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I was working on a different post, but I didn’t like it, and I don’t have enough time to come up with a good idea, so I will be writing about the call to adventure in The Lego Movie.
In the hero’s journey, the hero begins from a “state of normality.” We see this to an extreme extent in The Lego Movie. Following his guide to “fit in, have everyone like you, and always be happy” Emmet’s life is the pinnacle of normalcy. Each day he follows the same routine; he watches the news, gets coffee, listens to “Everything is Awesome,” and goes to work, where his entire job is to follow instructions. Unlike Siddhartha or Helga Crane who are always aware that other lifestyles exist, Emmett doesn’t know there is a world beyond Bricksburg, or a way of life that doesn’t involve following instructions.
The hero’s journey Wikipedia page describes the call to adventure as “some information that the hero receives that acts as a call to head off into the unknown.” In The Lego Movie, this occurs when Emmet falls into a hole that contains the piece of resistance, hears a voice saying “touch the piece,” and touches the piece. The piece and accompanying prophecy thrust Emmet into new “worlds” (wild west, cloud cuckoo land) and give him a clearer view of reality (first learning about master builders and lord business, later seeing the “man upstairs”).
I don’t think looking at this moment in the film as a call to adventure changes our understanding of the film, because there’s no other reasonable way to interpret these events. The Lego Movie is such an archetypal hero’s journey (at least in the beginning) that acknowledging it as such provides little meaning. Perhaps looking at this step as a call to adventure primes us to think of the ultimate boon as stopping lord business, whereas without the hero’s journey, the story may be more one of Emmet’s personal journey to become a master builder and think for himself, but I don’t think this is really true.
Further evidence of touching the piece as the call to adventure comes in the subsequent scene where Emmet is being interrogated by Bad Cop/Good Cop. Emmet and his friends' insistence that he is a normal guy, with zero distinct qualities, emphasize that, before touching the piece, he was a completely normal nobody. As the prophecy states, touching the piece means that Emmet is now destined to become the most special, most interesting, most extraordinary person in the world, and take down lord business – a stark contrast from his previous life.
Hi Zev, Very interesting take on the beginning of the Lego movie and how it relates to the Hero's journey. I think it's interesting that Emmitt was called to the piece of resistance through his own curiosity. He could have chosen to just ignore what he saw but something in him pushed him to look into the anomaly he saw. Maybe that scene tries to say that he always had that curiosity and creativity in him the whole time. Great post!
ReplyDeleteYour note about some protagonists being aware and some being unaware of different lifestyles was particularly interesting. When I watched the film, I thought Emmet's complete lack of knowledge of the world around him was fascinating. I was also deeply touched by the performance of Good Cop/Bad Cop; not only the quick changes in emotions but his sometimes scary interrogations of Emmet and his friends (which kept me on the edge of my seat). Good Cop/Bad Cop really brought The Lego Movie to life for me.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the distinction between Emmett's life in the town, where everything is awesome, and his adventures afterwards is very stark. This Call to Adventure is an interesting structure compared to some others we've seen this semester; Siddhartha is just called by inward forces, as is Helga Crane, but Emmett is attacked by his Call to Adventure.
ReplyDeleteAlthough challenging to read, the blog post does a great job of analyzing The Lego Movie through the lens of the hero's journey. It's interesting to see how Emmet's normal life and routine is disrupted by the call to adventure and how he is thrust into a world of new experiences and challenges. The interpretation of the piece of resistance as the call to adventure and Emmet's transformation into the special as the ultimate boon adds an additional layer of depth to the film. It's also true that acknowledging The Lego Movie as a hero's journey doesn't change our understanding of the film, but it does provide a framework for analyzing the character arc and growth of Emmet throughout the story. Good job.
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