Have you found yourself seeing archetypes everywhere, now that you know what they are? Hollywood is an abundant source of them, si? Some archetypes, like Hero and Villain, we see often in film; some, like the Shadow/Hero, are less common. Finally, some Shadow/Hero roles are played by dudes with amazing abs.
I recently watched Warrior (Lionsgate, 2011). It is about two brothers who were estranged, yet come back together through a mixed martial arts (MMA) prize fight called -Greek alert- Sparta; the “Rocky”-esque movie is allegedly based on a true story. The hero is Brendan Conlon/Joel Edgerton, but my archetype-alert system went off for the anti-hero, Brendan’s brother Tommy Conlon … and no, not because he has the better abs. Here is why renegade Marine Tommy Conlon /Tom Hardy is a textbook Shadow character, with definitions by John Dowell:
- Tommy arrives back in the States after a grueling tour in Iraq (his loss of innocence and fall). His experiences there have made him an antisocial, brutal machine (Shadow: the darkest fears, rejected qualities) who dispatches his MMA opponents with serial-killer efficiency (Shadow: intent for physical destruction of hero).
- The audience learns that Tommy, while deserting his unit in Iraq, happened upon a group of Marines under fire and saved them by literally ripping the door off of a tank (Shadow: may reveal admirable traits, even has redeeming qualities).
- Tommy is unlikable, brusque, savage, compassionate, loving… he is a true Shadow.
Additionally, the key points of the Hero’s Journey are all in the film, as are the character archetypes of Mentor, Hero, and Fatal Woman. Warrior‘s situational archetypes include the Fall (mentioned above), the Unhealable Wound, Father-Son Conflict, and Death/Rebirth (Lawrence). There are symbolic archetypes, too: water as metaphoric baptism, along with water versus desert as death versus rebirth (Lawrence). This movie is so full of archetypes, symbols, and Heroic Journey benchmarks that I lack space to list them all here. (Yo, students and/or educators: analysis of Warrior would make a rockin’ paper.)
In retrospect, Tommy’s ethos surprised me. To protect the plot for readers wanting to see the film, I will only say that one’s heart goes out to Tommy in spite of his disturbing brutality. Tommy Conlon is a complex character, a Shadow/Hero, and therefore is more interesting than his cookie-cutter-hero brother. Furthermore, I now wonder if the screenwriters have any idea how loaded with archetypes their flick actually is! If you choose to watch Warrior, tell me whether you agree.
You might also enjoy Archetypes: The Rebel in Multicultural Literature, The “What-If” Archetype: 2 True Post-Apocalyptic Heroes
References:
Dowell, John. “Interpretations of Joseph Campbell and the Hero’s Journey.” Michigan State University. Michigan State University, n.d.. Web. 2 Jan 2012.
Lawrence, Lisa. “Archetypes and Symbols” . West Morris Regional High School District, n.d.. Web. 2 Jan 2012. http://central.wmrhsd.org/FACULTY_FILES/rkipp/LINK_DOCS_1015/Archetypesandsymbols.pdf
The Heroic Way 