Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Archetypes: The Hero Turns to the Dark Side
At first, I thought Micheal Corleone was a hero because because he just came back from World War 2, and he fought for the U.S.A. I also thought that he was a hero because he did not want to get involved with the family business. He knew that it was wrong, so he refused to get involved with the mafia. The Hero's Journey is a person that wants to be a hero but doesn't want to get involved with evil. Later on in the movie when Micheal is with his father at a hospital, Micheal said that he was going to be with him. This could be foreshadowing because it could mean that he is going to be a part of the mafia, even though he said at the start of the movie that he wasn't going to get involved. This could mean that Micheal is actually not a hero, but he feels that he has to help his family in order to protect his father.
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I agree with most of this post, but I also disagree with parts of it. I agree that Michael was seen as a hero at the beginning of the story and throughout the story, he has been 'converting' to his family's values and their game while still trying to keep Kay out of this lifestyle simply to protect her and I think that that shows he still has good values, as does the rest of the Corleone family. We have to be careful when we say that they are simply 'bad' because they still care about their family, friends and have the values of loyalty, honesty, trust and caring when it comes to their family. Also, I can not agree that the line that michael said to his father in the hospital in the last scene we watched was foreshadowing because it wasn't a hint and I think that instead, it was character development.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with your statement of Michael being a hero at the beginning, I disagree with you on the thought of him not being a hero anymore. I believe that he is starting to really become a hero. For the longest time he did not really have much of a part. With his line, "I'm with you now", he is beginning to cross the threshold and is becoming more mafia like. Keep in mind the definition of a hero. A hero is, "a person who, in the opinion of others has heroic qualities" (dictionary.com). Also, he is clearly along his hero's journey. He is in the initiation stage of the hero's journey as he is going to do a deed that can not be undone. In the eyes of the public he may not be a hero after the deed, in the eyes of his family he will be. Michael is the hero more than ever and I disagree with the last half of your post.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Michael had come back as a hero in the beginning of the movie; however, I disagree with the last half of your post as well. You said it was wrong to get involved in the mafia. Is it really wrong?
ReplyDeleteI think Coppola puposely portrays members of the mafia in ways different than how we would assume they act is to make the viewer question what justice really is. Is the mafia really evil? Or are their acts of violence sometimes justified?
oooh! controversy! I wonder if a hero is always someone who does something difficult that they would never have initially chosen. What else is a hero?
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