Heroes Journey

hwNicholas Chevalley

Prof. Colemire

ENG 201.01

Poetics/Heroe’s Journey Film Analysis

Dan in Real Life

Through the study of Aristotle’s “Poetics” and Joseph Cambell’s “The Hero With a Thousand Faces” we can apply their concepts of a hero and their journey to almost all story telling mediums to further understand their journey. The hero’s journey as highlighted by Aristotle and Cambell, the protagonist of the story separates themselves from the surrounds of their known environment and of his understanding then crosses the threshold into the unknown to fulfil their goal in the story. By stepping over this threshold, the protagonist must overcome obstacles before they can complete their task and become a true hero. Consequently, after the hero concludes their journey, they return home with a new retrospect as well as an award to share with their community. Aristotle’s and Cambell’s basic concepts are presented in Peter Hedge’s film, Dan in Real Life. Dan in Real life demonstrates all of the basic elements in the cycle of the hero’s journey and we will study them further in detail below.

At the beginning of the movie we are introduced to Dan, a widowed father of three young girls who is still dealing with passing of his wife. Dan’s call to adventure comes in a chance meeting of a girl, Marie, who instantly connects through their common interests and sense of humour. Meeting Marie prompts Dan on his journey to find love, again. As the main protagonist it becomes evident that Dan is on a quest to find love.