Shaun's Girlfriend example essay topic

Orange Should Be A Primary Color: An Analy zation of Orange County Throughout the history of filmmaking, there have been many movies made that follow the concept of a hero's journey. This concept is easily pointed out in Joseph Campbell's The Hero With A Thousand Faces. The movie I chose to analyze in accordance to this explanation of a hero's journey is Orange County. Shaun Brumner, the main character and our hero, undergoes huge transitions and learns a lot about himself and the life he wants to lead by going through a road of trials, with helpers and mentors that guide him through his journey. In the beginning of the movie, the audience is introduced to Shaum Brumner living i his ordinary world. He has a girlfriend, is a senior in high school, has an extremely high grade point average, and a semi dysfunctional family.

Suddenly, a tragic thing happens that puts Shaum into a stage of contemplation. His best friend, Lonny, died in a tragic surfing accident. Sitting on the beach on day, thinking about life, Shaun is called to adventure. He finds a book in the sand.

He says, "I was sitting on the beach... I looked down and there was this book. It was like a sign. The book was calling out to me... read me, read me". The herald here, or deliverer of the call, would be the author of the book because he made shaun want to take his journey.

That's when Shaun decided that he wanted to become a write, and to do that he was going to have to get out of Orange County. He went to the guidance counselor in charge of his college applications, and applied to Stanford University, crossing the first threshold. At the time, he had two threshold guardians that tried to stop him from taking this journey: his parents. His mother started crying at the thought of her son going away to college to make her son feel guilty or badly for wanting to continue his education. When Shaun told his father that he wanted to go away to study writing, his father replied, "You want to be a writer? Well, before that you wanted to be a professional surfer, so it is kind of hard to take you seriously".

Beginning the road of trials, Shaun discovers that he has been rejected from Stanford due to a mistake made by the college guidance department at his high school. The counselor sent out the wrong application to Stanford because his name was similar to another name. When his mother found out about his rejection, she simply said that it was too bad and he would just have to go somewhere closer to home. Next, Shaun's girlfriend arranged for a member of the board from Stanford to come to Shaun's home for a quick visit or interview, but that didn't go well because of the dysfunction in his family.

When he thought he reached the bottom, Shaun's brother offered to take him to the Dean's office and explain the mix up to the dean himself. When the dean's office is closed for the evening, Shaun's brother sneaks in from the window to try and get a directory for the dean's home phone number. He ends up lighting a match and burning the entire building down. Meanwhile, Shaun and his girlfriend call information, get to the home of the dean, and convince him to give them 5 minutes of his time. When he starts complaining of a headache, Shaun's girlfriend gives him what she thinks is excedrin but is really speed. The dean gets so hyper that he gets arrested for his behavior.

When Shaun thinks that things can't get any worse, his girlfriend is introduced to the audience as the supernatural aid or mentor. She says, "Shaun, I'm sorry that you didn't get into Stanford, but if you think that going here is the only way you can be the person you want to be, then I just feel sorry for you". As Shaun walks through the streets, he thinks about the happenings of the day. He now has his girlfriend mad at him, his brother running from police, and the dean of students at Stanford University arrested. He is in the belly of the whale, or the point in the story where it doesn't look like anything good will happen to get him out of this slump. Suddenly, the author of the book he found in the sand walks past Shaun on the street.

After catching up with Skinner, the author, they meet and discuss Shaun's short story that he sent to this author hoping for feedback on it. This is the supreme ordeal of the story. As they discuss it, Skinner says, "What I took from your story is this. Even in a world where people can be superficial and stupid and selfish, there's still hope". This advice is the treasure for Shaun, because he now knows that no matter where he is, he will become what he wants to become.

He doesn't have to be away from home or studying in the best of schools. His writing comes from inside him, so no matter where he is, he will become what he wants to become. Shaun runs to apologize to his girlfriend and find his brother, ready now to go home to Orange County. He crosses the return threshold by giving in to his brothers desire to leave Stanford, and getting into the car to finally return home.

When he is home, Shaun tries to transform his old world. His parents got back together, and were very excited to tell Shaun that they made a few calls, gave a donation to Stanford and got him into the school. Shaun uses his elixir, or the advice that he now holds with him from his treasure, and states at the end, "I don't need to go to Stanford to be a writer. All I need is the people who inspire me".

By this he means that he can stay home for his college education, and instead of leaving his girlfriend, friends, and family, he can incorporate them into his inspiration to make him an even more successful writer.