Name: What makes a hero?
Uploaded: 2017-09-07T15:39:51Z
Duration: 4 min 29 s
Description: What trials unite not only Harry Potter or Frodo Baggins but many of literature's most interesting heroes? And what do ordinary people have in common with these literary heroes? Matthew Winkler takes us step-by-step through the crucial events that make or break a hero. [Directed by Kirill Yeretsky, narrated by Matthew Winkler, music by Stephen LaRosa].

Matthew Winkler: What makes a hero?

What makes a hero?

What trials unite not only Harry Potter or Frodo Baggins but many of literature's most interesting heroes? And what do ordinary people have in common with these literary heroes? Matthew Winkler takes us step-by-step through the crucial events that make or break a hero. [Directed by Kirill Yeretsky, narrated by Matthew Winkler, music by Stephen LaRosa]. 

Across cultures and centuries, stories from Harry Potter to ancient myths follow the same underlying pattern known as the Hero’s Journey. This universal cycle begins in the ordinary world, launches into adventure, and transforms its hero through trials and rebirth. Even everyday life echoes this mythic path, as people face their fears, grow, and return changed. Joseph Campbell famously captured this cycle, showing that symbolic challenges unite all human storytelling.