Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Monomyth, Transformation And Inspiration: The Hero’S Journey In The Extreme Fitness Exercise Infomercial, James K. Beggan

Heroism Science

The monomyth or hero’s journey is often described as containing the stages of journey, transformation and return. Less attention has focused on a fourth stage, called inspiration, which discusses how the hero can then motivate and mentor a new generation of heroes. The present paper describes how the success stories of people profiled in extreme fitness infomercials can be understood as conforming to the structure of the monomyth. The way in which the infomercials document how the success stories can also be used to motivate and mentor future heroes illustrates the role of inspiration as the final component of the …