Let’s All Go to the Movies!

Sure, we know that Lord of the Rings, Hunger Games, and Harry Potter are modern examples of the Hero’s Journey, but there are a l-o-t of other popular films that also fit Joseph Campbell’s monomyth. A few that may surprise you:

Whenever I teach Greek mythology and/or The Odyssey, my freshmen are assigned to connect modern movies to the Hero’s Journey pattern as one of our “into” activities. For years, I’ve offered my opening lecture (29 slides) for free over at TpT, and I just added a new note-taking grid to the download to help keep students organized. I used to present the slides as a traditional lecture, but lately I’ve flipped it, booking the computer lab and assigning kids to work through the material at their own pace. (More on that decision here.)

If you previously downloaded the Hero’s Journey Prezi, you’ll want to grab a fresh copy that now includes the student handout:

Also, the speech assignment that goes along with this was recently given a printer-friendly facelift and its own brainstorming organizer grid. If you already own the Hero’s Journey at the Movies speech materials (a paid product you can find here), revisit the purchase page in your TpT account to re-download the improved bundle at no extra charge. Updates to all of my items are always free.

Finally, all of this movie talk got me thinking about A Wrinkle in Time, yet another Hero’s Journey scheduled to open March 9. (Oprah seems to be a regular feature around here lately, eh?)

Teach on, everyone!