Hoang 1 Caitlyn Hoang Chambers English 1301 2 July 2015 Po The Dragon Warrior The word “hero” has earned many different interpretations over time. Before when one heard the word “hero” the image of Superman would show up in their mind. Nowadays, anyone can be considered a hero under specific circumstances. Joseph Campbell, the creator of the monomyth concept, also known as the heroic journey, described this journey to consist of three major stages. “The monomythic pattern is that of the Adventure of the Hero, divided into the phases of Departure, Initiation, and Return”. (Traschen)In today’s movies, viewers are able to see that these movies follow the concept of the heroic journey as well. One clear example of this idea in today’s movies is in Dreamworks’Kung Fu Panda.In this film, the protagonist, Po, undergoes a heroic journey to fulfill his destiny as the Dragon Warrior and find his true self. The first of the three stages of the monomyth is the departure stage, which is where the hero is called to adventure. In the movie, Po’s call to adventure would be at the Dragon Warrior Ceremony when Master Oogway, the creator of kung fu, anoints Po to be the Dragon Warrior. This is the scene where Po departs from his normal life of being the son of a goose that owns a noodle shop in town, and is now about to start his new one as the Dragon Warrior. Also during the departure state, the hero usually comes across helpers who usually guide the hero through their journey, but in Po’s case, his helpers motivate him more to be the best then guiding him
