The way to become the Great man: The Study on the biography of the Religion Founders according to the Journey of Heroe’s Film theory.

Abstract

The founder of a religion is an element of a religion and the history of the founder is a major storytelling of that founder from cradle to grave. His background and social status characterize the development of a great man whose life differs from general people and the becoming of the founder of any religion. In this research, we investigate the histories of five founders: Buddha, Mahavira, Jesus, Prophet Muhammad, and Confucius, centered on the comparison of historical co-structures as described in The Journey Structure of Legendary Heroes by Christopher Vogler (1998).

In essence, we found that the Ordinary World of these founders relates to the teaching of the truth. These religious founders can be classified into two groups.

In the first group, the founders gained a high social status at the beginning. As the turning point, once they realized the truth, their teachings would be based on finding the way to escape the worldly society. The Lord Buddha discovered the way of sorrow escape through Nirvana. Mahavira discovered Ahimsa (Non-Violence) through Moksha.

In the second group, the founders gained a low social status in the Ordinary World. Once they realized the truth, their teachings would aim to set an acceptable social norm. In the case of Jesus, he found the love of God. Muhammad discovered the words about the way of life from Allah. Confucius found the government and living morality.

It can, however, be seen that the event structure of each founder’s effort is about an adventure to discover the truth which would become the key of their lives. In other words, the hero’s journey in the drama or film has been employed to fascinate and attract the audiences, whereas the thrills of the adventure enrich the faith among believers. The strenuous endeavor of finding the truth and spreading of truth to mankind reflects that the founders of these religions are worth revering as great men for their greatest mission as the founders.