The Monomythology of Buffy

[lostboy_lj]

I've been having lots of thoughts lately about the mythology of the Buffyverse, particularly in relation to Joseph Campbell's theory of the "monomyth" - a detectable pattern of the hero's journey that seems to crop up across many cultures and eras.  The theory holds that, when deconstructed, most stories about mythological and religious heroes

Comments

[gillo]

Very interesting. Buffy has companions who undergo many stages of the journey - Willow and Spike in particular, arguably. This demands a lot more thought.

I think you could argue that Giles's presentation of the book Vampyr to Buffy in the library in WttH counts as a call to action, as her move to Sunnydale could be construed as the start of the story. (Like Frodo's move into Bag End, perhaps.)

[lostboy_lj]

There's definitely significant overlap between the tale of Hemery and the tale of Sunnydale (which is why I interlaced some of the images in certain steps). Early in the design I considered even selecting some pictures from the series to interlace with steps 1-2 (funny you mention the Vampyr book, because that was an image I had in mind). But I still think the real "calling" took place at Hemery, with Merrick. By the time Buffy gets to Sunnydale, she has already embarked on the adventure, refused the call and crossed a threshold (and paid dear prices for it, as she tells Giles in WttH). It's a tough call, but if I changed it I wouldn't leave Hemery out. It's too important.

Buffy has companions who undergo many stages of the journey - Willow and Spike in particular, arguably.Yep. This diagram is really tracing only Buffy's version of the heroic journey, albeit with bits of her companions tales sewn in here and there to illustrate how they reinforce certain stages of the myth (the return of Spike's soul in the Magic Flight stages

[local_max]

Pretty

[lostboy_lj]

Hmmm... I just read through some of stormwreath's journey, and I'm not sure we understood Campbell the same way at all. I admit some of his selections were baffling to me. For instance, his version of Buffy's "Atonement with the Father" in particular seemed to me to miss what Campbell was saying about development of the ego. Glorificus is so obviously that final monster for me; that two-headed ogre that reflects the hero and reminds her of her inadequacies, that competes with the mother for familial attention, and that forces the hero to surrender her ego to pursue the enlightened state. Buffy's final resolution at the top of the tower also encompasses what I think Campbell meant when he emphasized the spelling of "At-One-Ment" in the step's title

[local_max]

Stormwreath's posting the Hero's Journey thing was before my time on LJ, and I never read it all that closely when going through his old posts (it is easier, sometimes, to stick with the Current of what is going on in fandom). I know some of his selections were definitely strange to me -- for Willow, putting Villains - Grave as her apotheosis may make sense from a purely level-of-power perspective, but not really morally/emotionally, since that was the height of her despair

[lostboy_lj]

Of course, once he becomes an "anarchist" without a strong structure, he can't help but spin out of control for a bunch of episodes until he can go back to the military.

As long as by "military", you mean the world of militant, postmodern, radical academia, I think we're on the same page. ;)

I know father doesn't necessarily have to mean "father," of course.

Right. I think for some critics the impulse with this step is to go to various external sources: father figures like Rupert Giles or sociopolitical structures like "the Council" or even to the fraught relationship with a biological father like Hank Summers. But Campbell's "father" was more of a psychological construct. It was the sum total of fears, regrets, longings and self-doubts of the sort that makes Buffy surrender at the close of "Spiral", and repeatedly murder Dawn in "The Weight of the World". It is a sort of ironic icing on the cake (and heavy foreshadowing) that Giles closes the book on Glory forever, but it's not the meat of the story node, in my opinion.

[ext_1473268]

OOoh. Very fun.

Loved Dawn's inclusion and your comments about her significance to Buffy... On a slight sidetrack, I've always wondered if Dawn-haters realized they're hating Buffy, too (or if the Dawn-haters are Buffy-haters).

[lostboy_lj]

Thanks!

Hmmm... I'm not totally sure where the hatred of her character comes from but I have definitely seen it (and heard it... don't get my wife started on "Scrappy Doo"!). It's possible it comes from lots of different reasons, some of them having to do with the story and others having to do with stuff external to the story (casting, acting, dialogue, etc). I for one thought the character was brilliant, and really raised the stakes.

[rebcake]

It's official! You are NOT me! Because there is no way I could have come up with such an amazing pictometa! V. v. cool.

I like your inclusion of the movie, ftr. I saw it in the theater during its first run, and haven't seen it since, but I still remember it having some pretty elemental stuff - Merrick, Lothos, and Pike in addition to Hemery High itself. I don't think Pike is ever mentioned in the show, but I am utterly delighted whenever fanfic makes reference to him, such as in this gem: Pattern Recognition by beer_good_foamy

Where was I? Oh, yeah. I like the movie inclusion, I am thrilled that Dawnie is the Immortal, the Temptations seem good to me (though I can't imagine either of them would be any good as backup dancers). The Boon incorporating the Vision Quest is a good change, and Buffy as Counselor is perfect for Master of Two Worlds.

Using the Prom to depict "initiation" reminds me that it seems like the first time she attains "Master of Two Worlds" in the way these things keep cycling.

So, yeah. Neat.

[lostboy_lj]

Thanks rebcake! It's weird because I was really trying hard to be you this time. I can't get the hair right for some reason.

"I don't think Pike is ever mentioned in the show."

I admit that I might be wrong about this one. I could swear there was a phone call of some sort once, and his name was casually dropped, but that's possibly just a brain-burp.

Using the Prom to depict "initiation" reminds me that it seems like the first time she attains "Master of Two Worlds" in the way these things keep cycling.Yeah, like I was saying to eilowyn above, S1-S3 could certainly align as a mini-version of the journey. This was probably due to the fact that they were only signed for three seasons, and didn't know if they would be renewed, so they tried to ensure that they could complete their artistic goals even if it didn't get picked up

[lostboy_lj]

Thanks!