Film Review: How The Heroes Journey Is Portrayed In The Film 'Harry Potter And The Philosopher Stone'
Today I was introduced to Joseph Campbell and his idea of the heroes journey.
Joseph Campbell believed there were 3 key stages to the heroes journey and identified them as the departure, the initiation and the return. Each of these segments can then be broken up into smaller steps which follow the theme of each respected segment (see image below). Campbell believed this to be a common template for any story which involves a hero, which can be applied to Harry Potter And The Philosophers Stone.
After taking notes of the films plot, I then began assigning what I thought were the appropriate scene, to fit Campbell's 17 steps. For some of the steps you could argue that there are multiple points in the narrative which match up as well as some of the steps taking place slightly out of order.
The Call To Adventure
Character gets opportunity to venture from normality - In Harry Potter, Harry receives a letter to join Hogwarts, a school for becoming a wizard. This is out of the ordinary for his life as he did not know magic existed.
Refusal Of The Call
Hero does not accept call. This could be due to a sense of duty or obligation, fear, insecurity or a sense of inadequacy. Basically any reason to suggest the hero is not yet their heroic self - In Harry Potter, the refusal of the call is due to Harry's Uncle tearing up the letters from Hogwarts. His Aunt and Uncle are very jealous of Harry's side of the family and so do everything in their power to stop him from entering the wizarding world. This results in them moving far away when the letters received begin to get out of hand. Harry himself knows nothing about the wizarding side of his family and thinks his Mum and Dad died in a car crash. Harry believes he is not important as this is how his family has made him feel. For this reason when Hagrid says he is a wizard, Harry responds "there must be some mistake, I cant be a wizard. I'm just Harry".
Supernatural Aid
Guide and supernatural helper. Sometime provides the hero with and artefact which may help them later on - In Harry Potter, I would say that the supernatural aid is Hagrid. He manages to track down the family in the middle of nowhere and uses magic to distract the family while he leaves with Harry. He also provides Harry with an owl and is the reason for the Philosopher Stone entering Hogwarts (the main plot item).
Crossing Of The First Threshold
Point in which the hero crosses into the field of adventure. At this point the world is unknown to the hero - In Harry Potter, I feel like this point is when he enters Diagon Alley. He enters into a completely different world and is exposed to supernatural forces such as Goblins and magic spells. This is where his adventure starts, which is symbolized when Hagrid removes a key item from the bank, The Philosopher Stone.
Belly Of The Whale
Final separation between the heroes known world and new world - I would say this point in Harry Potter is him arriving at the train station and crossing over to platform 9/34. Harry meets his companion's Ron and Hermione while travelling towards his destination, Hogwarts, which is the location for his main adventure.
The Road Of Trials
Series of tests the hero must undergo to begin change. Hero can fail these tests as an attempt to grow - There are multiple points in the plot which aling with this idea. The three main characters must fight the troll when it escapes. This seems to be the point in which the characters grow closer and begin to suspect there is something deeper going on in the background. You could also say Harry's Quidditch match fits in this segment as he must use his newfound skills to win the game. He is faced with a threat when his broomstick is tampered with, which could have resulted in his death had his friends not saved him. Harry later uses his broomstick skills in order to unlock the room near the end of the story. Finally you could say Harry's everyday life at Hogwarts is a series of tests as the whole world is new to him. He must overcome Malfoy in his broomstick lesson and Professor Snape in his potions lesson.
The Meeting With The Goddess
Point at which the hero receives an item of any sort, which will aid them on their quest - In Harry Potter this is the invisibility cloak Harry receives at Christmas. He then uses this to push the plot forward by entering the library. You could also argue that the broomstick Harry receives before his quidditch game is also apart of this category. If Harry had not received the broom he would not have been able to compete, he then uses his skills from the game to beat one of the trials near the end of the film, which requires him to chase a key.
Women As The Temptress
At this point the hero is met with some sort of temptation. This is anything that is meant to cause the hero to stray away from their path - This is The Mirror Of Erised, which Harry finds when hiding in the restricted library. The mirror is built to show ones deepest desire (Erised is desire spelt backwards), for Harry's case this is his parents which he did not get to meet. Harry begins to go to the mirror often in the night in order to see his parents. In the end, Dumbledore decides to move the mirror to the third floor in order to guard The Philosopher Stone.
Atonement with the father
The hero is confronted by a power greater than themselves - This is when Harry ventures into the dark forest after getting detention. He comes across a dark figure who is sucking the blood out of a unicorn. When the figure notices Harry, it attempts to kill him. Harry is then saved by one of the wooded people. This is Harry first interaction with Voldemort, the villain of the story. He discovers Voldemort is weak and drinking unicorn blood in order to prolong his life. Although in this weak state, Voldemort was still powerful enough to kill Harry at this point.
Apotheosis
The point of realization. The hero can use this newfound knowledge to prepare for the difficult part of the adventure - Harry and his friends learn what the Philosophers stone is and why Voldemort wants it. They know where it is hidden and believe their Professor Snape is trying to steal it for Voldemort. Heroes use what they learnt from school in order to complete each of the trials before the final room. Hermione uses her knowledge to get through the devil snare, Harry uses his quidditch abilities to get the key and Ron uses his chess ability to win the game.
The Ultimate Boon
The achievement of the goal of the quest, what the hero went to get - Harry learns that the real villain is Professor Quill and that he harbours the remains of Voldemort. Harry receives The Philosopher Stone from the mirror and is able to defeat Quill.
Refusal Of Return
The hero has completed goal, however does not want to return back to normal life - Harry does not want to go back to his normal life living as a 'muggle'
The Magic Flight
Escaping with the quest item. Can be just as dangerous as getting to item - Thestone appears in Harry's pocket when looking in the mirror.
Rescue From Without
The hero receives assistance from others in order to return - Teachers save students and make sure The Philosopher Stone is destroyed.
Crossing The Return Threshold
Hero must return to normal life whilst retaining knowledge learnt from the quest - Conversation with Dumbledore about Voldemort's return. Learns that the stone is being destroyed.
Master Of The Two Worlds
Hero is at peace with both worlds - Harry reunites with his friends and they win best house.
Freedom to live
Hero has accepted their life and will live in the moment, not regretting the past or future - Harry returns home now knowing about the wizarding world. can be summed up by him saying "I'm not going home.... not really"
As Harry has been sheltered from the wizarding world his entire life, he knows nothing about the of the strange world. This is a key step not only in Harrys progression into crossing the threshold, but also stands for an opportunity for the audience to learn about this world with the character. For this reason the film spends a lot of time showing impressive shots of the fantasy world for the sake of the character and audience. You could argue that the fact that Harry does know so little is a detriment to his character as he comes across boring and it seems like everything is done for him. However I see it more from the perspective that Harry has been brought into a whole new world, which is full of established politics, w involving not only new characters but him himself. Having no concept of what is going on, it makes sense for him to take a less active approach to the narrative. This lack of development is also forgivable as the franchise was set to continue.
The antagonist of the overarching plot is Voldemort, however for a large part of the story the main characters believe it to be Professor Snape. Snape has a very mysterious persona and like the students, the audience doesn't know much about him. This leaves only what we observe through how he acts and dresses to answer the questions about his character. He wears very dark clothing to match his slow, almost disgusted tone of voice and is introduced into the story with a very powerful entrance to the classroom. This helps the audience to understand he is an important character as he stands out from the otherwise traditionally designed teaching characters. The main thing which sets Snape apart from the rest of the school is the fact that he does not see Harry as special and instead almost seems annoyed by his presents. He says things like "Mr Potter our new celebrity" and "How extraordinarily like your father you are, Potter.... he was exceedingly arrogant". This seems as if he holds some sort of resentment towards Harry and knows more than he is letting on, which is the most conflict Harry faces for a large part of the story. This not only makes the character seem like an antagonist to the character, but also with the constant references that he is causing all the problems within Hogwarts, paints a picture to the audience that he is in fact the villain.
Overall I feel like Harry Potter And The Philosopher Stone is a solid first entry into the Harry Potter universe. By following Joseph Campbell and his idea of the heroes journey, It has allowed the creation of a franchise which goes on for another 8 films. That wouldn't have been possible without a solid foundation, which grabs the attention of the audience. The only negative thing I can say about this film is the fact that in 2021 it feels very dated. This is a combination of the overuse of old style CGI, the way the characters speak and the fact that I've grown up with Harry Potter. As a child, watching the film felt real and i was able to fully immerse myself in the world. However looking back on it now, I seemed to struggle to view some parts as serious as the film is trying to portray. However I still enjoyed watching the film again and it was interesting to view it from the perspective of 'The Heroes Journey'.
NOTES Which Helped Review
Throughout the film, I noted down key events in the story in order to help me identify the heroes journey.
Film starts by showing the teachers of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Hagrid, delivering child to his Aunt and Uncles house. They hint that they are worried for him and that he is special. The scene ends by revealing his name is Harry Potter.
11 years have past and Harry is shown living with his Aunt, Uncle and Cousin. He is treated badly by all three.
Family goes to zoo for Dudley's (the cousins) birthday. At the zoo Harry speaks to snake and accidentally uses magic to remove glass from snake enclosure
Gets a letter from Hogwarts
As letters are being taken by Uncle, more and more are being sent to the house.
Family moves away to the middle of nowhere to stop the letters being delivered
Hagrid arrives in order to retrieve Harry
Goes to Diagon Alley in order to buy school supplies. On the way there, Harry meets people who know him including his defence against the dark arts teacher.
Hagrid and Harry go to the bank in order to retrieve the Philosopher stone for Dumbledore (Audience and Harry do not know what is in the package).
Harry goes on his own to get a wand for school. Wand which picks him is connected to the villain, Voldemort.
Hagrid and Harry have a conversation about why everyone knows who Harry is. This is when Harry and the audience learn about Harry's parents and Voldemort.
Travels to train station where he must walk through the wall to platform 9/34. Meets fellow student Ron and his family who teaches him how to get through wall.
Gets on train where Harry and Ron become friends. They also meet a girl called Hermione who shows them magic.
Arrives at Hogwarts. Some of the teachers are introduced before the students are sorted into their houses by the sorting hat.
First lesson sees Harry learning how to pick up broomstick with magic. Confronted by Malfoy in lesson. Wins confrontation by retrieving magic ball and is seen by teacher.
Accidentally goes to 3rd floor which is forbidden, sees 3 headed dog
Introduced to quidditch
Troll escapes from dungeon. Harry and Ron stop troll in order to protect Hermione
Hirst quidditch game. During match Harry gets attacked by magic. Ron and Hermione think it is Professor Snape's doing and so they distract him. Harry then goes on to win the match.
They confront Hagrid about Snape. He disagrees and accidentally mentions a man named Nicholas Flammel.
Gets invisibility cloak for Christmas. Uses cloak to look in restricted part of library for information about Nicholas Flammel.
Sees Snape confronting Professor Quill. Runs into room to escape detection. Finds mirror in room which show him his parents.
Finds book containing information about the stone and learns it can make you immortal.
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