The Hero's Journey of the Odyssey
11 January 2013
The Road Forward
Envision a champion, emerging from the sacked city of Troy, which he previously conquered under his shrewd control. Odysseus—father of Telemachus, husband of Penelope, leader of men-- is now free after countless years of war to return to his homeland, Ithaca. Thus begins the longest journey of Odysseus’s life: a twenty year pursuit through many encounters with fantastic creatures, the cordial arms of the Phaaicians, and finally home to his yearning family in the Iron Age story of Homer’s The Odyssey. Advance to the modern day life of cars and highways. Lightning McQueen, a hotshot rookie race car driven to succeed,Lightning McQueen, a hotshot rookie race car driven to succeed,Lightning McQueen, a hotshot rookie racecar finds himself in a three-way tie with “The King” and the infamous Chick. On his way to California, he finds himself unexpectedly detoured to the sleepy town of Radiator Springs on Route 66. He must complete community service tasks to redeem himself, and find his way to California to zoom past the checkered flag and win the Piston Cup. After befriending such quirky Radiator Springs residents as Sally the Porsche, Doc Hudson, and Mater the Tow Truck, the eager young racer learns that sometimes life is more about the voyage than the outcome of the race. At first glance, the story of Odysseus and the story of Lightning McQueen may seem to have little in common. However, according to writer and philosopher Christopher Vogler, there are remarkable similarities between the two. Through inspiration from Joseph Campbell’s “monomyth” theory that every story follows roughly the same story structure, Vogler was able to create a 3-part, 12-step format that makes all stories essentially the same. His theory of the Hero’s Journey was that of a Preparation, Journey, and Return. When compared to the ancient example of Homer’s story of old, The Odyssey, Disney Pixar’s story of today, Cars, translates the Hero’s Journey archetype to
The Road Forward
Envision a champion, emerging from the sacked city of Troy, which he previously conquered under his shrewd control. Odysseus—father of Telemachus, husband of Penelope, leader of men-- is now free after countless years of war to return to his homeland, Ithaca. Thus begins the longest journey of Odysseus’s life: a twenty year pursuit through many encounters with fantastic creatures, the cordial arms of the Phaaicians, and finally home to his yearning family in the Iron Age story of Homer’s The Odyssey. Advance to the modern day life of cars and highways. Lightning McQueen, a hotshot rookie race car driven to succeed,Lightning McQueen, a hotshot rookie race car driven to succeed,Lightning McQueen, a hotshot rookie racecar finds himself in a three-way tie with “The King” and the infamous Chick. On his way to California, he finds himself unexpectedly detoured to the sleepy town of Radiator Springs on Route 66. He must complete community service tasks to redeem himself, and find his way to California to zoom past the checkered flag and win the Piston Cup. After befriending such quirky Radiator Springs residents as Sally the Porsche, Doc Hudson, and Mater the Tow Truck, the eager young racer learns that sometimes life is more about the voyage than the outcome of the race. At first glance, the story of Odysseus and the story of Lightning McQueen may seem to have little in common. However, according to writer and philosopher Christopher Vogler, there are remarkable similarities between the two. Through inspiration from Joseph Campbell’s “monomyth” theory that every story follows roughly the same story structure, Vogler was able to create a 3-part, 12-step format that makes all stories essentially the same. His theory of the Hero’s Journey was that of a Preparation, Journey, and Return. When compared to the ancient example of Homer’s story of old, The Odyssey, Disney Pixar’s story of today, Cars, translates the Hero’s Journey archetype to
Cited: Cars. Prod. Darla K. Anderson. Dir. Joe Ranft and John Lasseter. Perf. Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, and Larry the Cable Guy. DVD. Disney’s Pixar, 2006 Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. W. H. D. Rouse. New York: The Penguin Group, 1937. Written by Phoebe M. Dorn