Analysis of Yakari Animated Movie from the Perspective of Monomyth Theory

Abstract

Man has been trying to live in constant struggle since the moment he was created. This struggle he is in is sometimes with nature, which he cannot understand, sometimes with wild animals, sometimes with other people. Mythological narratives also appear before us as documents of this struggle of human beings for existence. When mythological narratives are examined today, it is seen that the struggle for human life is expressed in many of the narratives. Here are some common elements that attract attention in these mythological stories that are told. Although the mythological stories told belong to different cultures and different geographies, it is understood that many of them are shaped around similar themes. These common themes that we encounter in mythological narratives are the manifestation of the common unconscious of societies. In this regard, Joseph Campbell says that the events in the myths of different cultures and the stages of change experienced by the heroes are like each other. Campbell, who theorizes these stages of change that the hero undergoes by giving the name of monomyth, has divided the path followed by the hero into stages under the main headings of departure, maturation, return. Each main stage, on the other hand, has its subdivisions. In fact, when we examine all these stages, it becomes clear that each journey consists of a cycle: the hero's journey begins in the ordinary world he lives in and ends there again. Campbell has proved that this situation is present in a similar way in all the narratives he has compiled. Monomyth theory can be applied to many types of narratives such as stories, fairy tales, epics that we have traditionally characterized today, and it is also a preferred application especially in the editing of cinema and animation productions. Yakari film is also one of the films fictionalized according to the monomyth theory. In this study, it was aimed to analyze the Yakari film within the framework of the monomyth theory and to show that the hero cycle that Campbell said exists in narratives can also appear in animations. In this context, the Yakari animated film, which is a comic book series and was released as an animated film in 2020, was evaluated according to the monomyth theory method systematized by Campbell, the stages experienced by the hero and the transformations he underwent were determined.

Insan, yaratildigi andan itibaren sürekli mücadele içerisinde yasamaya çalisir. Içerisinde bulundugu bu mücadele kimi zaman anlam veremedigi dogayla kimi zaman vahsi hayvanlarla kimi zaman da diger insanlarladir. Insanoglunun bu var olma mücadelesinin belgeleri olarak da karsimiza mitolojik anlatilar çikmaktadir. Bugün mitolojik anlatilar incelendiginde, anlatilarin pek çogunda insanoglunun yasam mücadelesinin dile getirildigi görülmektedir. Iste anlatilan bu mitolojik hikâyelerde dikkati çeken bazi ortak unsurlar karsimiza çikmaktadir. Anlatilan mitolojik hikâyeler, farkli kültürler ve farkli cografyalara ait olsa da birçogunun benzer temalar etrafinda sekillendikleri anlasilmaktadir. Mitolojik anlatilarda karsimiza çikan bu ortak temalar toplumlarin ortak bilinç disinin tezahürüdür. Iste tam da bu hususta Joseph Campbell, farkli kültürlere ait mitlerdeki olaylar ve kahramanlarin yasadigi degisim evrelerinin birbirine benzedigini söyler. Kahramanin geçirdigi bu degisim evrelerini monomit adi vererek kuramlastiran Campbell, kahramanin izledigi yolu yola çikis, erginlenme, dönüs ana basliklari altinda merhalelere ayirmistir. Her ana merhalenin ise alt bölümleri söz konusudur. Aslinda tüm bu asamalari inceledigimizde her yolculugun birer döngüden ibaret oldugu anlasilmaktadir: Kahramanin yolculugu, yasadigi siradan dünyasinda baslar ve yine orada son bulur. Monomit kurami bugün geleneksel olarak niteledigimiz hikâye, masal, destan gibi pek çok anlati türüne uygulanabildigi gibi özellikle sinema ve animasyon yapimlarinin kurgulanmasinda tercih edilen bir uygulama olarak da karsimiza çikmaktadir. Yakari filmi de monomit kuramina göre kurgulanan filmlerden biridir. Bu çalismada amaç, Yakari filmini monomit kurami yöntemine göre çözümlemek ve kuramin animasyon filmlerinde de kullanilabilecegini göstermektir. Bu baglamda çizgi roman serisi olan ve 2020 yilinda animasyon filmi olarak gösterime giren Yakari animasyon filmi, Campbell’in sistemlestirdigi monomit kurami yöntemine göre degerlendirilmis, kahramanin yasadigi asamalari ve geçirdigi dönüsümleri yansitan sahneler tespit edilmistir.