Let Your Story Tell You?

I found Prof. Leeper’s comment, don’t tell your story, but let your story tell you, very interesting. Having completed a rigorous Advanced Placement Literature course in high school, I have learned quite a bit about how authors place literary devices and archetypes into their work. It gives the art deeper meaning. Based on this knowledge, I feel that many times screenwriters and directors do intentionally put hidden meanings into their films. I don’t think it is often by accident.

            For example, Spirted Away and Star Wars fulfill the archetype of a quest. In art, every quest has a hero (usually reluctant), an antagonizing force, an intended meaning for the quest, and an actual meaning for the quest. In Spirited Away, Chahiro doesn’t desire adventure, but she embarks on the quest against the evil Witch to save her parents. However, in the end, she discovers her own strength and independence, the actual goal of the quest.

            Star Wars is the same way. Though Luke is reluctant to fight against the Empire at first, he decides to risk it all in order to save Princess Leia. However, this is not the real goal of the quest. By the end of Return of the Jedi, we realize that the real goal was for Luke to find his courage and a far more rewarding life than he had on Tatooine.

I find it hard to believe that these archetypes were not on the writers’ minds when they wrote the screenplays.