Thursday 24 October 2019

Film Reviews: Coco (2017) and Archetypes


Fig. 1: Theatrical release poster for Coco (2017).


This review will be investigating Christopher Vogler’s and Carl Jung’s archetype theories within Lee Unkrich’s Coco (2017), an animated film inspired by the Day of the Dead holiday originating in Mexico. The story is about Miguel, a young boy who dreams of becoming a musician in spite of his family’s banning of all types of music. Miguel, following a turn of events involving a dispute with his family and stealing a famous musician’s guitar, ends up transported to the Land of the Dead in which he must find his great-great-grandfather to enlist his help in a bid to not only return home, but to achieve his dream.

Swiss Psychoanalyst Carl Jung theorized that archetypes are “unconscious images of the structures and patterns of human behaviour” (Blair, 2019) – this means that Jung believed they were fundamental aspects of everyone’s personality, and categorized them into the Persona, the Shadow, the Anima or Animus, and the Self (Cherry, 2019). These are essentially how one presents themselves to the world and particular groups of people, the repressed desires and instincts that one keeps within as they are unacceptable to exhibit publicly, the masculine image in the feminine psyche or the feminine image in the masculine psyche, and finally, the unification of both consciousness and unconscious images within an individual (Cherry, 2019). From these four basic archetypes, writers have gone on to identify numerous other archetypes and patterns in storytelling across time such as Vladimir Propp’s archetypal characters and situations, Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey, and Christopher Vogler’s archetypes (Blair, 2019) amongst others.

In his book The Writer’s Journey (2007), Christopher Vogler wrote about eight major archetypes “common to storytelling and most strongly associated with Campbell’s monomythic structure” (Blair, 2019), including the Hero, Herald, Threshold Guardian, Shapeshifter, Shadow, Mentor, Ally, and Trickster archetypes. These are sometimes accompanied by other archetypes as well, such as the Mother, Father, Child, and Maiden amongst others, though these are more rooted in Jungian psychology (Blair, 2019).

The hero or heroine of a story tends to be the “classic protagonist” (Straker, 2002) driven by aspirations and transforming in terms of personal growth after facing personal struggles and obstacles throughout a story; they also have a tendency to begin their journey as an ordinary person that the audience can project onto (Straker, 2002). In Coco, this archetype is fulfilled by protagonist Miguel Rivera, who dreams of becoming a musician against his family’s wishes and bound by a rule that bans all music due to his great-great-grandfather’s apparent abandonment of his family for it. Upon being transported to the Land of the Dead, Miguel eventually faces up to his personal and familial struggles by uncovering the secrets of his great-great-grandfather – having been lead to believe that beloved musician Ernesto de la Cruz was his great-great-grandfather, Miguel discovers that it was in fact Héctor Rivera, and that Ernesto had stolen Héctor’s music for his own gain. By the end of the film, Miguel has managed to overcome his own shortcomings, save and reunite Héctor with his wife Imelda and eventually their daughter Coco, and lift the family’s restrictions on music.

In this instance, then, the shadow archetype is fulfilled by Ernesto de la Cruz. The shadow usually provides the Hero with their “main and most dangerous obstacle” (Bernstein, 2018) or they can manifest as “darker qualities of the Hero’s personality or unrealized or rejected aspects of the self” (Bernstein, 2018). Ernesto initially welcomes Miguel in attempts to gain his trust and later reveals that his intentions were malicious after having poisoned and murdered Héctor and profiting off of the lyrics and music that he’d written and later trying to attack the Riveras and throwing Miguel off of a platform.


Fig. 2: Ernesto de la Cruz is revealed to be the ‘shadow archetype’ of the movie after Miguel learns the truth about Héctor’s fate (2017).

The herald tends to prompt the beginning of the hero’s journey by either directly or indirectly announcing important information or leading to a revelation (Straker, 2002). For Miguel, this is the photograph that falls off of the family’s ofrenda (offerings placed onto a ritual display as part of Day of the Dead celebrations); the frame that it is in breaks upon hitting the floor and Miguel discovers that it has been purposely folded to conceal his great-great-grandfather out of sight. Not only that, but the face has been torn off prior to its discovery leaving only his great-great-grandmother Imelda and great-grandmother Coco intact. This leads Miguel to believe that, since the man in the photograph is holding what is assumed to be Ernesto’s guitar, that not only was he a musician, but that it was Ernesto himself, serving as the catalyst for Miguel defying his family.



Fig. 3: The photograph of Imelda, Coco, and Héctor Rivera that had Héctor’s face torn out is what led to the beginning of Miguel’s journey (2017).


Threshold guardians are considered to be characters that “serve as opportunities for the Hero to test their abilities and grow in strength” (Bernstein, 2018) and are often represented through “lesser villains, natural forces, puzzles or sentinels” (Bernstein, 2018) and may eventually end up as allies (Blair, 2019). For Miguel, these threshold guardians likely take the form of Imelda and her spirit guide (also known as an alebrije) Pepita, alongside the rest of the Rivera family residing in the Land of the Dead; this includes Rosita, Victoria, Julio, and twins Oscar and Felipe. They present the challenge of pursuing Miguel and Héctor through the Land of the Dead, forcing them to constantly keep out of sight as their goal is to return Miguel home against his wishes. As the definition suggests, these characters eventually become allies and help Miguel and Héctor stave off Ernesto’s guards (who in themselves could be considered threshold guardians but are much less prominent in their roles).

The trickster archetype tends to be one that provides comic relief to the audience through means of mischief, and their allegiance can vary as can their intelligence; they are just as likely to be in cahoots with a shadow archetype or a hero archetype, and some have the ability to impart wisdom whereas others are simply mischievous (Straker, 2002). Overall, though, it can be assumed that this character serves as a means of causing change, usually while remaining totally unaffected (Blair, 2019). In Coco, this character could be assumed to be Dante, Miguel’s stray dog companion who accompanies him to the Land of the Dead. At the beginning of the film, Dante is considered a nuisance by Miguel’s Abuelita Elena due to the mischief and mess that he creates; for the rest of the film, Dante acts as a form of light-hearted comedy relief but is simultaneously useful upon the reveal that he is Miguel’s alebrije – he also remains ultimately unaffected by either the plot or the chaos he causes.



Fig. 4: Dante serves as comedy relief as well as becoming Miguel’s spirit guide (2017).

Mentor types are often the protector and teacher of the hero, giving them the guidance and skills necessary for them to achieve their goal (Bernstein, 2018). They’re also typically older and smarter than the hero, as “as they offer their superior knowledge and experience in support” (Straker, 2002). It could be argued that Héctor serves as Miguel’s mentor, since not only is he much older, he guides Miguel through a large portion of the film (although he could be considered to be an unconventional mentor when accounting for his much more chaotic side, mostly shown at the beginning of the film when attempting to access the Land of the Living and wreaking havoc). Overall, Héctor’s main goal other than to see his daughter is to escort Miguel to Ernesto before the reveal that he is actually Miguel’s relative instead, and, as such, helps Miguel disguise himself and move from place to place undetected. One specific example of Héctor acting as a mentor would be the scene wherein Miguel must perform on stage, and Héctor advises him on how to do so by using his own experience.

Ally characters function mostly as the hero’s companions and aid them on their journey. Oftentimes, they are able to approach situations from perspectives that the hero might not have been able to come across by themselves (Blair, 2019). Miguel’s allies, in this case, are his family in the Land of the Dead as well as Dante. The former transition from threshold guardian types to allies towards the end of the film, whereas the latter is established as one early on and remains so for the rest of the story. They assist Miguel to varying degrees, but they all band together to take down Ernesto, save Héctor from fading away permanently, and to get Miguel and Dante home.



Fig. 5: The Rivera family residing in the Land of the Dead initially act as threshold guardians towards Miguel but become allies by the end of the film (2017).

The mother archetype tends to reference those which display typically maternal love and become a mother-like figure if they are not directly related to the hero already (Butler-Bowdon, 2017). In the case of Coco, it seems that Miguel’s Abuelita Elena fits this role more than any other character. Asides from the fact that she is his grandmother, she acts as the stern mother figure throughout the film and claims that her motives are what is best for Miguel (specifically referencing the destruction of his instrument in attempt to maintain the family’s long-standing ban on music) and treats him with an overbearing tenderness. To a much lesser extent, Miguel’s actual mother Luisa fulfils this role – she is much kinder and softer in approach than Elena, but she appears much less frequently and has less of an influence on the story or Miguel himself.

The father archetype, similar to the mother archetype, typically functions as one that is parental. However, in a contrast to the nurturing mother, the father tends to be somewhat more authoritative with a knack for intellect and will (Kushner, 2018) and seem to have traits overlapping with that of the mentor archetype. In Coco, the father seems to be Héctor, who is Coco’s father and acts much like a father figure to Miguel, offering advice and assistance (again melding with the mentor traits that he possesses as well). Héctor is notably desperate to return to Coco as the family was under the impression that he had abandoned them for the life of a musician even though this wasn’t the case. Again, to a lesser extent, the father could also be Miguel’s father, Enrique, as he is literally the paternal figure in Miguel’s life and maintains an authoritative approach.

Child archetypes are those revolving around the innocent, as well as “dependency and responsibility” (Givot, 2009). These do not always have to be a child, however, just as the father and mother archetypes are not always representative of a literal scenario – this could be applied to Coco with the titular character; due to her age, she is very much dependent on her family and has an air of innocence about her due to her apparent obliviousness to her surroundings and failing memory. In a literal sense, she is the child of Héctor and is seen as such in multiple flashback sequences involving her as a toddler. The archetype could also apply literally to Miguel who is a child in the present and is dependent upon the adults in his life to allow him to pursue his dream as well as to protect him and bestow upon him the blessing needed to return home.




Fig. 6: Héctor and Coco share a father-daughter relationship, shown initially through a flashback sequence before they are reunited at the end of the film (2017).

The maiden archetype relies on traits of innocence, desire, and purity (Cherry, 2019) to be displayed and it is traditionally applied to feminine characters (love interests in particular). This archetype is somewhat difficult to pinpoint within Coco due to the lack of a prominent ‘damsel in distress’ type character but could arguably be applied to Imelda as she and Héctor are separated until the end of the film wherein they become each other’s love interests once more, and she exhibits a softer or ‘purer’ side again shown in the second half of the film.

Finally, the shapeshifter represents “uncertainty and change, reminding [the audience] that not all is as it seems” (Straker, 2002). These characters can be thought of as untrustworthy as they can switch allegiances or it is unclear which they belong to; while they are generally mysterious, however, the archetype can be applied to characters that are considered both good and bad (Bernstein, 2018). In the latter sense, this role could be filled by Ernesto, as he is initially a revered musician and treats Miguel like family without question but is quick to show his true colours and reveals himself as having malicious intent both in the past and present with the murder of Héctor and theft of his music and attacking the Riveras. In the former sense (and much more literally), the shapeshifter archetype could apply to Dante. His importance increases upon officially transforming into Miguel’s spirit guide.



Fig. 7: The truth behind Ernesto’s motives are revealed towards the end of the film (2017).

To conclude, numerous different archetypes including those coined by Vogler and Jung could be applied to the characters within Coco as their personality traits, how they interact with one another, and their roles within the story at large evidence this.

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1 comment:

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