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“Myths and Heroes”

PBS

Myths about a lost paradise often fall into three categories. First, a paradise on earth which is difficult to find. Second, a place on earth that is nearby, but that is in an alternate reality. Third, not a place, but an enlightened state of being. In these paradises, or states of being, there is no need for war, or toil and humankind lives in happiness and fulfillment. These myths express hope that the paradise can be regained, either by finding its earthly location, or by waiting for a future time when mankind shall redeem itself.

Cultures that feature a remote, inaccessible paradise often place it on a distant mountain, like the Tibetan myth of Shangri-La, or the myth of the Land of the Kachinas, the lost paradise of the Hopi ​ ​ ​ ​ people of North America. The invisible Celtic paradiscal otherworlds, on the other hand, are located nearby. These otherworlds are separated from man's world by thin veils, such as the veil between the English town of Glastonbury and the mythical Avalon. ​ ​

A central feature of paradise myths is that man loses his innocence and, as a result, is cast from paradise. Thus, Eden was lost to Adam and Eve when they partook of the tree of knowledge. The Hopis ​ ​ believe that man once lived in an underworld paradise, until licentiousness caused the waters to rise and flood him out. The Hindis believe that the earth has had four progressively worse ages. The first was Kriti Yuga, the First and Perfect Age, lost to man due to his actions. ​ ​ ​ ​

Most North American Native cultures also believe in four or five ages, starting with a Golden Age. In Greek classical mythology, the reign of Cronus, the father of Zeus, had peace and harmony, and ​ ​ humans did not grow old, but died peacefully. This was lost when Prometheus gave the secret of fire to men, and Zeus allowed Pandora to open her box, unleashing evil.

In many cultures, an individual's personal qualities and actions are his ticket to paradise. Thus, for the Tibetans it is only the enlightened who are on the path to Shangri-La. Christians see a good life ​ ​ and forgiveness of sins as the path to paradise. The Germanic otherworld is open only to specially chosen warriors. The Celtic paradisical otherworlds are only open to seers, bards, and heroes who have proven great worthiness. The one exception is October 31st of each year, when the gates to the otherworlds are open. This tradition eventually became Halloween!

Most cultures saw the lost paradise or otherworld as the home of their gods. In Germanic mythology, Asgardwas the divine stronghold of the Aesir, the younger and stronger branch of the gods. ​ Vanaheim was the home of the Vanir, the other branch. Asgard was a mighty castle-city, housing ​ ​ ​ Valhalla, the enormous hall, where slain warriors who were chosen by the god Odin to fight the final apocalyptic battle would go to wait. In order to enter the great hall of Valhalla, the newly slain warriors had to enter through a sacred gate, after passing through several obstacles.

The of fire

Hawaii.edu

We are certainly mindful, in this day and age, of fire's destructive properties--the loss of a home in the suburbs due to fire can create monetary losses into the millions.Yet imagine a world without fire, and imagine a world without the internal combustion engine--and you imagine a globe filled with obsolescence, darkness, and strife. Unless you were trained by your Boy Scout troop leader, there aren't too many of us in the modern age who know the specific techne at work in making fire--most of ​ ​ us would sooner employ our Zippo (tm) lighters or strike-on-box matches. Nonetheless, fire is a technological art, which according to Ovidian sources, was brought to earth by Prometheus. ​ Early accounts of the myth suggest that Zeus cared not a whit for the lowly humans below Mount Olympus--they were considered gnats who would more than likely kill each other through internicine strife. For what possible reason should the lord of Olympus provide them with fire? Prometheus dared to defy the Overlord, bringing fire and all of its accordant powers to humanity.

According to the source material, the gift of divine fire unleashed a flood of inventiveness, productivity and, most of all, respect for the immortal gods in the rapidly developing mortals. Within no time (by Immortal standards), culture, art, and literacy permeated the land around Mount Olympos (Olympus). When Zeus realized the deception that Prometheus had fostered, he was furious. He had Hephaistos (Hephaestus) shackle Prometheus to the side of a crag, high in the Caucasus mountains. There Prometheus would hang until the fury of Zeus subsided.

Each day, Prometheus would be tormented by Zeus’ eagle as it tore at his immortal flesh and tried to devour his liver. Each night, as the frost bit its way into his sleep, the torn flesh would mend so the eagle could begin anew at the first touch of Eos (the Dawn). (Stewart 01 sic) Stewart, Michael. "Prometheus", Greek Mythology: From the Iliad to the Fall of the Last Tyrant. http://messagenet.com/myths/bios/promethe.html (September 19, 2005) What makes this myth intriguing is that the god of technology and industry, the forge-god Hephaistos, enslaves the demigod that has released this secret--that which was reserved for elites has now been given to the community below. Humanity's darkness was illuminated by divine fire, a divine fire that became translated from an element directly into human ingenuity.

The fire myth in this class:

Once humanity mastered the art of fire, they mastered an entire host of techne--skills that developed ​ ​ civilization. Currently, we are moving beyond the Industrial Revolution, that which put fire together with the first archetype to produce steam, steam that fueled the growth of industries across Europe. At this moment in time, we stand as Dr. Frankenstein over decrepit flesh, or Pygmalion over clay--lords of creation. The myths we will study, therefore, involve artist as creator and the implications of the act of creation. Pygmalion fell in love with his creation and ushered in tragedy after tragedy in his illicit love (lust?) for his beloved statue. The divine spark of fire that he placed in his inanimate bride serves as a unique counterpoint to the myth of Medusa: Medusa made men into stone, while Pygmalion brought stone into the world of the living. We will investigate the unique interplay of these processes.

Character – V for (28 Villain Types)

AUGUST 8, 2016Posted in CHARACTER DEVELOPMENTTagged CHARACTER ARCHETYPE, CHARACTER ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ARCHETYPE A TO Z, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ​ ​

Top Motivations for

There are many motivational forces which can work on your villain types, but here are some basics, single or combined: ● Failed career move ● Failed romance ● To gain acceptance ● Revenge ● Justice ● Fear ● Paranoia ● Mental health issues such as depression, or even psychological conditions such as psychosis. ● Flee or achieve destiny (as chosen one?) ● Desperation ● Curiosity (like Pandora’s Box)

28 Villain Types

Although the “villain” as an overall concept is a character type, this character can fit several villainous archetypes, including but not exclusive, that of an anti-villain. Here’s a list of several villain varieties, but by far it’s not a definitive list. Below this is an even bigger but simple list of all the villain types I could think of – most of these will fit into one or two of the general archetypes listed here. 1. The Abusive Authority Figure

. This is the corporate climber who takes no prisoners, has no loyalty or morals stopping them from manipulating their way to the top, gaining wealth, power and privilege, and once they have authority, they hold on at all costs, and are abusive and dismissive of those working for them. Note: statistically a lot of the world’s sociopaths can be found doing this climb, and sometimes not possessing any empathy or remorse is a bonus for some types of what we consider normal work. This type of character excels in a wide variety of genres, but often are more prevalent in comedies and dramas. Audiences always identify with opposition to authority from the little man. The abusive authority figure can be difficult to spot, however – such villains are manipulative and cunning enough to disguise themselves and collect an entourage of people around them who believe in them – until those people lose their usefulness, that is. Abusive Authority Figure Goal: to climb and stay at the top (power, money, privilege, or simply ​ winning). 2. The Beast

Other Names: the ​ The beast is literally a monster. This is different from an antagonistic force such as a super-storm, which has no mind of it’s own. The beast has a mind – it’s a very small mind, but he has a focussed goal with it. Those goals are to feed, rampage, destroy or prey on victims. There is no stopping the beast, or reasoning with it. In fact, they probably don’t understand humans anyway. Nothing but death will stop the beast. Some beasts have been turned around on audiences when we find out the real reason for their rampage – consider some of the huge beasts like Godzilla, or the shark out of Jaws. Beast Goal: to feed or protect, and that is all ​ 3. The Big Bad

The Big Bad is the main and superior villain of a group of villains. He may well be a mastermind, or at ​ ​ least a lethal plotter. ​ ​ Very often the Big Bad remains shrouded in secrecy, keeping his identity away from minion or lesser villains who act upon his plans and commands. Where he does keep his own identity secret the Big Bad will often use another commander type villain (called The Dragon) to run the day to day. A ​ ​ Dragon is more likely to share the same objectives, but also to be capable of running other villains under him, enforced out of fear or repercussions. Because the Big Bad’s true identity is often kept secret, this character is typically used in a big reveal in the climax to a story, meant to surprise the reader and also the with who he was actually battling all this time. It is the Big Bad who will have the opposing goals to that of a story’s hero. These goals may or may not be shared with The Dragon, but the Dragon will have reasons to go to battle with the hero. Big Bad Goal: to maintain his secrecy while having other villains act upon his plans. ​ 4. The Bully

The bully is painted straightforwardly as an opposition to the main character, often appearing in young adult genre, but as equal inside corporate work settings. There are various reasons behind the bully’s psychological profile, often associated with a childhood of oppression or abuse. Or they could just not have a lack of morals and social standards (aka the psychopath) and be outright mean, and enjoy torturing others. Some bullies can have a redemptive path, others just need to be conquered. Bully Goal: to torment and obstruct the hero ​ 5. The Corrupted

Other Names: Once were Good, Bad Politicians. ​ The Corrupted are people who were once good, or got to their place of authority with good intentions, but became corrupted by the bad side, wealth or privilege. Corrupt cops, corrupt businessmen, corrupt politicians – there are a lot of tropes out there. Note that once a corruptable villain is discovered by a mastermind or big bad, they often become fodder for their own plans, and act for them. Once corrupted, there is seldom a way back without penalties the corrupted is not willing to pay. They are open to blackmail and bribes to live in other villain’s pockets. Corrupted Goal: to keep their corruption secret, and continue to live comfortably ​ 6. The Career Criminal

Other names: the thief, gentlemanly thief, the thug, the bankrobber ​ A general villainous type found in many detective or crime dramas. This villain works simply for the money, and the power offered by wealth. Many anti-villains or even anti-heroes come from this archetype, particularly around crimes such as jewel thieving which can be relatively victim-less. Some of this nature can have a redemptive arc. Some types of career criminals can work in temporary groups, under a mastermind or dragon who leads them, but most career criminals as villains are only out for themselves, thus reasoning why so many real life and fictional criminal thugs tend to turn on each other for a bigger share of the profits. Career Criminal Goal: money ​ 10. The Despot

Power, power, power. That’s all she wants, and she’ll take it by any (often violent) means. Like many bullies, she may start off life as a powerless victim of bullying and abuse themselves, but to stave off their own pain and humiliation, they enforce this on others. This makes them feel bigger and mightier than others. The Despot gathers forces around her, to both act as minions, do her dirty work, and justify her belief systems. But she’s bigger than the school-yard bully, there are no limits to the size of her power needs. She’s found in history conquering entire countries to rule over. Despot Goal: power to rule over other people. ​ 11. The Devil Incarnate

Other names: Evil , Dark God, Fallen Angel, Lucifer, Demon, Merry Prankster, The ​ Literally the devil, appearing on earth in human form, or at least a character with the powers and persona of a devil: the ability to read and know the actions (perhaps thoughts) of the hero, good looks and a charming charismatic appearance, and the ability to zoom in and know the one spot of our hero’s moral weakness, allowing the devil to offer temptation over to the dark side. The Devil Incarnate normally (not always) has some system of morals and principles, unlike the truly Unhinged, the later creates a totally unpredictable world while the Devil’s world will follow certain rules. This is for fun, of course. It’s all comedy, all the time, playing with these piddling beings. The devil enjoys annoying and manipulating people. If you enter a world of the funfair with a hidden dark side, or charming bedlam you’ve entered the devil’s lair. Devil Goal: to tempt and manipulate the hero (and everyone around them) onto their (dark) side. ​ 22. The Minion

Other names: Villain’s sidekicks, thugs, henchmen, sports villains, jocks, heels ​ Henchmen are generally villains who have similar cravings and amorphous morals to a head or mastermind villain they work for. This is because although the henchman craves the same profits from their crimes, they don’t believe they have the intelligence or desire to mastermind the plans. The mastermind or dragon who leads them uses the henchmen for the dirty work they possibly don’t want to take part in. More intelligent sidekicks may have ambitions to take over the business as soon as they can dispose of the main or head villain, but these intentions will never be displayed. Permutations include the sports villain – those jocks who have been trained in karate or whatever, ​ ​ and are tasked to challenge and beat up the hero. It’s not really their fault – but they never question their training. Sports Villains in professional wrestling are called “Heels”. The Minion as Thug is a group dynamic. Many are expendable, while a few will end up in hospital or running away. Minion Goal: to profit from partaking of a bigger bad’s goals ​ 23. The Outsider

He’s an outcast, a hermit or outsider, lonely but seemingly a decent person. Everybody who meets him feels sorry and sympathetic to him, even offering him a place in the heroic group, because he offers a lot of intelligence, knowledge and experience. But he refuses because all he wants is to be accepted back into his own world he was (falsely, he says) rejected from. He’s secretly bitter about his past and being rejected, and out for revenge as well as to prove himself worthy of inclusion again. Any new people he meets a simply fodder to string along and help him get to his main objective. But then, something happens, and the group and hero suddenly understand why he was outcast from his previous life. Behind hidden doors, some ugly truths are revealed, and they have simply and happily wandered into his lair. Or in order to obtain redemption with his older group, he is prepared to sacrifice or betray his new friends. Outsider Goal: either something evilly wicked like human sacrifices or cannibalism; or he wants ​ redemption at any cost, and is prepared to sacrifice those who have helped him the most. 27. The Vengeful Villain

Vengeance is mine. There were times in history when taking out vengeance for a wrong was acceptable. Nowadays revenge is not so acceptable, especially as done by a villain because the judgement of what is indeed a wrong deed is skewed by a villainous mindset. Somewhere in the past somebody wronged this villain type, and he’s never gotten over it. Now it seems there are a lot of people doing the same thing, and unlike back then, he’s grown up and has more power to seek retribution and justice against his past. Vigilantes and Revengers have taken it upon themselves to be both judge and jury and believe themselves exempt or beyond the normal human justice systems. In the perspective of having such a villainous type for your story, something about this vengeance will affect the hero specifically. Vengeful Goal: to obtain vengeance against a perceived injustice ​

Essential Questions for A Mythological/Archetypal Reading

1. Examine all of the characters—major and minor— and their situations. What archetypes seem to be present? 2. How do any of the characters change over time? What events or people make them change? 3. What is suggested in the setting (time of day, season of year, location—garden, body of water, etc.) that might suggest an archetypal reading? 4. What types of symbols are used? What do they represent? 5. How are the symbols in this work different from the traditional uses of those symbols? What is significant about this difference? 6. What myths are at work in different parts of this work? What features of the story are reminiscent of other stories you know