Gunslinger Journey

Unforgiven is a story of revenge and one man's struggle to overcome the darkness within. The story revolves around Will Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after he had hung up his guns and turned to farming. After many years of bloodthirsty killing, Munny was reformed by his late wife who 'cured him of drinking and wikedness'. Now in his old age Munny is forced again to kill for money in order to save his struggling pig farm.

The film centers around two conflicts. First there's the outer conflict of Munny's gang versus the Cowboys and Little Bill. Then there's the inner conflict of Munny struggling to deal with his shadow self. He main quest through the film is to complete the task of killing the cowboys without reverting back to his wicked ways or forgetting the lessons of his wife.

1) Ordinary world: 1880, Wyoming. Will Munny is a pig farmer and father who lives the simple life tending to his struggling pig farm. He honors the memory of his late wife by holding fast to her lessons of morality and 'right living'. He resolved long ago to leave his old life of killing behind.

2) The Call to Adventure/ Herald: One day Will is visited by a young gunslinger calling himself The Schofield Kid. This Herald speaks of Will's past sins and calls him to join in a quest. A prostitute in a town called Big Whiskey was attacked and cut up by a pair of cowboys. The kid seeks revenge and payment by killing the cowboys.

3) Refusal of Call: Will refuses the kid's offer on account of his reformed ways. He claims he no longer kills for money.

4)Accepting the call: Munny realizes that his struggling family needs the money from the killing job. Alone in his room, Will puts away his wife’s photo (representation of her lessons) and pulls out his old pistol (representation of killing and his old ways).
Crossing the First Threshold:Will leaves his home.

5) Road of Trails: Munny and his gang undergo many trials. First Will must convince the kid to allow his partner Ned to join the quest. Then he and Ned test the kid's eyesight. Then there's the ordeals of killing the two cowboys.

6) Crucifixion&Dismemberment: When the boys enter the saloon at Big Whiskey, Will, stricken by the flu, is confronted by the threshold guardian and shadow Sherif Little Bill. He is beaten to near death and kicked out of the saloon.

7) Temptation: when Will finally heals after his beating, he's offered a 'free one' by one of the prostitutes who feels sorry for him. Seeing that this would go against the lessons of his wife, Munny refuses the offer.

8) Second Crucifixion&Dismemberment: While going through their trails and ordeals Munny's gang are traumatized by murdering. In a way each man is emotionally crucified. Ned leaves the quest realizing he can't bring himself to kill anyone anymore only to be captured and murdered by Little Bill. The Kid makes his first kill but is sickened by it. And Will draws closer and closer to his shadow self with every kill he partakes in.

9) Apotheosis: When a prostitute herald comes to pay Will for the killings she notify them of Ned's capture and death. With this news Will embraces his shadow self and allows it to overcome him. He rides into town and guns down Little Bill and his gang.

10) Ultimate Boon: In the epilogue we learn that Munny returns to his farm with the money and the family moves to San Francisco where they prosper in selling dry goods. From that we can assume that Will was able to purge himself of his shadow and return to his family life. Furthermore, Will's move to San Francisco suggest that he was finally able to let go of his wife's memory and live his own life.

One more Time

Another film I'll try to get to this week is the recently released dystopian science fiction thriller 'In Time'. The story takes place in 2161 where genetic alteration has allowed humanity to stop aging at 25. However people are required to earn more time after turning 25 or die within a year. In this future time is money and society has been split between two vastly different class systems. Those poor who work constantly just to add mere hours to their lives and those rich who live forever without having to work at all. The film revolves around character Will Salas who is born in the ghetto working just to survive another day. When he is given the chance to leave his meager existence and live among the rich, Will discovers the injustice in society and decides to rebel against it.

Unforgiven

Next film up.. my favorite western and favorite Clint Eastwood film. Unforgiven. A film bout revenge and its effects on those who seek it.

Hero with a Whip

Raiders of the Lost Ark is a story about the rough-around-the-edges hero named Indiana Jones. Indy is a seemingly average 1930's college professor who doubles as an archeologist and 'obtainer of rare objects'. He travels the world facing danger and the unknown in the hopes of obtaining fortune and glory.

In this first installment of the series, Indy is out on a quest seeking the legendary Ark of the Covenant which housed the Biblical Ten Commandments. His story is one of three quests. On the surface is the quest to find the Ark before Hitler and his Nazis claim it and use it as a weapon of mass destruction. Besides that there are two other internal quests Indy struggles with. First there is his quest to go from a sceptic to a believer in the supernatural. And lastly there's his quest for love which nearly every hero faces in their journey.

Interestingly Raiders begins with a brief quest which introduces Indy's character the the world he lives in. I'll outline it quickly and move on the the bigger story.

1) Ordinary World: Indiana Jones and his allies search for a golden idol. The locations are exotic and Indy is a rugged fearless leader.

2) First threshold: The team trek through the deep dark jungles of South America. Its a foreign land few ever visit and return from.

3) Magical Guide: Indy uses an ancient looking parchment map to guide his way. One of the clues he's discovered in his quest for the idol.

4) Shape shifters: Sometimes those who seem like allies may actually turn out to be enemies to the Hero as so can enemies become allies. In the opening of Raiders, Indy's companions all try to double cross Indy in an attempt to claim the idol.

5) Road of Trials/Threshold Guardians: As Indy enters the idol ruins, he must traverse past many obstacles to reach his prize.

6) Apotheosis: When Indy claims the idol, the ruins begin to collapse. Indy races out of the tombs to escape certain death.

Ok now onto the full story outline...

1) Ordinary world: Indy is a seemingly mild mannered college professor newly returns from his recent adventure in South America.

2) The Call to Adventure/Mentor Guide/Heralds: Once day after class Indy is approached by longtime friend, mentor, and curator of the local museum Marcus Broody. Brody is there on behalf of the U.S Army Intelligence who wish to speak to Indy. In the meeting, the two government agents/heralds inform Indy of the Nazi plot to find the Staff of Ra and use it to locate the Ark. They entrust Indy with the task of intercepting the Staff and finding the Ark before Hitler can.

3) Crossing the First Threshold: Indy travels to Tibet to locate his old mentor Abner Ravenwood who was the last known owner of the Staff of Ra.

4) Road of Trails: Indy faces many tests throughout the film. First he must confront his ex-lover Marian Ravenwood and convince her to help him in his quest. Then he must battle the nazi forces who constantly get between him and his goals. And finally Indy must use the Staff of Ra to locate the Ark's resting place right under the nose of the Nazi archeological excavation.

5) Cave Threshold/More Threshold Guardians: When Indy discovers the location of the Ark he and his allies descend into the dark cave of the unknown. In many myths to enter a cave represent facing ones greatest fear. In Raiders Indy suffers from Ophidiophobia and is deathly afraid of snakes. The Ark cavern just happens to be filled with deadly Egyptian asps.


6) First Crucifixion&Dismemberment: Indy is pretty roughed up through the course of the film. In one scene alone as he battles the Nazi forces for control of the Ark he gets beaten up, dragged by a truck, thrown through a glass windshield, and even shot in the arm. Once Indy and Marian are finally safe from the nazi threat, they share a moment alone where Indy licks his wounds. Marion comments, “You're not the man I knew ten years ago.” pointing out Indy's fatigue. Indy responds, “It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.”

7) Temptation: When the Nazis capture both the Ark and Marion Indy is faced with a dilemma. He decides to choose his quest for love over his quest for the Ark. Indy attempts to barter with the Nazis. He threatens to destroy the Ark if they don't free Marion. The Nazis call his bluff and tell him to destroy the Ark. For a moment Indy is tempted to do so in order to keep it from Nazi control. However he is unable to destroy such a priceless artifact.

8) Apotheosis: The Nazis string up Indy and Marion as sacrifices to the Ark. The Nazi leaders attempt a Jewish ritual where they try to harness the power of the Ark. However it backfires killing everyone there except for Indy and Marion who humbly shield their eyes from the Ark and its immense power. Indy finally comes to see the supernatural in the world and only survives the ordeal through his yielding to that power.

9) Ultimate Boon: Indy claims the Ark and takes it to the U.S. There the government takes control of it. Indy doesn't get the fortune and glory he seeks but obtains other goals of his quest. He has a better understanding of the universe and has found love.

Moving on..

This week I'll be blowing up the blog with a number of films to analyze. First up... Raiders of the Lost Ark! I've been a huge fan of the Indiana Jones films ever since I was a kid so I'm really looking forward to this thread.

Oh one more Star Wars post!

I forgot to mention these great images I found. They were ads for the History Channel's Star Wars:Legacy Revealed special I posted on earlier last week. They show how some of the more iconic images of the Star Wars universe evolved from historical imagery and myth/religious symbols. Take a look.

Star Wars Archetypes

Today we'll be closing the Star Wars posting with an brief look at the different characters within the Star Wars Universe. They all fit into different mythological archetypes that have been used and reuses many times.

An archetype is defined as a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated. The categorizing of archetypes for psychological purposes was advanced by Campbell's predecessor Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. He noted many different archetypes. Here are some of the main ones.

-The Child
-The Hero
-The Martyr
-The Wise Old Man
-The Great Mother
-The Damsel in Distress
-The Trickster
-The Devil

So let start looking at the characters of Star Wars and see what archetypes they fit into.

Princess Leia- Leia represents the feminine in the male dominated Star Wars Universe. Primarily she's the protective caring nurturing mother but takes on many forms in the various films. In the First film she's the classic damsel in distress when she's captures by the empire and has to be rescued by Luke and Han Solo. She then reveals herself to be a bit of a female warrior as she fights her way off the Death Star. In the second film she takes on a more military leadership role but also a romantic lover role and she and Han Solo begin a relationship. In the final film it is revealed that she is the twin sister of Luke. As such she becomes his female counterpart with all the same potential and strength he has.

Han Solo- Han is perhaps the most beloved character in the Star Wars Universe. Mainly because he's a bad boy and everyone loves a bad boy. To be more formal, he the cynical anti-hero and also a bit of a cowboy relying on guns and sheer ballsy courage to get him through situations. He is strong and independent as his name SOLO suggests which highlights the journey this hero must. In the first film Han is a shape shifter, a character who the hero isn't sure he can trust. A man who's intentions and true loyalties are hidden. Han doesn't want to care about the rebellion or fighting the empire. He only cares about himself and dealing with his own problems. But he comes to care about Luke and his mission and ends up joining the rebellion. And so Han's overall quest is to learn to care about others more than himself. In the second film this journey continues as Han the warrior must learn to love. He and Leia begin a shaky relationship which leads him to sacrifice his life to protect her and his friends. In the final film Han is fully realized. He is the lover to Leia and a respected general in the rebellion. Not too shabby for a once scruffy smuggler.

Chewbacca- Chewie represents the animal companion. Many times the hero befriends a beast who helps them along their journey. They help remind the hero of his connection to the natural world.

R2-D2/C3P0- These two droids are part comical relief and part everyman. They act and react in their universe much like we would too if we were thrown into the Star Wars films. They are the fools who cower and run but also are heralds who issue challenges and announce the coming of change in the hero's life.

Vader/Emperor/Boba Fett- These character are the Shadows of the Star Wars story. The representations of darkness in the hero's life. They are nearly always the road block in the way of the hero completing their quest.

Yoda- Like Obi-Wan, Yoda is the basic Old man mentor archetype. However he has other roles too. When he first meets Luke he' a trickster pretending to be a senile swamp creature. Then we discover he's actually a threshold guardian. In this role, Yoda protects secrets and wisdom from the hero until the hero proves himself worthy for such gifts. This wisdom is not just the ways of the Force but also the truth about Luke's family and father's downfall. He is also an oracle who can see beyond the present and into future possibilities.