Mervin Smucker (2016). The Hero’s Journey.

Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) popularized the idea that cultural myths are relevant to interpreting our contemporary lives. A study of myths across the globe from multiple cultural contexts formed the basis for his key work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949, 2nd edition 1968). Campbell suggested that the hero’s journey could be useful to moderns as they seek a way of making sense of their lives. He believed that the myth came from something deeper in the human psyche and crossed cultural divides. Form his study of myths worldwide, he described a hero monomyth. Star Wars and Indiana Jones film creator George Lucas borrowed from Campbell’s description of the hero monomyth—popularized at the Hero’s Journey—to create enormously popular films.

Mervin Smucker