The Hero's Journey in the Lego Movie
The Lego Movie exemplifies many features of the Hero’s Journey, despite lacking the entire last quarter, the movie follows the other 3 quarters quite well. Starting with the “Call Duo” of the Call to Adventure and Refusal of the Call. Emmet’s call to adventure is when he sees Wyld Style on the construction site searching for the piece of resistance. According to Wikipedia the Call to Adventure is when “The hero begins in a situation of normality from which some information is received that acts as a call to head off into the unknown”. While not very explicitly calling Emmet to do anything like many other calls to adventure, this scene serves to reel Emmet in for the follow-up Refusal of the Call. As soon as Emmet sees Wyld Style on the site he begins to try and tell her to get off the site, and that she needs things like safety equipment if she is to stay there. This acts as Emmet’s refusal, he is not refusing a call to adventure per se, however, he is doing actions that distance him from the piece of resistance and the journey that it brings, before he accidentally falls into the hole, where the journey begins.
Speaking of the journey the next step which The Lego Movie nails perfectly is that of the belly of the whale. Wikipedia defines this step as “the final separation from the hero's known world and self. By entering this stage, the person shows a willingness to undergo a metamorphosis”. This description perfectly describes the scene where, while on the Superbike Emmet and Wyldstyle take the secret tunnel in Bricksburg to The Old West. During this scene, Emmet is amazed by the master building that Wyldstyle demonstrates in the construction of the bike. With Emmet literally transported out of the world that he has known his whole life and now transfixed by the acts which before he would have probably detested, due to them not following the instructions, Emmet shows a willingness to learn and adopt this new knowledge which he has seen, completing the belly of the whale.
A surprising step that is present in the Lego Movie is Meeting the Goddess, which was mostly lacking in many of the stories we have seen. Wikipedia describes Meeting the Goddess as “This is where the hero gains items given to him that will help him in the future”. However, there is more to the step, as what the hero is given is very often amor fati, or love of fate. In the vent scene where Wyldstyle gives her actual name Lucy, Emmet says what seems to be a final goodbye, and goes to put the piece of resistance on the kragle. Emmet is of course stopped as the movie must go on, but this moment sticks in the mind as when Emmet is finally truly committed to the journey that he has set on. His fate as the special means he must plug the kragle, and so he will, as he follows his fate.
Finally, The Lego Movie shows the step of Atonement with the Father/Abyss incredibly through Vitruvius. In his last moments alive Vitruvius reveals to Emmet that the prophecy was not real and that Vitruvius had made it up, Lord Business also takes the opportunity to gloat at Emmet, and leave him for dead. These moments represent Atonement quite well, as at this moment Emmet is confronting the two things which hold power in his life, which is what Wikipedia defines the Atonement step as. He is confronting his status as the special and “realizing” that there is truly nothing special about himself and sending him into a deeply saddened state. Similarly, Lord Business as a representation of the child’s father is also here informing Emmet that he is not special and that his hometown will be all glued together. At this moment Emmet confronts the special status that he has associated with himself for the whole journey, and after some doubt comes out on top, completing the Hero’s journey, mostly.
I liked your observation about the Meeting with the Goddess. Your interpretation of the "item that will help the protagonist in the future" is interesting because it's not a physical thing. My interpretation of this stage was when Emmitt learned how to build the bunk couch. In the movie, this also helps Emmitt become a better leader, which is necessary for the rest of the movie.
ReplyDeleteI liked that you mentioned that even though the movie left off a lot of steps at the end, it’s still a Hero’s Journey movie. I think a lot of movies probably cut off the last steps because they’d drag the movie out and make it less enjoyable, but it’s still interesting to see this trend pop up in another movie. I also thought it was interesting that you mentioned the Belly of the Whale scene being a physical separation from the Known World with Emmett arriving in the Old West, as well as a mental change when he is impressed instead of confused by the master builders. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI liked your observation that the Call to Adventure and Refusal of the Call don't exactly affect or come from Emmett himself. Rather, the Call to Adventure is when Emmett sees Wyldstyle searching for something and the Refusal of the Call is when Emmett tries to stop Wyldstyle from continuing the search. It's almost as if this journey is about to be about Wyldstyle rather than Emmett, but then Emmett is propelled onto this journey instead.
ReplyDeleteYour approach to how the Lego Movie constructs its apotheosis is very strong, and I think it does show the Lego Movie's understanding of the monomyth structure. I also think that your observation that Emmet is not actively, but rather passively, resisting the call to adventure, is very insightful, and is an angle of the Hero's Journey perhaps not often explored.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting how the Lego Movie includes meeting with the goddess and atonement with the father. These steps feel like they're often difficult to see or left out entirely, while here they are relatively clear. In Quicksand and to a lesser extent Siddhartha I'm not entirely sure those steps are there and As I Lay Dying doesn't seem like it has them so much either.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how you use evidence from the description of the Hero's Journey in your argument, it lends a lot of credibility to your reasoning. I agree that Meeting with the Goddess is usually glossed over in some of the Hero's Journey's we've seen, especially As I Lay Dying. (Also, I hate that lego costume.)
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ReplyDeleteI think this is a great post and also a quite wonderful picture to go with it. I really like your take on the Hero's Journey within the Lego Movie, because I did struggle a little with where some of the stages fit into the movie. However, you make some good points that are well supported by the movie which are very helpful to understand the movie.
ReplyDeleteI like how you focus on meeting with the goddess as I feel like that's one of the more overlooked steps of the hero's journey. It both acts as an important character moment for Emmitt as well as the kid and his dad whom we only get to see for a little bit. Good Post!
ReplyDeleteThe Lego Movie is awesome for this unit, its comical how well it follows the Hero's Journey narrative structure, which is the main reason as to why its funny and made the way it was. I like how you highlight the Call to Adventure and Refusal of the Call when Emmet sees Wyld Style on the construction site and tries to tell her to leave, the Belly of the Whale when Emmet is transported to The Old West and amazed by Wyldstyle's master building skills, the Meeting the Goddess when Emmet says goodbye to Wyldstyle and prepares to put the piece of resistance on the kragle. I could go on and on but you make some really strong points that help understand the movie in more depth.
ReplyDeleteNice post! I really liked your analysis of the meeting with the goddess stage, and I'm glad that you found one, because it seems to be a stage that isn't present in several of the novels/movies we've gone over in class. Your explanation of the call duo was also quite good. An additional note is that that Lego costume is wonderful and you should wear that for Halloween next year instead of the shark. Or maybe you could pull off both?
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