Hero Archetype: Decoding This Powerful Archetype in Film & Life

A hero isn’t just what pop culture has shown us, the typical ‘real man’ who is noble and masculine. A hero can also be a person who is a child (psychologically) and moves into adulthood or gains maturity due to a series of circumstances, events and situations.

We tend to glorify the hero, but overlook the shadow, which is the hidden motives and behavioural patterns that lie in one’s subconscious mind.

• The Grandstander Bully: The main driving purpose of a Bully is to impress people around him by being superior and dominating. A Bully is almost always filled with insecurity and cowardice
• The Coward: In any physical, emotional and intellectual confrontation, the Coward finds it extremely difficult to cope up.

Both the shadows create the ‘backend drive’ that influences human behaviour. The Hero archetype has the risk of a downfall as he may be under the power of one of the two shadows or does not acknowledge his own limits.

The Hero Archetype mobilizes the boy’s latent energy, breaking the cocoon of family and security. It enables the person to grow and learn by placing him in uncomfortable, often difficult situations. It is ultimately a test that leads to emotional and spiritual growth.

The challenges lead to a big push that results in self-realization, as without such obstacles the boy would not procure the courage that is required.

Many of us admire heroes on the big screen, and in books, but envy them in real life. If we come across a hero archetype in our professional or personal circle, we tend to pull them back down.

In the corporate world, heroes come across as egocentric managers or celebrity CEOs. They have a flashy lifestyle akin to Tony Stark, but that does not necessarily translate into a successful company.

True leaders possess two main qualities: indomitable will and humility, which ensure that they are respected and maintain their success.