Once you find out about the mythic Hero’s Journey and learn how to recognize its stages and character archetypes, you can’t help but notice it everywhere you look. It’s almost freaky, in a sort of paranoid way. You just have to keep reminding yourself that it’s only natural that the Hero’s Journey should be so ubiquitous. After all, its themes are metaphorical expressions of the human condition. And since, as humans, we create the world around us, it’s only natural that this created world should reflect our own psychological processes. Right? (I certainly hope so…or else maybe I really am paranoid. Hey—why are you looking at me that way?)

I’ve been fascinated with the Hero’s Journey ever since I first learned how the works of the late, great mythologist Joseph Campbell inspired George Lucas to create his Star Wars saga. I decided to dig deeper and soon discovered that my new-found understanding of the Hero’s Journey gives me the ability to enjoy and appreciate my favorite movies, TV shows, books, stage works, and theme park attractions on a whole new level. So that’s what The Mything Link blog is all about: my semi-random observations of the Hero’s Journey as it appears in popular entertainment. I’ll also be using this blog to promote my own activities as I attempt to exploit my knowledge of the Hero’s Journey for fun and profit. So stay tuned!

But maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. Are the terms “Hero’s Journey” and “character archetypes” new to you? Does the name Joseph Campbell not ring a bell? No problem. Just check out the four “Hidden in Plain Sight” articles I’ve provided here and those will help get you up to speed in no time.