The Monomyth Reboot - by Nadia Salem (Paperback)

About the Book

In this book, Nadia Salem examines and questions the enduring relevance of the monomyth, or the hero's journey, for storytellers and their audiences.

Book Synopsis

In this book, Nadia Salem examines and questions the enduring relevance of the monomyth, or the hero's journey, for storytellers and their audiences.

Created by Joseph Campbell and largely popularized by George Lucas, the hero's journey has come to define mythic quests for all. However, in recent years, this genderless paradigm has lost its appeal as a repetitive Bildungsroman, and as a result, Salem argues for the inclusion of the heroine's journey as a Künstlerroman and a voice of alterity. Where the hero's journey reflects a coming of age, the heroine's journey reflects a coming of middle age, which are arguably equally necessary for the complete fulfillment of character. Taking a fresh look at the monomyth, Salem analyzes the narratives of Eros and Psyche, Jane Eyre, and Titanic to argue for an emphasis on the integration of both the hero's and the heroine's journeys. Ultimately, this book demonstrates how the monomyth as rebooted turns monomythic mythopoesis into fertile ground for the kinds of epiphanies demanded by transmodernism. Scholars of film studies, communication, composition, and mythology will find this book of particular interest.

Review Quotes

Persuasively reconstructing the hero's journey in her excellent and erudite book, Nadia Salem gives us a new Call to Adventure, a paradigm shift that moves us to change. In so doing, the heroine finally gets her due and readers and viewers are shown how a character develops and matures. The Monomyth Reboot is an important, analytical, and necessary book that augments our understanding of storytelling and the mythic heroes and heroines who animate our lives.

We're all familiar with the Hero's Journey, even if we don't know it. From Star Wars, to Harry Potter, to The Avengers, we're surrounded by the coming-of-age story. In this thoughtful and engaging book, Nadia Salem asks the important question, what comes next? By melding the hero's and the heroine's journey, Salem explores what it means to make a myth...and why such myths are so crucial to the human experience.

About the Author

Nadia Salem is a mythopoeic scholar and faculty member at DePaul University.