Osmosis Jones and the Hero’s Journey The Matrix, Beowulf, and Harry Potter may all seem very different at first, but all films share one critical thing. Each of these films' themes are progressed by the Hero's Journey. The Hero's Journey is a pattern commonly followed in stories and was first discovered by Joseph Campbell. According to Helen Kantilaftis, an author for NYFA, “This pattern focuses on a single protagonist following a distinct arc, with many of the same beats on that arc.” Osmosis Jones is no different. His journey through the monomyth progresses the recurring theme of perseverance and teamwork in the movie. At first, Jones is simply a patrolman for the Frank Police Department. Jones works day to day fighting simple germs. This …show more content…
Although Jones has been told not to chase them, Osmosis disobeys the order of his captain and goes after them anyway. Once he misses his shot and consequentially gives Frank a massive cramp, he is made a laughing stock on the police force. This incident doesn’t help Ozzy’s already bad reputation. Despite this, he is still given another case. Osmosis has made many big mistakes, but he never lets them deter him from moving on and going for the next one. Drixenol is a cold pill Frank takes when he starts to feel under the weather. Drix’s appearance ties directly into the third phase of assistance. Josephine Campbell describes this phase as such, “A hero frequently is assisted early in the journey by a powerful figure. This could be a fairy godmother, wizard, or other helper, who may provide a weapon or an amulet as protection for the quest.” At first, Osmosis thinks that Drixenol is snobby because he is a college kid who grew up in a nicer place than Jones, but Drix actually becomes a good friend and a great partner to him.
When Drix first arrives, Osmosis is reluctant to work as a team. Jones tends to be more interested in working alone. After they have overcome many trials together, the pair begins to work more as a
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Realizing he is cornered, Thrax throws out pollen to cause Frank to sneeze. Thrax almost gets away, but Drix shoots Osmosis out of his arm and hurls him towards Thrax. The two’s teamwork has allowed Osmosis to catch up with the antagonist on Shane’s eye. After a long battle, Shane’s fake eyelashes and Thrax fall into a cup of alcohol. Thrax burns up, but Osmosis is now stuck on Shane’s eye. He doesn’t give up though. Osmosis decides to chase down one of Shane’s tears and jump into it to wind up back in Frank’s uvula with Drix. Osmosis is able to return with the DNA bead Frank needs to survive. Without their desire to persevere, and their ability to work together so well Frank would have died. In the end, Osmosis and Drix's perseverance pays off. Jone's wins the love of the mayor's assistant, Leah, the two are reinstated to the police force, and instead of being a joke to most of the population of Frank's body, Osmosis is now regarded as a hero. Josephine Campbell states, “The true mark of a hero, according to Campbell, is the willingness to serve others with what has been gained through the quest.” If the two wouldn’t have pushed on through their hardships, they never would have made it this
Witnesses who were at the party shared that Jones was very drunk before he grabbed a gun from his room and opened fire. According to people who were at the party, several guests had attempted to get Jones to stop drinking and go to sleep, something
One well-known example of “The Hero’s Journey” from popular culture is the Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling. In the novel, Harry Potter, the main character, is the chosen one and “The Hero’s Journey” applies to his life from the moment he is attacked by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named as a baby. Joseph Campbell calls the initial phase of a hero’s development the “Call to Adventure.” The call is the in... ...
Watching a film, one can easily recognize plot, theme, characterization, etc., but not many realize what basic principle lies behind nearly every story conceived: the hero’s journey. This concept allows for a comprehensive, logical flow throughout a movie. Once the hero’s journey is thoroughly understood, anyone can pick out the elements in nearly every piece. The hero’s journey follows a simple outline. First the hero in question must have a disadvantaged childhood. Next the hero will find a mentor who wisely lays out his/her prophecy. Third the hero will go on a journey, either literal or figurative, to find him/herself. On this journey the hero will be discouraged and nearly quit his/her quest. Finally, the hero will fulfill the prophecy and find his/herself, realizing his/her full potential. This rubric may be easy to spot in epic action films, but if upon close inspection is found in a wide array of genres, some of which are fully surprising.
To fully appreciate the significance of the plot one must fully understand the heroic journey. Joseph Campbell identified the stages of the heroic journey and explains how the movie adheres meticulously to these steps. For example, the first stage of the hero’s journey is the ordinary world (Campbell). At the beginning, the structure dictates that the author should portray the protagonist in their ordinary world, surrounded by ordinary things and doing ordinary tasks so that the author might introduce the reasons that the hero needs the journey in order to develop his or her character or improve his or her life (Vogler 35). The point of this portrayal is to show the audience what the protagonist’s life is currently like and to show what areas of his or her life are conflicted or incomplete. When the call to adventure occurs, the protagonist is swept away into another world, one that is full of adventure, danger, and opportunities to learn what needs to be learned. T...
older of the men, Doctor Jenkins, is the leader and his character is full of
Response: The novel begins with a character named Robert Walton who wrote letters to his sister about his journey traveling to find adventure in undiscovered land. He tells the reader about how he yearns for company, and questions his choices. But he believes in himself and achieves confidence after his ship sets sail. On its journey the ship ends up being stuck in between icebergs, and the sailors noticed a large creature with a sled, and then the next morning they found another sled with a very ill man on it. The sailors took the man on board, and let him recover. Eventually Walton and the man became acquaintances, and the man began to tell the story about himself.
In every culture, there are stories that get past down from generation to generation (Campbell 1). Tales of knights who slay dragons and princesses who kissed frogs are a part of every culture. All over the world, stories share comment characteristic. Joseph Campbell introduces a theory based on this idea called the monomyth, the idea that stories all share the same narrative pattern, in the book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Overall, this theory shows the same narrative pattern in stories throughout the world, which symbolically reveals all humans must tackle difficulties and overcome them many times throughout life (5). Specifically, Campbell’s hero’s journey is comprised of six steps, which, collectively
Each stage in Mr. Jones’s life presents a crisis or conflict and throughout those stages observation was conducted and the conclusion was made that his growth and change continued throughout his life. His effort to rehabilitate himself is admirable and courageous. He is now chosen to work for an organization that helps to rehabilitate
During the process, Odysseus is faced with many challenges that he must overcome in order to earn the noble title. Odysseus proves himself to be a well-deserving hero because he is intelligent with his decisions, he displays cleverness, and he rids himself of hubris. Odysseus is faced with many obstacles in which he must make smart decisions. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus is frequently faced with hard decisions that he must make to benefit himself and his crew. One of the most difficult decisions that Odysseus is forced to make is the choice between crossing the path of Skylla or Kharybdis.
Francis’s self consciousness drives him to join the army and begin his journey. As a child, he has always felt left out and independent from everyone else. “I’m rotten at everything.’ I confessed. ‘I can’t sing. I can’t dance. I’m no good at baseball.” And I can’t even get up the nerve to hold a normal conversation with Nicole Renard, I added silently,”(Cormier 56). Francis has always been a little self conscious of himself, causing him to hide and seem different than everyone else. This drives him to join the army in an attempt to kill himself.
The Hero’s Journey is an ancient archetype that we find throughout our modern life and also, in the world of literature.Whether metaphorical or real, the journey that a character goes on shows not only the incredible transformation of the hero but it also gives them their life meaning. It is the ultimate human experience and it reflects on every aspect of life. Take Logan, also known as Wolverine, from the X-Men movie as an example. His adventure starts with “The Call,” which is the first step of the Hero’s Journey. This step happens due to the realization of imbalance and injustice that the character has in their life. Logan steps into the first stage of the pattern but is hesitant to start his adventure because he does not know what and
When Odysseus was facing conflict, he didn't panic while under pressure but immediately took action. Odysseus came in contact with the Cyclops, Polyphemus, and had to come up with a strategy in order for him and his men to escape the Cyclops's cave. When doing so, Odysseus was contemplating on whether or not he was going to kill Polyphemus
The Hero’s Journey, discovered by Joseph Campbell, is a way that numerous stories can relate based on the steps each character takes to complete their journey. These heroes followed the Hero's Journey by departing to complete a task, facing complications along the way and return with a new status quo. Forrest Gump, a book and a movie about the life of a man who makes an impact on the world regardless of his mental disability, he faces numerous trials as he embarks on his journey back home from the Vietnam war. The Odyssey, written by an ancient Greek poet, Homer, is an epic, heavily influenced by Greek mythology, about a man named Odysseus that embarks his way back home after being at war with the
Furthermore, the film is highly inclusive, giving the viewer thorough detail not only about the religious organization, but also Jones himself. To start off, the film gives detail of Jones’ upbringing, how he behaved as a child, and certain psychological traits that could potentially explain why the incident happened. For instance, it was stated within the film that Jones grew up in a very poor family. His father, James Jones was an alcoholic, leaving his mother to provide for the family alone. As a result of his dysfunctional home-life, Jones grew to be
By "slick," Jones creates a hustler, a borderline hoodlum, perhaps even a small-time criminal who is far from any spiritual "home" or haven.... ... middle of paper ... ... Jones does not allow the speaker to lose any of his charm as he politely invites his "machinegunners"--the tools of his new industry--to "please step forward" (26).