Yeah, using it as a checklist overdoes it a little. Plus, it's supposed to be figurative as HELL. I'm sort of surprised Lucas didn't actually stuff Luke into a whale at some point. (He DID put everyone else into that giant implausible space worm for a minute or two. Close enough.)
I don't think the "virgin birth" was even one of Campbell's steps. Not that it mattered to George! And I hated Anakin's virgin birth for another reason, too--god dammit LUKE is the hero of Star Wars, and Darth Vader is the VILLAIN. You can't go back and decide that VADER is the series protagonist and ARGH PREQUEL RANT ETC.
(One of the coolest figurative virgin births is actually in Emma Donoghue's crazy awesome book Room. The hero's mother stubbornly insists that "Jack is nobody's son but mine," and by god it's true even though you know exactly who Jack's father is. THAT'S how you do it.)
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2013-03-11 05:07 am (UTC)I don't think the "virgin birth" was even one of Campbell's steps. Not that it mattered to George! And I hated Anakin's virgin birth for another reason, too--god dammit LUKE is the hero of Star Wars, and Darth Vader is the VILLAIN. You can't go back and decide that VADER is the series protagonist and ARGH PREQUEL RANT ETC.
(One of the coolest figurative virgin births is actually in Emma Donoghue's crazy awesome book Room. The hero's mother stubbornly insists that "Jack is nobody's son but mine," and by god it's true even though you know exactly who Jack's father is. THAT'S how you do it.)