The thing I want to talk about is the Hero's Journey and the Far Realm. In doing this, I'm going to mention the movie Kubo and the Two Strings, the book The Magician King, possibly a bible story, and possibly other things I haven't thought of yet.
I want to talk about/review Kubo and the Two Strings beyond talking about the subject topic, so, rather than starting by talking about the subject topic and then sidetracking to talk about Kubo and the Two Strings, I figure I'll start by reviewing Kubo and then get to talking about the Hero's Journey, etc.
Or I'll just have really wordy intros explaining what I'm doing.
Review: Kubo and the Two Strings
I had missed Kubo and the Two Strings when it went into theaters. I didn't know much about it, but I'd heard that it was really good from people whose opinions I generally trust. A few weeks ago, I found that it had been added to Netflix and was excited to watch it. I was not disappointed.
Other than that people I knew had said it was really good and that it was animated, I had no idea what the movie was about going into it. What I watched was a compelling tale of a young boy forced to fulfill the hero's journey at speed in order to not be killed/have his good eye stolen from him by his mystical grandfather.
It's an exciting story with great characters. The animation uses a combination of stop motion and CGI, with a high focus on the stop motion. It's very well done, and I almost couldn't tell that it was stop motion most of the time. There's an interesting visual style to the movie that really conjures up the feel of a classic legend.
The characters in the story are not entirely unique, but they are interesting. I really appreciated the beetle's puns and/or times when his lack of understanding lead to hilarity ensuing. The movie is filled with a decent number of twists. Most of them I saw coming in one way or another, while some were such that they didn't catch me off guard, but that I easily accepted them when they came about.
Overall, it's a good movie that I found very enjoyable. I'd probably give it a low A rating.
The Hero's Journey
Not to be confused with the song over to your right.
I figure that if I'm going to talk about the Hero's Journey, I should define what I mean. Especially since different people might have different ideas of what The Hero's Journey is.
For my purposes, the Hero's Journey is a plot device, generally used in fantasy stories and legends, where a character takes on a series of tasks in their efforts to become the hero needed in order to accomplish whatever their actual goal is.
Many times, these tasks may be of a symbolic nature, with each one teaching the hero a new virtue or providing the hero with a new lesson that will help them grow and become a stronger person not just physically, but mentally/emotionally as well.
Some times, these tasks can have a symbolic element of completion, with a checklist of steps that have to be completed before the final challenge can be attempted. In Kubo and the Two Strings, Kubo is attempting to gather the different pieces of a mystical suit of armor. Each piece presents a new challenge that tests who Kubo is and helps him to grow into the hero he needs to be. In Final Fantasy or Zelda video games, it's not uncommon to have to visit a series of temples, each of which tests the character who is becoming a hero and helps to build their character.
Other times, the tasks of the hero's journey may happen in an actual journey. The character is crossing the land to get to the evil lair of the villain, or else to get home before it can be destroyed by some great threat. Along the way, the character faces many challenges test them and help them to grow as a person until he reaches the point of becoming the necessary hero, usually either just before arriving at the destination, or sometimes slightly after (with the completion of the journey being actually facing the last challenge).
This is realistic, in that when we go through life our experiences shape us and help define who we are. However, it is also somewhat unrealistic just inherently in the legendary symbolic nature of it where either the universe itself is shaping the character into a hero, or else the character is seeking out these specific challenges for the sake of challenge and heroism. Things...don't really play out like that in the real world. We don't have the benefit of plot arcs and symbolism. But, as a literary device, it's very interesting to me.
The "Far Realm"
The far realm is a world apart from our own world. Typically, it's a land of magic and of symbolism. I'd been thinking about it a lot in regards to a project I may be starting, when suddenly I encountered a whole bunch of examples of it all at once.
So, some of my thoughts about the "Far Realm" had been about how it makes the Hero's Journey much easier to justify. While a symbolic journey through a series of trials and tests of heart and character doesn't seem realistic here, it could seem very realistic in a world where magic, heroes, and quests are commonplace. A lot of times, these things are used explicitly for that purpose.
In Kubo and the Two Strings, when Kubo is forced to start his journey, he finds himself in what Monkey calls "the far lands." This isn't really defined, but it seems to be pretty clearly a place that is set apart from the village in Japan where he grew up. His magic is stronger here, and everything that happens seems to have a much greater level of symbolism. It allows him to go on his journey to find the armor with an amount of believablity.
I recently finished reading the second book of the Magicians series by Lev Grossman, The Magician King. I think the Magicians books are sort of a lot about the hero's journey, and specifically the main character's desire to be on it but never quite being able to-either because reality doesn't work that way, other people get to, or just bad luck/choices on his part. I'd like to talk more about that later. In any case, there is something like a hero's journey here, where characters are trying to collect a series of items. They are doing this in Fillory, a mystical land of talking animals that's totally not a rip off of Narnia. When talking about their strategy, one of the characters explains that they're basically just traveling in any given direction, and when they reach something they stop. Usually there's a puzzle or a fight, and at the end of it they get the object they're seeking. They explain that it's not really about where things literally are so much as that they have the right heart for it. In real life, this wouldn't fly. You don't come across things just because you're looking for them. In Fillory, however, this makes perfect sense. That's the sort of symbolic rules that Fillory is built on.
I was also thinking about the Bible, and how Jesus goes out into the "wilderness" where he is tempted by Satan (as I have come upon this story a few times now in listening to the Daily Audio Bible.) I'm not necessarily saying that Jesus left Earth during this time, or even that this encounter necessarily "changed" him (as he was perfect entering into it and perfect in leaving it.) However, the wilderness does have something of an ethereal feel to it, and I think the way in which this story is used, it resembles the testing of the Hero's Journey. Jesus went through the trial in the wilderness and showed that he was the hero he claimed to be.
Conclusion
I don't know. Maybe it's a weak ending, but I don't really have a "this is what I can conclude from all this." It's just a portion of what's been on my mind lately.
Heroism and Lies Episode 103 (Monster of the Week) is now available for preorder:
It'll be available on Friday, May 26th.
Books 4 and 5 are currently with my editor. I need to figure out what I want for cover art for them, so that I can get those orders in as well.
I have been posting less and less frequently. I apologize for that. I have what I need for the next Toybox summary, but I haven't had the motivation to go through and type the whole thing up yet. Does anyone actually read the Toybox summaries? It takes much longer to write them than running the sessions themselves. I like having the record, but I guess I just want to know that I'm not burning up a lot of time for nothing.
I have not heard of Kubo and the Two Strings, but I may have to recommend that for the kids I nanny for. I'm not sure how much I've mentioned, but they are both excited for hero/fantasy stories. I admire how they tend to like stories that aren't quite as mainstream or popular. :)
ReplyDeleteI admit I'm a big fan of the "hero's journey" plot arc, even if, like you said, all the symbolism isn't always realistic. The "Far Realm" is always intriguing to me as well. I agree that it can justify quite a bit more using that device.
It's interesting to me how these plot arcs are commonly used in some of the most powerful/memorable stories across cultures, generations, and time periods. I think I may have mentioned Jung's theory of collective unconscious, but I just find it fascinating how we gain so much for these similarly structured stories, regardless of so many differing factors.
Exciting about how Heroism and Lies is coming along. Brandon and I have that on our to-read list once we finish another story! I've been reading your Toybox summaries, but I certainly understand how it could be daunting to spend so much time writing about them. I'd say if you're more excited to write about other topics, you should pursue whatever you're most passionate about. (And then you guys can finish summarizing the story for me after? Haha) :)
Also, I have never heard of the Magician King! Sounds pretty fun too, though. I tend to be inspired to read more after reading your posts. :)
ReplyDeleteI hadn't noticed this comment before. The Magician King is the second book in the Magicians Trilogy. I enjoyed it, but it's definitely not for everyone. There are parts in both of the books right I've read that are really hard to get through.
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