Content Category
Literary Criticism
Abstract/Description
Throughout human history, there have been myths that reflect societal ideals. This trend continues in the modern age in a new medium, that of television and movies. Though the way the stories are told may be different, the archetypes and motifs can still be seen in these new myths. In this paper, I analyze the motifs and archetypes used in the television show Supernatural to explore how ancient mythological aspects, including those of the hero's journey, monsters, and death and resurrection, are used and changed for a modern audience. Though classic archetypes are present, this paper also argues that they have been modified to make these archetypes more applicable to a modern audience, therefore continuing the tradition of creating mythology for a new age.
Copyright and Licensing of My Content
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Location
B192 JFSB
Start Date
20-3-2015 1:45 PM
End Date
20-3-2015 3:00 PM
A visual placing different characters in the places they would occupy in the archetypal hero's journey
Included in
Wayward Sons: Modern Mythology in Supernatural
B192 JFSB
Throughout human history, there have been myths that reflect societal ideals. This trend continues in the modern age in a new medium, that of television and movies. Though the way the stories are told may be different, the archetypes and motifs can still be seen in these new myths. In this paper, I analyze the motifs and archetypes used in the television show Supernatural to explore how ancient mythological aspects, including those of the hero's journey, monsters, and death and resurrection, are used and changed for a modern audience. Though classic archetypes are present, this paper also argues that they have been modified to make these archetypes more applicable to a modern audience, therefore continuing the tradition of creating mythology for a new age.