ELIT 1060 D: Reading Literature Myths
Final Project
Justin Downs
The Heroic Journey of Lightning McQueen
12/18/10
In the movie Cars, the protagonist, or hero, is a car named Lightning McQueen. McQueen is not just a car, but rather, a race car. The movie details McQueen’s journey as he becomes the master of two different worlds, the racing world where he is a god-like figure, and Radiator Springs, where he is an unknown outcast. The three main aspects of Lightning’s journey are his separation from the racing world, initiation to a new world, and the return.
The first stage of separation is the call to adventure. Followed by the refusal of the call and the crossing of a threshold.
Call to Adventure: In most situations, this call becomes the subject of the story or the plot of the movie. For Lightning, he thinks his call to adventure comes over the Public Announcement System when the tie-breaking race in California is announced. While this may be the obvious choice, but I don’t think that it is. We need to look at Lightning as the potential hero and observes how he grows over the course of the journey. He doesn’t grow in skill as a driver. He ran his first race at the beginning of the movie a lot better than the race at the end. The call to adventure is not always the destination, but the road leading to the destination. The adventure is in the hero’s growth. The growth that Lightning experiences is in his ability to have and appreciate friends. As cheesy as it sounds, the call to adventure for this movie is the call to find friendship.
Refusal of the Call: The refusal of the call happened during the first race when Lightning refused the help and friendship around him. Let’s admit it, Lightning was a jerk. He alienated the people who tried to help him. Three different crew chiefs quit on him during the one season he’s been racing. His arrogance at the end of the first race was so bad his entire crew quit on him. Another example of Lightnings Refusal was... [continues]
Final Project
Justin Downs
The Heroic Journey of Lightning McQueen
12/18/10
In the movie Cars, the protagonist, or hero, is a car named Lightning McQueen. McQueen is not just a car, but rather, a race car. The movie details McQueen’s journey as he becomes the master of two different worlds, the racing world where he is a god-like figure, and Radiator Springs, where he is an unknown outcast. The three main aspects of Lightning’s journey are his separation from the racing world, initiation to a new world, and the return.
The first stage of separation is the call to adventure. Followed by the refusal of the call and the crossing of a threshold.
Call to Adventure: In most situations, this call becomes the subject of the story or the plot of the movie. For Lightning, he thinks his call to adventure comes over the Public Announcement System when the tie-breaking race in California is announced. While this may be the obvious choice, but I don’t think that it is. We need to look at Lightning as the potential hero and observes how he grows over the course of the journey. He doesn’t grow in skill as a driver. He ran his first race at the beginning of the movie a lot better than the race at the end. The call to adventure is not always the destination, but the road leading to the destination. The adventure is in the hero’s growth. The growth that Lightning experiences is in his ability to have and appreciate friends. As cheesy as it sounds, the call to adventure for this movie is the call to find friendship.
Refusal of the Call: The refusal of the call happened during the first race when Lightning refused the help and friendship around him. Let’s admit it, Lightning was a jerk. He alienated the people who tried to help him. Three different crew chiefs quit on him during the one season he’s been racing. His arrogance at the end of the first race was so bad his entire crew quit on him. Another example of Lightnings Refusal was... [continues]
Cite This Essay
- APA
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(2012, 04). A Mythical Roadmap of the Movie Cars. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 04, 2012, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/A-Mythical-Roadmap-Of-The-Movie-980970.html
- MLA
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"A Mythical Roadmap of the Movie Cars" StudyMode.com. 04 2012. 04 2012 <http://www.studymode.com/essays/A-Mythical-Roadmap-Of-The-Movie-980970.html>.
- CHICAGO
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"A Mythical Roadmap of the Movie Cars." StudyMode.com. 04, 2012. Accessed 04, 2012. http://www.studymode.com/essays/A-Mythical-Roadmap-Of-The-Movie-980970.html.
