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Thesis: The film Unbreakable directed by M. Night Shyamalan contains many archetypes from mythopoeic criticism.

Reason: David Dunn the protagonist mirrors the Hero archetype: the main character of the story.  Throughout the film David is represented as some kind of superhero due to extraordinary abilities such as the immunity to illness, also he can’t get hurt he is impervious to damage, he can sense what others have done wrong, also he has super human strength it would seem as in one scene him and his son are lifting weights, the son adds extra without the acknowledgement of his father, David notices the added weight and finds himself surprised that he has lifted past his limits.

Example: “I’ve never been sick, I’ve never been injured… what do I do now?” this quote shows his super human abilities and a characteristic of the Hero which is seeking guidance from the Wise Old Man archetype this is a staple in mythopoeic criticism the Hero always seeks the guidance of the Wise Old Man.

Example: Another example is the Hero always has an obstacle to overcome or he has many in this case its many as David must overcome the trickster Elijah Price. Elijah starts off as a crazy comic fanboy who would want nothing more then to find a real superhero then David appears and Elijah and him become friends Elijah helps David understand his powers. Now at the beginning of the film David survives a train crash unscathed this is where he finds out he is superhuman, the train wreck is brought back up at the end when Elijah reveals he’s been behind all the tragic disasters: a burning building, a plane crash, and finally the train wreck. The purpose of this he reveals is to find someone who survived and is miracoulsy unharmed, so who was once David’s friend  is now his enemy or villain this represents the Trickster archetype .

Reason: Elijah represents a few mythopoeic archetypes these include Wise Old Man the archetype that aids the hero in his quest, the Trickster who starts off as good and later becomes evil, and in some ways Death the obstacle in front of the Hero.

Example: “Now that we know who you are… I know who I am. I’m not a mistake! It all makes sense. In a comic, you know how you can tell who the arch-villain’s going to be? He’s the exact opposite of the hero, and most time’s they’re friends, like you and me. I should’ve known way back when. You know why, David? Because of the kids. They called me Mr. Glass.” In this quote you see the point at which it is revealed that has been Elijah who has wreaked havoc on the city and killed countless people all for his own beliefs. This is also the point where you see the transition from Wise Old Man to Trickster and where the two men become enemies.

Example: “Your bones don’t break, mine do. That’s clear. Your cells react to bacteria and viruses differently than mine. You don’t get sick, I do. That’s also clear. But for some reason, you and I react the exact same way to water. We swallow it too fast, we choke. We get some in our lungs, we drown. However unreal it may seem, we are connected, you and I. We’re on the same curve, just on opposite ends.” This quote shows how opposite Elijah and David are and what I believe to be foreshadowing showing you that Elijah could be the possible villain hint at his change from Wise Old Man to Trickster.

Example: ‘Elijah Price: Why is it, do you think, that of all the professions in the world you chose protection?
David Dunn: You are a very strange man.
Elijah Price: You could have been a tax accountant. You could have owned your own gym. You could have opened a chain of restaurants. You could’ve done of ten thousand things, but in the end, you chose to protect people. *You* made that decision, and I find that very, very interesting.’

This quote I believe shows Elijah guiding David trying to convince him of his superhuman abilities. This would be a point where Elijah represents the Wise Old Man archetype guiding David aka the Hero.

Conclusion: Although the film Unbreakable does not include many archetypes from mythopoeic criticism it does include a few that drive the plot points and the film itself up until the conclusion of the film.

~ by blankman on October 28, 2008.