Heros Journey: Super 8

Super 8. Dir. J.J. Abrams. Perf. Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Joel Courtney, and
abriel !asso. "ideo #$%%. Paramount, #$%%.
%. Joe &ambs ordinary 'orld 'as turned u(side)do'n 'hen his lo*ing and
understanding mother, Eli+abeth, tragi,ally died at the steel mill. -hen 'e first see Joe,
it is a ,old 'hite 'inter and he is sitting alone on his s'ing. He and his friends 'ere
ma.ing a /u(er 0 film about +ombies and Charles 1the dire,tor2 'ants Joe to .ee(
'or.ing though Charles .no's that there is a ,han,e that he 'ont be able to. Joes
father, Ja,. &amb, doesnt understand Joe and both father and son are not dealing 'ith
the death *ery 'ell but ,ant seem to tal. it out 'ith ea,h other.
#. Joe is dra'n into the Journey by the death of his mother. He 'asnt ,lose to his
father and his mother 'as his su((ort, so her death 'as li.e ta.ing one 'ing a'ay from
an air(lane in mid)flight. Also 'hen Ali,e is ta.en by the Creature, it really (ushes Joe
to go ba,. to the middle s,hool to find information from Dr. -ood'ards resear,h.
3. Ja,. tells Joe that he 'ants him to go a'ay for the summer to get a'ay from the
misery. Ja,. says that its a great baseball ,am( and that it 'ould be for the 'hole
summer. !ut Joe, un.no'ingly, refuses the offer to (ass on the ordeal he 'ould go
through if he stayed.
4. 5he threshold is mar.ed 'hen 6(eration -al.ing Distan,e ta.es effe,t and the
to'n is e*a,uated and 'hen Ali,e is missing. 5he Air for,e and road blo,.s are the
barriers that 'ould deter more 'ea.)heart (eo(le. Also, Ja,.s 'ant for Joe to sto(
hanging out 'ith Charles and the others, symboli+es a barrier.
7. Ja,. &amb a,ts as the 5hreshold uardian after Eli+abeth dies. Ja,. forbids Joe
from seeing and ha*ing Ali,e o*er at their house. Dr. -ood'ard also is a mentor,
be,ause he tells them that 8Do not speak of this. They will kill you and your family
meaning that they 'ill only sur*i*e if they hel( the Creature su,,eed in building its shi(
and returning home. 5hat statement s(eared the .ids, after the to'n 'as e*a,uated to
find Dr. -ood'ards resear,h to try to find the ans'er to hel(ing the Creature.
9. Joes s(e,ial ob:e,t 1talisman2 is his mom lo,.et that has a (i,ture of the t'o of
them 'hen he 'as a baby. Joe ta.es out the ne,.la,e 'hen he 'as sad, lonely, and under
stress. 5he lo,.et 'as the last thing of his mothers and he misses the ,omforting lo*e,
and understanding that his mom 'as to him.
;. Joe fa,es many trails along his :ourney. For e<am(le= 'hen his father says that he is
going a'ay to the summer baseball ,am(, and Joe says no. 5hat 8no> is the starting of a
defian,e that ,reates a rift in the relationshi( bet'een father and son. 6r 'hen he lets go
of the last material ob:e,t of his mothers= the lo,.et.
0. 5he !elly of the -hale is mar.ed 'hen Ali,e is ta.en by the Creature. After losing
his mom, Ali,e 'as the one 'ho seemed most li.e his mother. 5herefore, his mothers
dead 'as *ery (ainful by its self and another loss 'ould ha*e destroyed him. Also, Joe
seems to feel li.e there is nothing left to lose if he died in order to sa*e Ali,e.
?. Ali,e is the 8goddess> figure in Super 8. /he tea,hes Joe that he ,ould lo*e his
father again, and that Charles ,annot 'al. all o*er him, :ust be,ause thats 'hat he
'ants.
%$. @ didnt feel that there 'as a 8tem(tress> in Super 8.
%%. Joes ordeal is an emotional test. He is in the Creatures ,a*e and has Ali,e and
Cary 'ith him and the Creature ,ornering them= ready to atta,.. 5hen Joe stands u( and
says that its o. to lo*e e*en after something horrible has ha((ened to you. He tells the
Creature to go home. /aying those 'ords to the Creature also hel(ed Joe reali+e that his
mom is gone and the only 'ay to remember her 'ell is to thin. .indly of her and to let
(eo(le in.
%#. 5he ,hallenges in the 8abyss> ,hange Joe be,ause he, for the first time fa,es the
death of his mother head on and he finally e<,e(ts it. Joe lost his mother and an old 'ay
of life. @n this 'ay, he 8dies> be,ause he .no's he ,annot go ba,. to the old life.
%3. Joe has the 8atonement> 'ith his father. His father has (arental ,ontrol o*er Joe but
he doesnt really understand Joe. Joe sees that his father is trying to be a good one and it
ta.es (ra,ti,e and that Ja,. is the last (arent he has. @n the end, Joe atones for his a,tions
by letting Ja,. hug him and this ,hanges Joe be,ause it tea,hes him to be more o(en and
forgi*ing of (eo(le.
%4. @ didnt see a 8magi, eli<ir> in Super 8.
%7. Joes Heros Journey did not fail.
%9. @ dont thin. that Super 8 had the 8magi, flight>.
%;. @ dont feel that Super 8 had the 8res,ue>
%0. Joes 8return to the 6rdinary -orld> ,an only be guessed at be,ause the mo*ie ends
before it sho's the ad:ustment to the 86rdinary -orld>. !ut @ thin. that Joes ne'
.no'ledge 'ould bring his father and him ,loser as a((osed to the beginning, 'here
they 'ere little more than a,Auaintan,es.
%?. Again this ,an only be guessed at, but @ belie*e that Joe 'ould use this ne'
.no'ledge and ha*e a su,,essful return.
#$. Joe seems to integrate his t'o sel*es be,ause he forgi*es his father. 5his ma.es his
father rather ha((y to start ane' 'ith Joe.
#%. @ belie*e the most im(ortant lesson learned by Joe is that bad andBor horrible things
ha((en and at one (oint or another you 'ill ha*e to get o*er it, and to be forgi*ing of
(eo(le.