Once-beloved words like “story” and “narrative” have been co-opted into the business world, and so too has “archetype.” It was inevitable. I was taking a seminar for entrepreneurs today and they were going on about “your business’ personality archetype” and “your ideal customer archetype!” No. Stop it now. It was very hard not to say something, or even just walk out.
Worse yet, when I did my usual search to find SEO keywords suitable for this series of posts, I typed “how to use archetypes.” The first several results were “How to use Archetypes in your brand!”
I want to slap someone.
Hi, I’m (Dr.) Pym and my degree was in the fields of Myth and Depth Psychology – so, pretty much the origin of archetype theory. And I am here to help sort the dreck from the gold.
But how did we get here?
Well, the marketing people finally figured out that humans are driven by story. And they’re using that against us. Now they’ve realized that the building blocks of story, the psychological triggers behind it, are archetypes. The problem is, they don’t know that’s what they are. Hell, most writers don’t. They’ve fallen into the same trap so many of us have — following the latest buzzword to get readers/buyers’ attention.
Here’s the problem
A lot has been lost in translation. Carl Jung did the heavy lifting in archetype theory, followed closely by James Hillman. Joseph Campbell broke it down further in Hero With A Thousand Faces – the book responsible for the Hero’s Journey epidemic (find out how I really feel about it in a future post). Then the internet happened. A few well-read people wrote genuinely helpful articles. More people wrote more posts based on those readings. Copies of copies of copies diluting the original theories. Key information being left out or distorted.
And then my biggest pet peeve: profit blogs. The ones that prey on need and insecurity with posts that have been researched for all of five minutes and then regurgitate bad information in order to drive traffic and clicks. Their inundation has so clogged up the internet that it’s impossible for writers to find the good information. And if you don’t know enough about it to start with, you have no idea if what you’re reading is right.
So let’s take back archetypes
I’m kicking off a few weeks of posts about archetypes. What they are, examples, and how you can find your own. I’ll start off with re-posting an interview I did when I used to teach an Archetypes for Writers class. There may even be a rant about the over-use and misuse of the Hero’s Journey. I’ve tried writing that post several times now and it’s inevitably just a string of expletives.
The whole point is to get some decent information back on the web and into writers’ hands. Following bad tropes and hackneyed structure isn’t going to cut it anymore. It’s time to learn what archetypes really are and why they’re so important. It’s time to reclaim them.
More Posts About Archetypes
Interview: The Universal Appeal Of Archetypes
Why Are Archetypes Important?
Archetypes Definition (coming soon)
Archetype Examples (coming soon)
Archetypes in Writing (coming soon)
Find Your Own Archetypes (coming soon)