In contemporary storytelling, there has been a noticeable shift away from the traditional hero archetype towards the emergence of a new breed of character—the anti-hero. Walter White, the central figure in Breaking Bad, serves as a prime example of this evolution, illustrating how the anti-hero's journey diverges from the conventional Hero's Journey. By exploring the trials and transformations experienced by characters like Walter White, we gain valuable insights into the complexities of navigating moral ambiguity and societal expectations. The genesis of the modern anti-hero journey often involves a departure from their homeland and the normal life they lived. Walter White's transformation from a mild-mannered chemistry teacher to a formidable drug lord represents …show more content…
As anti-heroes are given power, the pressures of survival or the consequences of their actions become higher than they ever will be. They become caught in an existential struggle, forcing them to confront their true nature and reconcile their conflicting impulses. Despite their inherent flaws, anti-heroes occasionally exhibit glimpses of humanity, showing their true character with depth. Walter White's occasional acts of moments of remorse serve as strong reminders of his humanity's life in the darkness. While anti-heroes deviate from the normal hero mold, their combination of virtues and vices renders them compelling and relatable to audiences, inviting introspection and empathy. Modern anti-heroes start their journey by breaking away from what society sees as right or wrong. Walter White went from being a regular chemistry teacher to a drug dealer, which is a big change. Unlike regular heroes who do good things for noble reasons, anti-heroes like Walter are more driven by their own wants or by what's happening to
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.
In the genre of western films, the hero plays a key role. Humanity portrays civilization overcoming the hostile country (Miller 66). In many films the American civil war is over, and people have turned their attention to more constructive pursuits. Battling nature to progress America's future, rather than each other. In between this wild country, fraught with danger and corruption lies the role of the hero. A hero is an individual with exceptional skills and through his abilities is able to rid a stricken town of the corrupt elements within. In many cases however, the hero's skills are not enough. His relationship with the community can define how successful his help can be.
When picturing a protagonist, many people envision a conventional hero with an intrepid personality, contrary to the stereotypical antagonist. Despite common belief, this cliche is seldom true and occasionally the complete opposite. In fact, the characteristics of protagonists fluctuate tremendously; some can be deplorable murderers, while others can be selfless humanitarians. However, they all obtain one distinctive characteristic: a flaw. These flaws can scope from arrogance to deceitfulness, but without them the character loses its sense of depth. If the protagonist of the story is perfect, they develop as dull and unrelatable and do not connect with or enthrall readers. However, when a protagonist is imperfect in some manner, they become identifiable with the reader. Protagonists who are illustrated as defected combat themselves in addition to their rivals, which develops them into
Superheroes are typically perceived as those who persevere through conflict by acting compassionately and courageously to save society. In reality, however, conflict reveals the adverse behaviours of individuals, including the use of selfish and violent means to protect oneself. The Wars, by Timothy Findley, shows that the worst aspects of humanity are exploited during war and are the cause of the destruction of all forms of life. First, the corruption of the pure elements highlights how individuals lose their innocence and act carelessly and viciously when faced with conflict. Second, the foil and mirror characters accentuate how it is impossible to hang onto purity, since humanity’s wicked tendencies result in a hopeless devastation for
Today in the world there are many types of adventures that are closely related to the Hero’s Journey. In the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon, it uncovers the adventure of Christopher Boone searching for the killer of Wellington, his neighbor’s dog. Christopher ran away from Swindon, his hometown, because he discovered that his father lied about his mother’s death and that he killed Wellington. While on his adventure, Christopher encounters challenges such as talking to strangers and being followed by a police officer. Since Christopher was a person who showed symptoms of Asperger’s Syndrome, a developmental disorder that affects a person’s ability to socialize with others, it causes him to have a hard time
There are many stories that follow Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey, and tells the tale of a Heroic character. These fables introduces us to heroes that begin their journey in an ordinary place, then receive a call to enter an unknown world full of bizarre powers and peculiar events. These heroes often display great traits, such as bravery or intelligence, that defines their character. One of these heroic's tales is Haroun and the Sea of Stories, telling the adventures of a young man named Haroun. This essay will prove that Haroun from Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie is a hero, because he possess heroic qualities. Haroun shows his heroic qualities by overcoming obstacles, helping his friends, and having good intentions.
“The journey of the hero is about the courage to seek the depths; the image of creative rebirth; the eternal cycle of change within us; the uncanny discovery that the seeker is the mystery which the seeker seeks to know. The hero journey is a symbol that binds, in the original sense of the word, two distant ideas, and the spiritual quest of the ancients with the modern search for identity always the one, shape-shifting yet marvelously constant story that we find.” (Phil Cousineau) The Hero's Journey has been engaged in stories for an immemorial amount of time. These stories target typical connections that help us relate to ourselves as well as the “real world”.
A hero’s journey is an important aspect of any movie. Sports films give a good indication of how the hero’s journey is trying to be portrayed. In the movie “The Rookie” is a 2002 film starring Dennis Quaid as Jim Morris who is a small town teacher finds himself playing baseball for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays farm system after an open tryout. Directors go through the journey closely isolate each particular aspect giving clear indication from one transition to the next.
As a society we value and admire heroes who represent the idealized version of ourselves whom we stride every day to become. This is why they are sometimes scrutinized, unless they are an anti-hero, of course. The anti-hero is also admired by some even if he utilizes unlawful methods to achieve his goal, because he represents the good in a corrupt world. But this is not always the case as it is seen in some Noir stories. In Noir stories, the anti-hero is supposed to be a modern knight. Transgressing society's corrupt rules in order to reaffirm for its male audience the need to act justly do rightly; however, the anti-hero through this false nobility and sexism reinforces the social problems that plague contemporary society.
The anti-hero, a flawed character acting as the protagonist, has grown in popularity despite the character’s questionable morals and unpredictable actions that follow. Those who oppose the anti-hero are widely ostracized in the piece itself and even publically. Skyler White, played by Anna Gunn, in AMC’s groundbreaking hit Breaking Bad is cast as the antagonist to her husband, Walter White, which is especially evident in season one episode five. In this episode Walt and Skyler’s relationship is the focus as the family looks at the course of action to take as they found out in the previous episode that Walt has lung cancer. Breaking Bad sets her up as the unlikeable antagonist using her gender, wardrobe, and cinematography to do so, while the
Human beings often choose to characterize others as either bad or good. Those who are deemed bad are said to be villains, and those who are deemed good are said to be heroes. In reality, there are no definite heroes and villains. The world is full of universally imperfect people. All villains have good traits, and all heroes have bad traits. It is simply the way the human race operates. William Shakespeare’s use of ambiguous personalities in his play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar portrays the idea that humans are not labeled as heroes or villains by their unique character flaws.
When I think about the steps of The Hero's Journey, I think back to myself; Am I on my own Hero’s Journey as I type this essay? A hero's journey comes in steps which are the Normal World, Call to Adventure, Refusal of the call, Mentor, Start the journey,Tests, Allies, Supreme ordeal, and lastly the Resolution. I'm going to take you through the steps in my own hero's journey. My Normal World was my mother and stepfather having a weird yet happy relationship. I remember the good times and the bad ones, it still leaves chills in my bones when I think back. My family has always been crazy, we’re always really good, then we fight, everyone stops talking for two weeks then the cycle begins all over again. That is still my Normal world. But Let us take a look at Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) who was recognized worldwide as a mythologist, also working with comparative religion too. One of his many books, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, which has sold over a million copies and translated into twenty languages. Campbells concept, also called the monomyth, details on how all stories, fiction or nonfiction, follow a certain pattern. My call to adventure in my opinion is me choosing to go to college, with my mom being a single mother at 14; she never had a chance because in reality she had responsibilities. That is why I felt
All hero stories have similar experiences in their life journey. Every hero undergo growth, development, and transformation through a journey of self-discovery. According to Seger (2013), “Many of the most successful films are based on these universal stories” (para. 2). Some of these stories could be either a search, a hero, or a healing story about a specific character. In the film “Dinosaur” (2000), a young broken iguanodon named Aladar goes on an similarly astonishing journey like in the hero’s journey to become a hero to his family of lemurs and a herd of dinosaurs because of his desire to do special and great acts, pass tests and obstacles, and journey to a special world.
The Hero’s Journey is a pattern of narrative that appears in novels, storytelling, myth, and religious ritual. It was first identified by the American scholar Joseph Campbell in his book A Hero with Thousand Faces. Campbell also discussed this pattern in his interview to Bill Moyers which was later published as a book The Power of Myths. This pattern describes the typical adventure of the archetype known as The Hero, the person who goes out and achieves great deeds. Campbell detailed many stages in the Hero’s Journey, but he also summarized the pattern in three fundamental phases: Separation, Ordeal, and Return that all heroes, in spite of their sex, age, culture, or religion, have to overcome in order to reach the goal. Alice in Wonderland, written by Lewis Carroll, provides a good example of the Hero's Journey. This story describes the adventures of Alice, a young English girl, in Wonderland. Although she lacks some of the stages identified by Campbell, she still possesses many of them that are necessary for a Hero to be considered a Hero.
For a time, the main characters in a story, poem, or narrative were easily classified as either being a hero or a villain. A hero would be easy to identify by the traits he'd possess, such as bravery, honesty, selflessness, trustworthiness, courage, leadership, and more. The villain would be easy to identify as well, possessing traits such as maliciousness, deceitfulness, immorality, dark, wishing harm upon others, and more. But what if the character lacked the natural heroic qualities but wasn't a villain either? What if the person displayed personality flaws that would traditionally be associated with a villain, but has heroic intentions? These questions were finally answered with the emergence of the anti-hero in literature.