Comparing the hero's journey to feminist empowerment in storytelling (self.KotakuInAction)
submitted 1 day ago * by OstensiblyOriginal
I thought it would be useful to have a primer identifying the new tropes being introduced to storytelling via feminism. I'm no literary expert, so maybe others can provide some better information, but I haven't seen this done yet. I think the Last Jedi is a near perfect example of the rhetorical devices in modern feminist storytelling, and I'd like to compare that to the classical hero's journey to understand the differences.
The hero's journey, or monomyth, has been studied for decades and it's architypes can be seen in stories dating back thousands of years. It has a defined structure consisting of a number of stages that follow the same general pattern:
The hero begins in an environment of normality when an external event forces a change from said normality.
The initial call to action is often refused. Reasons may include fear or prior obligations. This underscores the hero's undeveloped potential.
A supernatural occurrence or mentor figure may push the hero to take action, being a source of inspiration or wisdom and attributing a grander purpose to the journey and hero.
A series of trials are to be overcome. Each more difficult than the last and testing a different aspect of the hero while also preparing him for the next trial. Aide may come in surprising and subtle forms.
A revelation correlates with a loss. The hero experiences his first major failure on the journey and the ensuing self-doubt will test his resolve to carry on.
The hero accepts his fate and faces his final battle expecting self-sacrifice. The archenemy will have a connection to the hero's past and is often a metaphor for the hero's true enemy; himself.
Afterwards the hero is unable to return to his prior life, finding that the journey has irrevocably changed him.
It is a journey of self development and self awareness. The hero always becomes more then he was through perseverance and aide from others and highlights the attributes required for success. It is ultimately a journey of the self.
The feminist model of female empowerment on the other hand, seems to forego any sense of arc or development and focusing on the Star Wars example, has the following characteristics:
The hero is a woman who has been victimized since childhood. Her power has always been there, but was previously slumbering or oppressed and only needs to be awakened. (Rey)
Strong role-models are flawless women with no realistic story of how they achieved such status. (Leia). They inspire with messages of hope and love.
The enemy is white men, who in a group form the oppressive patriarchy or white supremacy.
Men are always depicted as weak and flawed. If the enemy, they are incompetent and bitter, their only purpose is to oppress. If friend, they are disempowered. They are depicted as useless aside from a means of force (Po Dameron) or they are old and dying in an unbecoming manner, their flaws having grown to overshadow their integrity (Luke). Their death is welcomed to make way for the new female empowerment.
Allies are visible minorities. They are everywhere. They are great.
A strong woman who is underestimated by men does something(s) men thought impossible but women always knew. She does it without aide and a man may have tried to get in her way.
The hero wins by virtue of being at the scene of the final conflict. It is always a woman defeating a man, highlighting how she was always better than him and his defeat reveals him to be weak and pathetic.
The hero's journey is one of good versus evil, it goes from nothing to something, it depicts how the transition was made, what value it has, and is ultimately a journey of the self. The hero and enemy can be anyone, the journey can be anything.
Contrast that with the feminist story - I struggle to find the right name for it since one of the defining characteristics is that it is not a journey at all. It is a message that says women have always been powerful and that power only needs to be awakened. It divides along gender and racial lines, depicting women and minorities as good and white men as weak. I think this is why the Last Jedi has a plot that sometimes seems disjointed; the tropes aren't a story, they are devices that "just are". It's not a depiction of growth and development, it is only there to emphasize and deconstruct the environment of white male oppressors. Other components of the story need have no purpose other than to give screen time to minorities.
Edit: This (ironically) reflects the classical view that feminism was opposed to which presents men as being able to do, to improve and make something of themselves where women just are beautiful and loving.
There is also an obvious attempt to subvert previous expectations (created by men) such as Rey getting captured in TFA then saving herself, subverting the trope of rescuing a princess. And, spoiler:
► Show Spoiler
Snoke getting easily killed halfway through a movie for no purpose and with no backstory or the big moment of Luke being given his lightsaber only to toss it over his shoulder and walk away.
We are left with the obvious theme that anything man-made be subverted and deconstructed while women have always been powerful.