Blog Entry 6: Reflection

    

The magician archetype represents a seeking of wisdom and transformation. According to Pearson’s heroic archetype system, the magician quest is not to do magic, but to be magic, to bring transformation and transforms itself.  Mystery is also associated with the magician as well as symbols, tools and objects of power.

       For its significant power and mystery the magician may be feared and also fear himself and his potential to do harm. Key words to understand this archetype are, intuition, knowledge, confidence, action, creation and mystery. More else clear examples of magician characters are Merlin from druidic legends, Gandalf and Saruman from Tolkien, Lord of the Rings saga, J.K Rowling main character Harry Potter and Neo of the Matrix trilogy.
      The five sub types of the archetype include, the "catalyst" or change agent, who provides impetus for substantial transformation. The "envosioner"who sees possibilities and develops a clear view of the future. The "healer" who creates effects that heals individuals or groups. The "intuitive" who knows synchronicity and uses serendipity to set a course and finally the "wizard" who has a natural talent for the unexpected and for what we do not know. Embodying the five subtypes, perhaps the ultimate aim of a magician is to transform itself and reach a higher plane of existence.
      The image I chose is a modern version of the tarot card. I chose this card for several reasons, first of all, a dark halo embodies a magician with a dark look that could symbolize the unconscious and the unknown which is feared and the look adds to this interpretation providing a sense of transformation into something that is not human anymore. The hair, upraised also adds to the interpretation in a sense of an state of trance and power. Second of all, the hands are pointing up and down, which can symbolize a balance in polarities and the alchemist law " as above so below" meaning a transcendence of polarities. Following, we find the magic wand, symbolizing a power tool that unites the spiritual realm with the physical and materialistic plane, in a more practical way it symbolizes the manifestation of wisdom or the realm of the mind into the material actions.
     The cup is a symbol of gathering and holding liquid which symbolizes emotions and the dagger can symbolize purification, metaphorically a tool to cut ignorance and destroy what is not longer needed. Both the cup and the dagger symbolize active and passive principles. The piece of gold symbolizes something valuable, gold is known to be a valuable metal that is a transitional, one that can symbolize flexibility and malleability while staying grounded. The three symbols in the table or in "life" represent harmony of a trinity that can be interpreted in several ways like body, emotions mind, or positive, negative and neutral, meaning that the magician must use the three principles with his magic want or perhaps wisdom and intellect to achieve transformation.
     In "The huger games" movie and book, the magician archetype would most likely fit the charcter of Haymitch Abernathy .The character of Hymitch Abernaty is of a tutor and someone with pain inside of him. At the start he resembles someone to be feared and someone with a mysterious past but after a while he is the one who transforms he main characters by his tutoring and advices that resemble the wisdom of a magician, however he also resembles a swordmaster.

Blog Entry 5: Monomyth Analysis - The Hunger games

Separation:
 In the 2012 film "The Hunger games" the protagonist, a young girl called Katniss Everdin volunteers to replace her little sister who was randomly selected to fight in the hunger games. The hunger games a competition performed each year with two representatives of each of the twelve districts of a near futuristic society is a battle to death until there is only one survivor who is the victor. The point of the hunger games is to remember the effort and pain that was made to obtain a peaceful society after many years of war. The separation begins when Katniss says goodbye to her mother and little sister promising the last one that she will try to win the games, and then gets into the train(threshold) that will take her to the city which is where she will get prepared and trained for the hunger games.

 Adventure:
 The adventure begins as suddenly as she gets into the luxurious city train, where she meets his trainer and mentor, and his partner from district twelve. Afterwards she is brought in ceremony of imitation where she is presented to the world and tries to get sponsors that will support her with gifts to survive while in the games. She is trained, interviewed and prepared psychologically and then the games start. She is taken into a forest that serves as an arena for the 24 young people to fight until death were she struggles to survive. While in the forest an alliance is made many are killed and she gets her leg hurt, she only tries to escape as she does not want to kill anybody at first. Then she finds that she is trapped (belly whale) in a the top of a three with the alliance waiting to kill her, soon she finds help from his sponsor and another girl from district 10 and is able to escape. Many of the participants of the event are being killed. Then, due to a rebellion that started for the dead of her little friend from district 10, the chief of the city changes the rules of the event, “there will be two survivors allowed if they come from the same district" which changes her dilemma of killing he newly found love and partner from district Petta Malleark. Soon they find each other and fight other members of the alliance. Finally to make the game more interesting and for it to finish faster, the organizers of the event put genetically modified dogs to kill the participants, leaving just the stronger and most prepared participant from district one and Katniss with Petta. At the end after a brave fight the member of district one is killed by the dogs. Suddenly the rules are changed again, and it is stated that only one survivor must remain. In love and with not intentions to kill more people both decide to take poisonous berries. Then the chief of the city, realizing that both dead will not bring fun and hope to the masses and that no hope and no victor could cause problems decides to end the games and proclaim both of them victors.

 Return:
 After the victors are brought back to the city, interview and washed in gifts and delicacies they return to their district 12 village. Back in the village they are greeted by the whole district that receive them as heroes, as not only they won the games, but were the first ones from the poorest and more segregated district to ever win the hunger games, bringing them even more happiness and proud.