Blog # 9: Hero's Quest and Film.

HOOK

Hook is a 1991 American fantasy-comedy film directed by Steven Spielberg. Hook acts as a sequel to Peter Pan's original adventures, focusing on a grown-up Peter who has forgotten his childhood. Now known as "Peter Banning", he is a successful corporate lawyer with a wife and two children. Captain Hook kidnaps his two children, and he must return to Neverland and reclaim his youthful spirit as Peter Pan in order to challenge his old enemy (Wikipedia). This film has most of the elements of the Hero’s Journey, explained by Joseph Campbell.

Departure, based on Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey means that: “the protagonist is separated from the known and steps into the unknown” (Seifert). The movie starts when Peter Banning and his family are watching their little daughter performing the play of “Peter Pan”, which in the movie is also a kids’ story. Peter Banning appears as a busy man, who has almost no time for his family; the beginning is known as the home culture. The call to adventure is when Peter and his family have to fly to London to visit his grandmother-in-law. An important symbol that appears here is when Peter, his wife and his grandmother-in law have to attend to a meeting so Peter gives to his son a “neck watch/clock” saying that now he has the control and has to take care of his little sister. Once the meeting ends, they come back to home; Peter realizes that something horrible has occurred. His kids have been kidnapped and the only information he has is a letter from the person who has his kids. In this part, Wendy Darling—Peter’s grandmother-in-law—tries to encourage and convince him that he has the ability to fly, and that he is Peter Pan by showing him a cartoon of Peter Pan. However, Peter’s ideas, and what he knows as normal make him refuse it. This is the refusal of the call. The supernatural aid is a fairy, named Tinker Bell, and she also is an important symbol. She appears when Peter is nervous and confused. Her role in the movie is to help Peter remember who he is, by taking him to Neverland—a place in which time does not exist and where Peter grew up as Peter Pan. Peter is taken to Neverland; he leaves his home, and everything he used to see as normal. This is the crossing of the first threshold.

Initiation, according to Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey: “By crossing the threshold, the protagonist's world is changed forever. A mental journey merges with the physical journey to result in a spiritual revelation of purpose and self” (Seifert). Now Peter Pan’s world has changed completely. Roads of trials are where Pan is tested and found vulnerable by James Hook, the antagonist. Peters is not able to fight against Hook; he receives the fairy’s help. Then Peter meets a group of children who live in Neverland. They start working in Peter’s journey. Peter starts practicing and preparing for the war with Hook to save his kids; this part is the meeting with the goddess. The atonement with the father is where someone or something is interfering in his journey; in this case, it would be himself because he does not know how to fly. But Peter overcomes his fears and starts using his imagination. He imagines food all over the table and that is the beginning of his journey as Peter Pan. The apotheosis is when Peter faces and goes to the final terrors. Peter sees his son and realizes that his son is really confused and likes James Hook. Here, Peter accepts that he needs to be more ready. Peter is aware that he has to recover his kids in order to come back and continue with his life. The ultimate boon is when Peter is able to remember everything. He remembers how he came to and left Neverland as a child. He also remembers how time passed for people, who lived in the earth, and that he decided to stay with them, where time does exist, and people get older. In this boon, Peter understands how he can achieve his journey successfully. He learns how to fly, which is a gift.

Return, based on Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey means that: “Through the protagonist’s ultimate sacrifice of self, s/he walks in an enlightened state” (Seifert). Peter Pan feels comfortable living in Neverland. He does not want to return because he thinks he’s always been in that place, in Neverland. He also is forgetting his real life; this is the refusal of the return. The chase is where Peter has to undergo a difficult situation; he has to make his son feel proud of him and start looking at him as his father. In this part, everything depends on what he is doing, his abilities, and power. He eventually fights against Hook. Then, the rescue, in which Pan needs others’ help. So he and his friends fight in order to free his children. After Pan wins the war, he has to return to his real life. However, he is dealing with these two things—the fantasy life and the real one; this is the crossing of the return threshold. The master of two worlds, even though Peter feels comfortable in whatever place, in his real or fantasy life, he has to choose one of those. Finally, the freedom to live, Peter is at home with his kids. He has learned how to live in real life “at home”; he won’t commit the same mistakes, such as paying more attention to his job than his family.

This film has some significant symbols and archetypes that will help us understand much better the movie. The first symbol appears when Peter has to go to a meeting and gives to his son a “neck watch/clock”, it is meaningful because a clock means to control, the passing of time, so with this knowledge we can figure out what is going to happen. Also knowing that Peter comes from a place called Neverland give us an idea in which we can connect that information. Another essential symbol is the fairy, as in the movie Peter has to use his imagination in order to save his kids, the fairy as a “real creature” in the movie helps him develop his imagination. Hook as a symbol would mean to attract interest or attention, "hook" is relevant in the movie because the antagonist has a hook instead of a hand, and his goal is to catch Peter in order to kill him. The most relevant archetypes I could find were: Peter Banning/Pan, Banning as a busy man, and Pan as the hero. The fairy, Tinker Bell, is the one who encourages the hero. Mr. Hook is the villain, also known as the "bad guy" or antagonist. Wendy, Peter's grandmother-in-law as an old lady who knows everything, the wise one.

The “Myth to Live By” as Joseph Campbell would say, or the lesson to be learned is that people usually forget the important things about life; they give more attention to insignificant things. People have to appreciate and be aware about how important are families in our lives. As in the movie, Peter learns that his family and his kids need him. Also, this movie shows us how important time is in life, and we know how to manage it. Time passes and we can miss a lot of things such as seeing our kids grow up, and spend a really good time with them.

Works Cited

Hook. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Pref. Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts. RKO, 1991. Film.

“Hook Film.” Wikipedia. Web. 30 Apr. 2010

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hook_(film)

Seifert, Sheila. “Hero's Journey Defined.” By Joseph Campbell. Web. 30 Apr. 2010

http://home.rmi.net/~seifert/id22.html

Blog # 7: Hero's Quest and Film.

DEPARTURE

Home Culture: Here it is where the story starts, the hero – Peter Banning/ Peter Pan – feels comfortable, or at least thinks that he has a normal life with family problems as everyone. In this stage, he has a job, a family, friends and activities to attend. Also, in this stage, his relationship with his family is not the best, especially with his two children. Therefore, he is not aware of what is going to happen. Call to Adventure: After having been living as “normal” as everyone, something starts changing when Peter and his family fly to London to visit his grandmother-in-law and attend to a meeting. His kids are kidnapped while they are in the meeting. Once they get home, Peter realizes that something happened. Here, the hero receives a letter from the person who kidnapped his kids( James Hook a pirate). Refusal of the Call: in this stage another character encourages Peter and tells him what to do. However, his ideas and the knowledge he has about what is normal make him think that the police can resolve the problem. Another character Wendy Darling, his grandmother-in-law, tries to convince him that he has the ability to fly. But he refuses that idea. Supernatural Aid: Here, after he sees a cartoon of Peter Pan, he gets nervous and starts drinking. Then, he tries to understand. Suddenly, a fairy appears in front of Peter and tries to encourage him to get his power back, by taking him to Neverland -- the place where Peter grew up. Crossing the First Threshold: Here the protagonist leaves his home, and everything he uses to see as normal. In this stage, he faces his first obstacl, which has to be overcome in order to enter completely to his unknown journey. He fights against some pirates and realizes that this is what he has to do to save his kids.

INITIATION

Roads of Trials: This is the stage in which the hero’s world has changed completely. This is also the stage where Peter is tested by James Hook, the antagonist, and is found vulnerable because he doesn’t know how to fight. So Pan receives the help of the fairy. The fairy helps him to fight because he obviously is not in good condition to do it by himself. Meeting a Soul Mate (mother figure): In this part, the hero meets with his soul mate, in this case the fairy and a group of children that live in Neverland. They start working in Peter’s journey. Peter starts practicing and preparing for the big war with Hook to save his children. Overcoming Temptation (father figure): While Peter Pan is getting ready to be able to fight in the war against the pirates, someone is trying to interfere in his journey in order to impede him to win the war. Even though something or someone was trying not to let him succeed, Peter overcomes his fears and starts using his imagination. He imagines food all over the table and that is the beginning of his journey as Peter Pan. Viewing the Whole Picture (god-like): Here the hero faces and goes to the final terrors. Peter sees his son and realizes that his son is really confused and that he likes James Hook. In this stage, Peter accepts that he needs more to be ready. Peter is in the midst of his journey. He knows that he has to recover his kids and come back to his normal life with his family. The Ultimate Goal: Here Peter Pan remembers everything how he came to Neverland, so he feels comfortable knowing that. He also remembers why he left Neverland, he remembers how time passed for people who lived in the earth, and he decided to stay with them where people get old. So here the hero understands how he can achieve his journey successfully, so he learns how to fly. He gets physical gifts and emotional rewards.

RETURN

Refusal of the Return: In this stage Peter Pan is forgetting his real life. He starts feeling that he has been always in that place, in Neverland. He doesn’t want to come back to home because he is comfortable in his new home. The Chase: In this stage, Peter Pan has to undergo a difficult situation; he has to make his son comfortable and make that his son looks at him as his father. So here, everything depends on what Pan is doing and his abilities, and power. He eventually fights against Hook and the rest of the pirates. The Rescue: Peter Pan needs the help of others, he and his friends fight in order to free his kids. So he receives their help. Crossing of the Return Threshold: Peter Pan already won the war, now he has to return to his real life. However, he is dealing with these two things the fantasy life and the real one. Master of Two Worlds: The hero feels comfortable in whatever place, his real or fantasy life. He has to choose, though. Freedom to Live: finally, Peter is at home with his kids. Now he knows how to live in real life “at home” with everything he learned; he doesn’t commit the same mistakes such us paying more attention to his work than his family.

THE END.

Image Link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hook_poster.jpg

Bolg #8: Symbols.

These are the symbols I was missing in my essay, which are very important to get the meaning of the song (1) psicofonia(psycho-phony); (2) soul, death, ghost, polychrome; (3) window; (4) wander.

The most important symbol in this song is obviously “Psicofonia (psycho-phony)”. According to Wikipedia, it is the sounds that are reordered and some people can listen (Wikipedia).

“Soul” is one important symbol that appears in the song. According to Wikipedia, “is the immaterial or eternal part of a living being” (Wikipedia). As it is used in the 3^rd line showing that the man’s soul is really sad being alone. “Death” is showing in the 6^th line of the song expressing that the man’s soul won’t be able to die. “Ghost” is another word used in the song referring to the dead man. “is the soul or spirit of a deceased person, taken to be capable of appearing in visible form or otherwise manifesting itself to the living” (Wikipedia). “Polychrome” used in the song when the dead man appears to the woman in fire and polychromes. Wikipedia says that polychrome “is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity”.

“Window” showed in the 8^th line when the man tries to scare the young woman. The closest thing I could find related to window was “door”, which according to the Dictionary of Symbolism represent different states and also that transitions and metamorphosis are the most common ideas of this word.

In the 5^th line of the song the word “wander” describes what the man’s soul is doing after he is gone. Wanderer, according to the Dictionary of Symbolism the wandering man is one who is caught in a cycle of birth and death until enlightenment is achieved, thus attaining the motionless center.

Works Cited

Dictionary of Symbolism. University of Michigan Fantasy and Science Fiction Website. 2001. 20 Apr. 2010

“Death.” Wikipedia. Web. 20 Apr. 2010

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death

“Ghost.” Wikipedia. Web. 20 Apr. 2010

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost

“Polychrome.” Wikipedia. Web. 20 Apr. 2010

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polychrome

“Psicofonia.” Wikipedia. Web. 20 Apr. 2010

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psicofonias

“Soul.” Wikipedia. Web. 20 Apr. 2010

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul

Blog # 6: Essay 3.

“Psycho-phony (psicofonia)” by Gloria Trevi

Since he is no longer,

He doesn’t rest in peace,

His soul cries, cries he is not satisfied with the loneliness.
Since he is no longer,

He began to wander.

His soul penitent is with no option to death for eternity.

They met on a cold December, three years ago.

He wanted to scare her by the window,

She scared him when she smile him,

He looked at her eyes and he fell on her fund into her heart.

CHORUS:

She is a crazy, crazy lost,

He loves her wounded soul.

They loved dancing without time,

Psicofonías(EVP) that he sang in the wind.

She is a crazy, crazy lost,

He appears in the fire and polychromes,

And the ghost and crazy woman want to get married,
her father does not want to accept.

It is a curse.

It attaches him to the mansion,

For that reason he sings, sings and the wind takes his regret!

If you pay attention,

You will hear his voice,
And it is for sure that she in her white cell

is dancing Psicofonías (EVP) of love.

CHORUS:

She is a crazy, crazy lost,

He loves her wounded soul.

They loved dancing without time,

Psicofonías(EVP) that sang in the wind.

She is a crazy, crazy lost,

He appears in the fire and polychromes,

And the ghost and crazy woman want to get married.

her father does not want to accept.

She is a mad, mad lost.
He adores her, she never forgets him
because he surrounds her with psicofonías (EVP).
The dead speak us, some love us!

Gloria de los Angeles Trevino Ruiz, better known as Gloria Trevi, is a famous actress and songwriter who was born in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, in 1968. At the age of 17, she became part of the group Boquitas Pintadas, which was managed by Sergio Andrade. After the separation of the group, Trevi presents her first album under the production of Sergio Andrade (Wikipedia). Years later, Sergio Andrade is accused for rape crimes, and Trevi is accused for having participated in those crimes. However, she was innocent; there was no proof of her complicity. After having been almost five years in prison, Trevi is set free in 2004 (Wikipedia). The song “Psicofonia” is the first single of her album “Rosa Blu”—without letter e at the end. It is because the company which produced her album didn’t want to have anything in English. Therefore, Trevi decided to write it simply blu.

This song is composed of four verses and the chorus, which is repeated in between twice. The first -stanza has six lines. The second-stanza has four lines. Then, the chorus is with eight lines. The third-stanza has seven lines. Next, it is the chorus again with eight lines. Finally, it is the fourth-stanza with four lines. Being the original version of the song in Spanish, I based in that to get the rhyme of the song. The rhyme scheme is, for the first stanza AABAAB, for the second AABB, for the chorus AABBCCDD, for the third stanza AAAABCB, then, the fourth one AAAB.

The song “Psicofonia” describes two people falling in love, a man who died long time ago, whose spirit stayed forever in the earth; locked in a house, and a young woman, who is able to see his spirit. The story is narrated for a third person, in this case the singer. Since he is gone, he cannot be in peace. His spirit cries. He is not accordant being alone. Then, he starts wandering, without being able to die (stanza 1). When they met, three years ago, he tried to scare her by the window. However, he was the one who got scared when she smiled him. Then, he fell in love when he looked at her eyes (stanza 2). The singer says that the young woman is a mad lost. The dead man loves her hurt soul; they love each other, while are dancing what he sings. The ghost appears to her in fire and polychromes. They want to get married, but her father doesn’t accept (chorus). A curse makes him stay in the mansion, for that reason he sings, and the wind takes away his lament. The singer claims that if you pay attention you could hear his voice and that the young woman is dancing in the madhouse, what he sings (stanza3). The singer says for last time that the young woman is a crazy lost. The dead man loves her, and due to he covers her with his songs, she never forgets him. Finally, the singer says that dead people talk to us, and some of them can even love us (stanza 4).

The most relevant symbols in the song are (1) eyes, smile, heart, voice; (2) white cell; (3) wind, fire; (4) dance; (5) mansion; (6) father.

First of all, the song shows different kinds of symbolisms. “Eyes” which are able to express several emotions such as sadness, joy, fear, and, according to the Dictionary of Symbolism, “They can represent […] a gateway into the soul”. As the word “Eyes” is used in the second stanza, showing that the ghost fell in love through the woman’s eyes. “Smile” can represent joy, grateful, friendship, kindness, or flirty. It is shown in stanza two, when the woman smiled to the ghost. “Heart” usually refers to love, purity, and affection, “represents the ‘central wisdom of feeling as opposed to the head-wisdom of reason’” (Cooper, 82).

“White”, by itself, is another relevant symbol which that according to the Dictionary of Symbolism, it could be the lack of colors. However, in this case, “white and the word “cell” form together a phrase that has it own meaning that represent a madhouse.

As the chorus lyrics say that the ghost sang in the wind. So “Wind”, according to the Dictionary of Symbolism represents the fleeting and transient, the elusive and the intangible. “Fire”, in the song the ghost found a way to appear in earth, as it is said in the same dictionary, “Rituals often involve an eternal flame, and kindling a fire is equated with birth and resurrection. Can be spiritual enlightenment, sexuality”. However, in this situation the ghost was trying to find a way to be with the woman.

The ghost and the woman seem to be “dancing.” Dance, according to the Dictionary of Symbolism represents celebration and joy.

One of the important symbols is mansion that can be a synonymous of “House”, which is one of the centers of the world as the Dictionary of Symbolism shows.

The word “father” according to the Dictionary of Symbolism represents order, law, and power.

Even though the song starts with a sad tone showing affliction, torment, and emotional pain due to the words “cry,” “loneliness,” “not satisfied,” and “wander;” the song immediately changes its sad tone to a love and happiness tone with the words “smile,” “heart,” “loves,” “dancing,” and “get married.” Obviously, there is a contrast in the song between sadness and happiness, and then the song ends with a sense of hope.

“Psicofonia” or the best translation I could do for that is “psycho-phony”. According to Wikipedia, psicofonias are sounds that are recorded on audio recorders and are interpreted as voices of dead people by investigators of the paranormal. The narrator, in this case the singer, is describing the life of a ghost, living as spirit forever, so that is the reason he feels impotent and desperate (lines 3-6). The singer also describes the ghost and woman falling in love. Even though the song doesn’t specify when the ghost died, we can figure out it was long time ago for the way he is dressed. So, why did he fall in love just three years ago if he’s been died many years ago? I guess, it is because she was the only one who didn’t scare, otherwise she was the one who scared him (lines 8-10). Maybe, she is one of those strange people who feel they don’t belong to this world and are able to communicate with dead people. As its said in the chorus the ghost and woman are happy when the are together (lines 12-13). Finally, I guess that although her family tried to separate them when they sent her to a madhouse, they still love each other (lines 35-36). It is in the last stanza when the singer says that he surrounds her with psicofonias, meaning with his songs, with that we can realize they love each other.

PSICOFONIA (Spanish version)

Desde que ya no esta….
el no descansa en paz,
su alma llora llora el no se conforma con la soledad…
Desde que ya no esta….
el empezó a vagar..
su alma penitente sin opción a muerte por la eternidad…

Se conocieron en un frió Diciembre tres anos atrás….
El quería asustarla por el ventanal,
ella lo asusto cuando le sonrió..
el miro sus ojos y callo en su fondo hasta su corazón..

Ella es una loca loca perdida,
el adora su alma herida…
y se amaron bailaron sin tiempos
psicofonias que el cantaba en el viento..
Ella es una loca loca perdida,
el se aparece en fuego y policromias..
el fantasma y la loca se quieren casar..
el padre de ella no lo quiere aceptar…

Mas una maldición…
lo ata en la mansión..
por eso el canta canta y el viento se lleva su lamentación!
Si pones atención…
escucharas su voz…
y seguro que ella allá en su blanca celda,
baila psicofonias de amor…

Ella es una loca loca perdida,
el adora su alma herida…
y se amaron bailaron sin tiempos
psicofonias que el cantaba en el viento..
Ella es una loca loca perdida,
el se aparece en fuego y policromias..
el fantasma y la loca se quieren casar..
el padre de ella no lo quiere aceptar…

Ella es una loca, loca perdida…

el la adora, ella nunca lo olvida,

pues la envuelve con psicofonias

los muertos nos hablan, algunos nos aman.

Works Cited

Dictionary of Symbolism. University of Michigan Fantasy and Science Fiction Website. 2001. 10 Apr. 2010

“Gloria Trevi.” Gloria Trevi Pagina Web Oficial. Web. 10 Apr. 2010

< http://www.gloriatreviweboficial.com/biografia_english.php>

“Gloria Trevi.” Wikipedia. Web. 10 Apr. 2010

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_Trevi>

Blog # 5: Essay 3 Preview

First, we have to choose another poem or song, and analyze it like the first poem we did. However, in this case, it doesn’t have to be superficial. We have to write about what kind of tone, mood and symbolism the author uses in the poem or song. Second, I wonder whether or not we can use a song or poem in other language. Then, we need to know and have clear the topics we have seen in the classroom in order to complete the assignment. Finally, I am not sure what I want to write about but I think I will choose a song in another language.