An orphan boy was raised by his adoptive parents. One day, a tragic incident killed the kind couple who had cared for him. The grieving young man embarked on a journey to fight evil. Then he was trained by a special teacher who taught him spiritual values. The young man was ready to face the evil overlord, only to find that his enemy was none other than his own biological father. Sounds familiar? Of course.

Finding patterns in Hollywood movies is not difficult. Like myths, tales, and folklore, movies often repeat the same basic story over and over again. The basic pattern of the character’s story, personality, or behavior has psychological explanations.

Carl Gustav Jung (1875 – 1961) advanced the concept of psychological archetypes. The archetype is an original model of a person, an ideal example or a prototype on which others are copied, modeled or emulated. The archetype served as a symbol that everyone can recognize. Some archetypes appeared often in stories, such as the archetype of the child, the hero, the great mother, the old man / wise woman, the trickster, the devil, the scarecrow, and the mentor. The archetype as a model of person, personality or behavior is easy to detect in Hollywood movies. For example, The Hero Archetype.

The character explained at the beginning of the article is Luke Skywalker who appeared in Star Wars trilogy, and possessed traits that can identify him as the archetype of the hero.

In his book, The hero with a thousand faces, Joseph Campbell (1904 – 1987) identified an archetypal plot within ancient myths that told the same recurring story about The Hero as the main theme. These characters usually follow these patterns:

– Born in unusual circumstances. The hero is often born royalty or in times of danger.

– At one point in The Hero’s life, he leaves his family or his land and lives with other people.

– The hero is involved in an event that leads to an adventure or mission. The event is usually traumatic.

– The hero has a special weapon that only he can handle.

– The hero found supernatural help throughout his adventure.

– The hero must prove himself many times during this adventure or quest.

– The hero experiences the atonement with the father.

– When the hero dies, he is spiritually rewarded.

We like to identify ourselves as the hero character in a movie, so finding an example of this archetype in Hollywood movies is relatively easy. Of course, the character does not always have to meet all the criteria mentioned above to be classified as the archetype of the hero. Many examples of the hero archetype, of course, can be found primarily in superhero movies. Superhero movies are flooding the big screen, symbolizing hope and the return of ideals to society. A superhero is seen as a character who will do things right, and the audience always loves them.

Examples of the hero archetype in superhero movies are Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, and Iron Man. In other movies, there is Aragorn (Lord Of The Rings Trilogy), Indiana Jones, John Connor (Terminator) and Harry Potter. These characters had proven to be a true hero thanks to their dedication to enduring pain and sadness for the sake of many and for themselves.

Although the archetype of The Hero is not limited to action films and superheroes, most of the samples that we were able to find are mostly of the two genres. Perhaps, because it is easier to act as a hero in a circumstance that demands a lot of action and dynamics.

The archetype is part of our collective consciousness. By experiencing history as the archetype of the hero, we find ourselves fighting evil and bringing peace to society. Although the recurring patterns can bore the audience, the character of the hero continues to play an important role. They build positive values ​​in the audience and remind them that good things are still worth fighting for. Maybe not by killing the evil overlord or slaying dragons, but there are many ways to be a hero. And we can all be one.