A True Hero Myth Hollywood, California is the cinematic capital of the United States and consequently the world. Actors and their movies are valued on extraordinary levels. People of the American culture know more about the characters and plots of films more than they know about world events. What makes a cinematic movie a huge cultural phenomenon? Why are the characters and plots so intriguing that people spend money to see them time after time? There is not much of a difference between the generalized synopses of movies, which stem from common stories. These common stories are known as myths. In the Signs of Life in the USA anthology, Linda Seger explains in her article “Creating the Myth”, myths are stories of a protagonist character, who is the hero that goes on a journey to seek a solution to an issue. From one culture to the next, these stories are universally known within different contexts. In the modern American culture, heroes define the action movie genre. The 2010 version of the film, Clash of the Titans reiterates a well-known Greek character, Perseus. Perseus, who is half man-half god, goes on a hero’s quest to save humanity and the heavenly Gods from the evilness of Hades and his Underworld minions. The structure of this movie creates a connection between the viewer and the hero through the phases of the mythical and archetypal characters and this allows for a successful cinematic experience.
The hero myth according to Seger shows a change within a hero through the process of phases. The starting phase is seeing the hero as an ordinary being, much like us. By seeing him or her this way we can relate to the world that they are starting in. In the beginning of Clash of the Titans the viewers are aware of Perseus’ real lineage, but Perseus was entombed with his dead biological mother and cast out to sea. Perseus was found alive and grows up as a fisherman’s son, poor and hardworking. He is seen as living a very ordinary life with this family and is unaware of who he really is. There is foreshadowing of the impending call to adventure for Perseus and for later phases when his adoptive father says, “One day, somebody's going to have to make a stand. One day, somebody's going to have to say enough.”
The second phase of the hero myth is where “…something new enters the hero’s life” (Seger 388). Meaning the spark that lights the fire for the hero. Ultimately, setting the story into motion with an issue that is in need to be solved. The city of Argos waged a war against the gods. The war began when the soldiers of Argos destroyed a statue of Zeus, in Clash of the Titans, which caused Hades to appear and create a tidal wave that killed Perseus’ family. The new thing that enters Perseus’ life is the hate he feels towards the gods about the loss of his family. Viewers know of the feelings such as hate, sadness, and urgency for revenge, therefore they tend to be sympathetic towards the hero and the hardship for which he must face. These feelings and emotions allow people to generate the connection to the hero and will see their lives and struggles in a symbolic way through the hero character.
The hero may be reluctant or uncertain, which is the third phase of the hero myth (Seger 389). This is where the hero refuses to take or is hesitant to take action. This phase is very clear for Perseus, who is unsure to accept this challenge because he would be facing powers that are unworldly. Even though he is half-god and has his own powers, he is still weary of what this journey will do to him. Viewers relate to this there are times when we become uncertain and afraid to take action and doubt ourselves and our ability to handle change, whether it’s good or bad.
There is also a second part to the third phase, which is where the hero rises up to face the challenge and answers the call. Seger explains that the hero will become “personally motivated” to begin their adventure. For Perseus he is motivated by his guardian, Io. She reminded him that he can get his revenge only by saving the city of Argos from Hades. Perseus wants to get his chance to destroy Hades, for killing his family, but first must kill the beastly Kraken that Hades ordered to wipe Argos from the face of Earth. Motivation is the key to promote action for anybody; that is why viewers can relate so closely with the hero Perseus. His motivations are justifiable because viewers are starting to connect their life challenges to the ones that the hero Perseus is facing.
The fourth phase of the hero myth is the involvement or introduction of the helping characters. These characters are known as archetypes. According to Scott Leonard and Michael McClure in their book, Myth and Knowing: an Introduction to World Mythology, they write that social functionalist Carl Jung “argued that such mythic archetypes…are aspects of every individual psyche…” (16). This means that people psychologically create these characters and the ideal characteristics, then psychologically look for them in the on-screen characters. That is why when viewers see these characters, they can identify with the hero who receives their help. Furthermore, Linda Seger listed some archetypes, which are present in Clash of the Titans, such as the wise old man, the good mother, the shadow, and the trickster. First the wise old man archetype is Draco. He is an Argos solider that assists Perseus on his journey. Seger explains that this archetype will have special knowledge and mentors the hero (392). Draco helps Perseus tap into his potential as a warrior, but not in a gentle way. The good mother is Io, who Seger says is known for her “nurturing qualities, and for her intuition” (392). Io is the guardian of Perseus since his birth and she tags along Perseus’ journey, giving important information on the creatures that they will be battling as well as detailing Perseus of his lineage. The shadow figure is the god Zeus, who does oppose Perseus at first, but once he realizes the need for Perseus he sends a sword forged on Olympus and a horse with wings, known as a Pegasus. Zeus does this to assist his son, who will weaken Hades’ rampage. Lastly, the trickster archetype is Hades. Seger states that the trickster is a “mischievous archetypal figure who is always causing chaos, disturbing the peace, and generally being an anarchist” (393). Through the whole movie, Hades has been playing the humans against the gods and vice versa. He has caused great disasters that threaten the immortality of the gods and his rise to power over Zeus. He is the catalyst that set many of the events into motion.
The next phase is number five. This is when the hero will move into a special world and change from “ordinary to extraordinary” and will being a “transformation” (Seger 389). In Clash of the Titans, Perseus started his journey by going to see the witches, aka oracles, who will give him the answers to defeat the threat against Argos; Hades and the Kraken. But along the way he and the soldiers are ambushed by a beast that Hades sent to kill Perseus. This leads to further encounters with other creatures and powers that he had never faced before. All these obstacles and test that are thrust upon Perseus to change from a fisherman character to an actual demi-god.
Phase six is where the hero now must make it through all the obstacles that plague his journey. Viewers will see the trials and tribulations of the hero and other supporting characters. There are multiple obstacles for Perseus to achieve before he can seek out his ultimate goal for revenge on the gods, and especially Hades. This means that Perseus must make it through the beast Calibos, the large scorpions, the witches, past the River Styx, getting in and out of Medusa’s lair with her head, and kill the Kraken; all before the eclipse, which signifies when Argos will be destroyed by the Kraken. By seeing all these obstacles and the hardships of the hero, viewers are reinforced with the idea that the hero is a human being and they will struggle. It keeps the connection together because the viewers will relate to a hero that has more human-like qualities and struggles, than compared to a hero who starts extraordinary and stays that way. Viewers cannot place themselves ideally in that latter hero’s shoes, which makes for an unsuccessful movie experience.
In a number of mythic stories there comes a time when the hero “hits rock bottom” (Seger 390). Hitting the bottom is phase number seven in the structure of a successful myth. Phase seven represents the low point for the hero that will turn into a “rebirth” and “turning point” in the story. Linda Seger explains that this can be a “death experience” for the hero. Once again this phase reiterates the idea that the hero is human and viewers can relate a low point in their lives to the low point in the hero’s life. In Clash of the Titans Perseus is faced with Io’s death. He doesn’t want to leave her dying, even though Argos is counting on him being successful with his journey. Throughout the movie Perseus struggled with the idea that he is a half-god, also known as a demi-god. He believed that he can defeat his enemy as a man, but he wasn’t being true to who he really was. When Io was dying she told him that he was the best of both and that is who he should be. Io finally dies and Perseus realizes that she is right, he must use his abilities and accept the help he has been given from Zeus to defeat the Kraken.
Linda Seger states that phase eight is where “…the hero seizes the sword and takes possession of the treasure” (390). The only way for Perseus to attain his goal is to use Medusa’s head to turn the Kraken into stone, but without it there is no chance. This is one of the treasure items for Perseus because of its importance. That is why he went into her lair to cut her head off. But now he must get the Kraken to look at the head of Medusa, which leads to the chase scene and climax.
The climax is the “final confrontation” in a hero myth. This is where the hero is faced with his final challenge and must defeat his enemy. According to Seger this is phase number nine. Perseus has the final challenge of turning the Kraken into stone, but he is being chased by the Underworld minions that Hades had unleashed. Perseus is using all his gifts from Zeus as well as his teachings in battle from Draco in this scene. Finally in the end and despite all the obstacles that Perseus faced he was able to defeat the Kraken, save Argos, and send Hades back to the Underworld.
The final phase, phase ten is where viewers need to see the hero make the transformation complete. There has to be a difference from what the hero used to be in the beginning to the hero viewers see in the end. In the beginning Perseus though he could exact his revenge for Hades in the manner of death, but in the end Perseus realized that Hades can never die. Perseus was still able to keep Hades’ up rise at bay by sending him back to the underworld. Perseus finally chooses to go back and be the fisherman, but with an understanding of who the gods really are, including himself.
The success of a movie depends on whether or not movie-goers can connect with the film. If so, then the movie has created a successful cinematic experience. For Clash of the Titans, there is no doubt an underlying structure for the hero myth, because this movie plays into every phase listed by Linda Seger in her article. The hero myth structure in the movie was a success because it has a hero story that involved and made viewers draw upon their own experience, which Seger believes is the reason why we relate to the hero character.

Works Cited
Leonard, Scott, and Michael McClure. Myth and Knowing: an Introduction to World Mythology. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. Print.
Seger, Linda. “Creating the Myth.” The Signs of Life in the USA. Ed. Karen S Henry and Adam Whitehurst. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. 386-395. Print. The Clash of the Titans. Dir. Louis Leterrier. Sam Worthington, Liam Nesson, and Ralph Fiennes. Legendary Pictures. 2010. Film.