great warrior, but he doesn't fit the rest of the hero archetype. He is one of the first examples of anti-heroes in classic literature.

Especially in modern culture, the anti hero is everywhere. Some examples: (Warning, spoilers!)

Chuck Bass, from Gossip Girl

Chuck Bass, the son of the late industrialist Bart Bass is a pleasure seeking slacker in New York City. We are introduced to him as someone who is not just immoral, he doesn't appear to even possess morals. He smokes, drinks heavily and is a womanizer. Later on though, he is revealed to have a heart of gold when falling in love with Blair Waldorf. You end up on his side, even though what he does isn't right in a moral sense, a classic trait of the anti hero.

Damon Salvatore, from the Vampire Diaries

In the Vampire Diaries, Damon is the brother of Stefan Salvatore, the main love interest of the heroine, Elena. At times, he seems like a true monster, killing without much thought and an excess of brutality. On the other hand, his quick wit and charming comments win you over. He is the ultimate hedonist (believing pleasure and keeping yourself happy is one's ultimate concern), but again he seems to have the 'heart of gold' which defines the anti hero from the villain. We see this when it is revealed that he is causing problems for the sake of his long lost true love, Katherine.

James Kirk, from Star Trek (2009)
In this installation of the franchise, James Kirk is more of a rebel, a likeable bad boy. In the end he undergoes a transition from irresponsibility to having others depend on him. Through the road of trials, his personality matures and grows.

Anti heroes seem to end up even more liked than heroes some of the time, probably because we can relate to them more. Infallible heroes/heroines are not people we can connect to. Also, they have a tragic quality to them that makes them excellent romantic heroes. Another commonality to these heroes is that they can transition to a more typical view of a hero- having more of a moral compass. Often, they make this change after 'the road of trials', just before 'descent into the innermost cave', symbolizing spiritual purification before the 'big battle'.

Question: I found a lot of male anti-heroes, and tried to include some unusual ones people may not have thought of; however, I was having trouble thinking of female anti-heroes/anti-heroines. Can anyone think of any?