Heroism

• Hero


  • Savior
  • Willing to sacrifice
  • Principles and beliefs
  • Looked up by people
  • Selfless
  • Goes beyond what is expected of them
• A Hero is a person that considers others, not dwell on the hardships just to provide for others
• Etymology/Origin of a Hero

  • Joseph Campbell is an American mythologist who studies myth
  • Monomyth refers to the common theme in myths where the main character travels from the ordinary world to the extraordinary/special world
  • The term "hero" was conceived because of Joseph Campbell's study on myths
• Who is a hero according to Joseph Campbell

  • Willing to sacrifice for something bigger than themselves
  • Not defined by what they gain but what they are willing to give up
  • Someone willing to give something up
  • Not narcissistic or self-centered
• Types of stories


  • Myth
  • Legend
  • Fable
• Myth


  Characters have supernatural abilities/powers
• Legend


  Origin story of something
• Fable


  Characters are animals and possess moral lessons
• Every story is an invitation to go deeper inside ourselves
• Importance of Myths


  • Basis for answers in life questions that are hard to answer
  • Create stories to aid in answering the seemingly impossible questions/those with no definite answers
  • Man's greatest fear is the fear of the unknown
  • Myths console people and humans with this fear
• Filipino Myths


  • Biag ni Lam-Ang
  • Ibong Adarna
• Joseph Campbell has 36 stages of a hero's journey, others have only 12
• 4 stages of a Hero's Journey

  1. Departure: Departure from the ordinary world, Call for departure, Desire to depart, Need or problem that needs addressing

  2. Initiation: Entry to the ordinary world, Challenges introduced, Find aid/being that can help, Achieving a prize/material or abstract

  3. Return: The protagonist is now a transformed person

  4. Sharing of the prize with fellows: Selflessness is a crucial characteristic of a hero, Willing to share with others, Concerned with the well-being of others
• Two typologies of defining a hero

  • Physical Risk Heroism
  • Martial Heroism
  • Civil Heroism
• Physical Risk Heroism involves individuals who choose to take physical risks on behalf of others, despite the possibility of serious consequences, including death
• Martial Heroism


  • Actioned by military men, Sacrifice their life to protect/save others from danger
• Civil Heroism


  • Actioned by civilians, More sincere and heroic because it's not their job/responsibility
• Actioned by military men
• They sacrifice their life to protect/save others from danger
• Actioned by civilians
• Civil Heroism


  More sincere and heroic because it's not their job/responsibility
• Social Heroism


  • Heroic action in the service of ideals
  • Experience lowered social status
  • Lost credibility
  • Financial instability
  • Social ostracization
  • Arrest
  • Torture
  • Risks to family members
  • Death
• Social Heroism


  • Use of intelligence, experiences, principles instead of physical attributes
• People who may be declared a hero

  • Those who faced the fact of their mortality
  • Took serious risks and/or overcame major hardship
  • Did so in the service of a principle
• Rizal was more of a social hero
• Rizal was weak and bullied but used his intelligence to be a hero of the Filipinos
• Hero


  • Protects and serves selflessly
  • Shares as part of their attitude
  • Takes responsibility for a group
  • Sacrifices
  • Expands
  • Shares (story, love, idea) and transmits to others
• 12 Stages of a Hero’s Journey

  • Ordinary World
  • Call to Adventure
  • Refusal of the Call
  • Meeting of the Mentor
  • Crossing the Threshold
  • Tests, Allies, Enemies
  • Approach to the Inmost Cave/Getting to know you
  • The Ordeal
• Travelling montage


  Hero & team gets to know each other better
• 1st impressions of selves and others
• Relationships are tested


  Paranoid, suspicious, sabotage
• The Ordeal


  1. Death or Near Death or Confrontation with Death

  2. Rebirth
• Midterm
• Characteristics of Midterm


  • Drastic
  • Dramatic
  • Violent
  • Physical combat
  • Dispute
  • Argument
  • Hero can die etc.
  • Transport to the other world
  • Surprise to heroes and audience
  • Hero faces their greatest fear
• Reward


  1. Reaping of the benefits

  2. Aftermath

  3. Time for reflection and recalibration

  4. Literally reflecting in a mirror

  5. Dream bigger (thoughtful speech)

  6. Party phase
• The Chase


  1. Finishing the journey

  2. Almost time to bring it home (polish, finish)

  3. Rededicate themselves to finish

  4. Increased energy

  5. Chase scenes (urgency is apparent)

  6. Almost see home but there is a delay
• Resurrection


  1. Final Exam

  2. Umbrella phase

  3. Climax of the movie

  4. All answers are revealed

  5. Showdown, conflict, fight

  6. How have I changed?

  7. Failing means doom

  8. Fully realized

  9. Should look like the bad guys are going to win
• Return with Elixir


  1. Once experienced

  2. Obligation and desire to share it with everybody else

  3. This is what makes a hero
• Center: Heroic Figure – hero, heroine, heroic team
• Many faces – masks put on throughout history