Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland - the heroine's journey

Discussion of Joseph Campbell's work with an emphasis on the personal creative impulse as well as the sociological role of the artist in today's global community.

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rafael brazil
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Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland - the heroine's journey

Post by rafael brazil »

I just came back from the movies and I had just seen Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. From the beginning I realized the classical Campbell's hero motif as the background of Alice's story: the hero is living his casual life, is called to adventure, drinks an elixir, finds a helper, crosses the threshold of adventure, undergoes a series of tests, finds new helpers, fulfills the job of the hero and flees back to where he came from, changed, willing to give his life for something greater than himself. I could identify many of these elements in the film. Could you? Why don't we share our ideas on how Burton reorganized the myth of the hero applying it to a heroine?
In order to get where you don't know, you should take the path you don't know - St. John of the Cross

Evinnra
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Post by Evinnra »

Haven't seen the movie yet, but planning to. :)
'A fish popped out of the water only to be recaptured again. It is as I, a slave to all yet free of everything.'
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CarmelaBear
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Post by CarmelaBear »

You're right about Alice following the classic hero journey. (I don't use the term "heroine" because ithe word "hero" was originally the proper name of a female god in Greco-Roman myth, in addition to my suspicion that the the masculinization of the term comes from patriarchal preoccupation with the male warrior figure in popular culture.)

It is not only the story of the female on a hero journey, but the only child who overcomes the sibling rivalry that rocks Wonderland. It is the archetypal struggle between a prissy but sympathetic younger sister and her cruel and oppositional older sister. The powerful only child sides with the virtuous and pure baby sister, vanquishing the older sister's dragon-familiar.

~
Once in a while a door opens, and let's in the future. --- Graham Greene

Eggnogg
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Post by Eggnogg »

New thoughts!
The end fight. Theres this battle between red and black on this chess borad (rememebr, all the world's a game?) so perhaps don't take itso seriously.

but in the middle of this there is a fight, that terrifying monster/dragon each of us HAS to fight. (in Alice's case its about NOT marying and instead choosing her life in her own terms.)

Its alright to be avoiding fighting and seeing the other sides persctive but there IS a dragon one HAS to fight and kill.Adn the best bit , there was that line, she says she deosnt know how to kill the jabberwocky (dragon), but someone says "just keep holding onto the sword.

A"witch" fairy godmother crazy spiderwoman told me I had to watch this movie by coincidence just at the time I hit Inner warrior burn out. (I'd hit a major setback.) I denied I had any dragons left to slay. (personal ambitions and goals.) Pretended All of life is just that game black and red, a game.
But watching this film I rememered my monster/dragon, was still there. (in the midst of fighting it now, operhaps writing this message is procrastination!)

More notes
First, things lke, rememebr that bad monster dog (whose name I forgot) and whose eye gets poked out? later skulking in his kennel, Alice returns his eye and gets the vorpal sword, whihc is needed to kill the jebberwocky. Well, this iner warior is also tied to aggresion and drive (represented by this montster hunting dog/hound thing), and sometiems earlier in yr life you have to hold back this agresion, energy, ( maybe disable it,) but you NEED it later when you have to fight that dragon, (that aggression gives you the sword/drive needed to kill the dragon.)

Cindy B.
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Post by Cindy B. »

CarmelaBear wrote:(I don't use the term "heroine" because ithe word "hero" was originally the proper name of a female god in Greco-Roman myth, in addition to my suspicion that the the masculinization of the term comes from patriarchal preoccupation with the male warrior figure in popular culture.)
And so it goes (went), Carmela. :wink:

From the Online Etymology Dictionary:

Hera: from Gk. Hera, lit. "protectress," related to heros "hero," originally "defender, protector."

hero: late 14c., "man of superhuman strength or courage," from L. heros "hero," from Gk. heros "demi-god" (a variant singular of which was heroe), originally "defender, protector," from PIE base *ser- "to watch over, protect" (cf. L. servare "to save, deliver, preserve, protect;" see observe). Sense of "chief male character in a play, story, etc." first recorded 1690s. First record of hero-worship is from 1774.

Cindy
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

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