ARTS ENTREPRENEURSHIP & TECHNOLOGY: THE ART OF BUSINESS AND BUSINESS OF ART
The Hero's Journey in Arts Entrepreneurship & Technology: A Renaissance in the Classical Liberal Arts &
Free Market Economics:
Ideals in
Innovation
What do you get when you combine an interest in the arts with an
interest in entrepreneurial ventures and an interest in cutting-edge
technology?
Dr. Elliot McGucken at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
says the result is someone he calls an artistic entrepreneur. Thus, he's
received a grant from the Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative to launch
a class called Artistic Entrepreneurship.
Known as "Dr. E" to his students, McGucken teaches physics and
programming and has published a poetry book, a novel, a collection of
essays, several scientific articles and - huh? - poetry in The Wall
Street Journal.
Since 1995, he's run an online site called jollyroger.com that pays
homage to the "Great Books" and serves as a forum for those who worship
excellence in literature.
As for the new class, McGucken says it "will invite writers, artists,
directors, producers, musicians, business majors, and computer
programmers to work together in building artistic ventures."
"It'd be great to build a couple hip artistic ventures in our own
backyard," McGucken tells Biz. "Why let New York and L.A. have all the
fun?"
Ecce deus fortior me, qui veniens dominabitur michi. --Dante
If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it
would
be a merrier world. -- J.R.R. Tolkien
ARTISTIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP & TECHNOLOGY
Teresea Ciulla of Entrepreneur Magazine blogs, "Can you actually
make
your passion your profession? According to Dr. Elliot McGucken, a
professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (and now
Pepperdine University), who's teaching
the university's first "Artistic Entrepreneurship & Technology 101"
class,
the answer just may be yes. McGucken's class, which is comprised of a
group of 45 students majoring in law, business, art, computer science,
journalism and music, focuses on teaching students about creating value
over just making money, about letting their higher ideals guide the
bottom
line. After all, as McGucken says, "Successful companies aren't
successful
because they make money--they're successful because they create value."
Class projects range from a classical music video to a hip hop
curriculum
and textbook to an online art gallery to a freshman's record label
that's
signed more than ten bands to a social network being programmed by three
computer science majors. Students are seeing that to the degree they
succeed in creating useful art and ventures, they'll be able to support
their passions with a profitable business. And isn't that what we're all
really striving for? To find an excitement in our work in order to beat
back the dullness of the typical 9-to-5 routine? Looks like McGucken's
found a way to inspire a new generation of artistically minded
entrepreneurs to follow their passions--and make a living."
Reviving the Moral Premise in Hollywood and the Heartland: on Main
Street
and Wall Street: in Screenplays and Business Plans.
"The classic system--owner's capitalism, had been based
on a dedication to serving the interests of the corporation's owners in
maximizing return on their capital investment. But a new system
developed--manager's capitalism--in which, Pfaff wrote, "The corporation
came to be run to profit its managers, in complicity if not consiracy
with
accountants and managers of other corporations." --John C. Bogle,
Founder and Former Chairman of The Vanguard Group, The
Battle for The Soul of Capitalism
"There's a difference between us.
You
think the people of this land
exist to provide you with position. I think your position exists to
provide those people with freedom. And I go to make sure that they have
it." --William Wallace in Braveheart, by Randall Wallace
"Man should not be in the service
of
society, society should be in the
service of man. When man is in the service of scoiety, you have a
monster
state, and that's what is threatening the world at this minute."
--Joseph
Campbell, author of Hero With a Thousand
Faces
The act of entrepreneurship is based upon the common
moral
premise
that forms the foundation of the above three quotes--individuals
embarking
on a hero's journey so as to better serve their peers.
Einstein wrote,
"The highest principles for our aspirations and judgments are given to
us
in the Jewish-Christian religious tradition. It is a very high goal
which,
with our weak powers, we can reach only very inadequately, but which
gives
a sure foundation to our aspirations and valuations. If one were to
take
that goal out of its religious form and look merely at its purely human
side, one might state it perhaps thus: free and responsible development
of
the individual, so that he may place his powers freely and gladly in the
service of all mankind.
There is no room in this for the divinization of a nation, of a class,
let
alone of an individual. Are we not all children of one father, as it is
said in religious language? Indeed, even the divinization of humanity,
as
an abstract totality, would not be in the spirit of that ideal. It is
only
to the individual that a soul is given. And the high destiny of the
individual is to serve rather than to rule, or to impose himself in any
other way." --Albert Einstein, Einstein's Ideas and Opinions,
pp.41 - 49.
Here is Cyril's Abstract:
The psychology of entrepreneurship can be better
understood by comparing it to the hero's adventure (as well as the
trickster's) In mythology because myths are often seen as symbolic
representations of the psyche. The hero and the entrepreneur are found
to
be similar in their respective adventures, a three part sequence of
separation from the community, initiation into new creative powers and a
return to the community with a boon for his fellow citizens. Both are
creative, curious, energetic risk takers who are guided by mentors.
Entrepreneurship can be seen as a manifestation of a universal human
psychological condition, the desire for individual creativity.
VISUAL ARTS
Photography
Sculpture
Painting DRAMATIC ARTS
Acting
Directing
Producing MOTION PICTURES
Film
Movies
Documentaries
TV
Production Studio
Animation MUSIC
Bands
Record Labels
Distribution
Booking
Production Studio
Non-profit
Management PROGRAMMING
Linux /
Apache /
MYSQL /
PHP /
PERL / PYTHON /
Postnuke / Wordpress / PHPNuke / Oscommerce /Gallery /
Mambo / Joomla
TALENT AGENCIES
Acting
Music
Literary MODELING
Modeling Agency FASHION
Design
Runway
Branding WRITING
Screenwriting
Novels
Nonfiction
Poetry
Publishing BLOGS/BLOGGING VIDEO GAMES
Game Design
Game Production
Game Storytelling
Games & Movies SOCIAL NETWORKS
Friendsters
MySpaces
Facebooks YOUR VENTURE!
social network - fashion - publishing - photography - music - film - brand
Bob
Young founded Red Hat Linux, and he currently leads Lulu--a Raleigh venture
that empowers indy artists--writers, photographers, musicians, painters, creators, and more! Download Bob's free book on the philosophy
and business of Open Source here.
About Dr. E
Dr. E is an artistic entrepreneur. He founded jollyroger.com in 1995, and now runs over 30 sites. He presented Authena Open Source DRM/CMS at the Harvard Law School OSCOM, and 22surf was accepted to the Zurich OSCOM. Both Authena and 22surf are aimed at helping indie artists/creators. Dr. E
received a B.A. in physics from Princeton and a Ph.D. in physics from
UNC
Chapel Hill where his dissertation
on an artifical retina for the blind received several NSF grants and a Merrill Lynch
Innovations Award. The retina-chip research appeared in publications including Popular Science and Business
Week, and the project continues to this day. The New York Times deemed jollyroger.com "simply unprecedented," adding that the
site "teems with discussion, the kind that goes well beyond freshman lit 101." The Los Angeles Times referred to the classical portal as
"a lavish virtual community known as The Jolly Roger." Dr. E has published four books including two novels and a poetry
collection.
This class will be a journey towards realizing your dreams. Hopefully
many of you will continue this journey beyond the class. Contact Dr. Elliot McGucken for more
information.
Online
There are 3 unregistered users and 0
registered users on-line.
Email:
Arts
Entrepreneurship & Technology 101
A Renaissance in the Classical Liberal Arts & Economics: Ideals in
Innovation
by Dr. Elliot
McGucken
"Follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be"
-- Joseph Campbell
"The stock exchange is a poor substitute for the Holy Grail." --Joseph
Schumpeter
The
New York Times reported, "McGucken's course (Arts
Entrepreneurship & Technology 101). . .
rests on the
principle that those who create art should have the skills to own it,
profit from it and protect it. "It's about how to make your passion
your profession, your avocation
your vocation, and to make this long-term sustainable," he said. --New
York Times Small Business
A hero is someone who has given his or
her life to
something bigger than
oneself.
--Joseph Campbell
"Fair dealing leads to greater profits in the end." --Homer's
Odyssey
"The property which every man has in his own labour; as it is the
original foundation of all other property, so it is the most sacred and
inviolable. To hinder him from employing this strength and dexterity in
what manner he thinks proper without injury to his neighbour is a plain
violation of this most sacred property." --Adam Smith's
The Wealth of Nations
The HJE Festival seeks to
give students, artists, and entrepreneurs the tools to make
their passions their professions--to protect and profit from their creations--to take full ownership in their careers.
"Sometimes you've got to think like a surfer--lie low, go with the flow,
and ride the wave. And sometimes you've got to be the cowboy--ride into
town, call the bluff, and face the music in the showdown." Dr. Elliot
McGucken explains how artists can find financial success by seeing their
quest as a classic Hero's Journey (ala Joseph Campbell). By keeping the
hero's goal of staying true to his art and passionately following the
journey, the artist can turn his creative wealth into financial wealth.
Dr. E's textbook coming soon!
A must read for every MFA, MBA, JD & DJ! An FPS guide to generating true wealth by keeping the higher ideals over the bottom line in books, music, art, entertainment, video
games, Hollywood, hedge funds, business, and life. Available @ major
bookstores in late 2009!
"If we are to go forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious
values - that all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all
reality has spiritual control." --Martin Luther King Jr.
"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were
great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of
the tiny pushes of each honest worker." --Helen Keller
Dr. E's original AE&T 101 class appears in Vaughan Penn'smusic video for Ready to
Rise--directed by Dr. E. The song appeared on MTV's Laguna
Beach and Grey's
Anatomy,
and it became the theme song
for A&E's Roller Girls.
&
check
out
Artistic
Entrepreneurship @ cincom and on market wire.
Welcome to Arts Entrepreneurship & Technology 101!! Dr. E is currently working on two books with all the wisdom gained in teaching
the class and hosting Hero's
Journey Entrepreneurship festivals in Carolina and California. The
class represents a renaissance in a classical liberal arts
education, and the books will seek to serve the reader with the
greatest that has been spoken and written throughout the ages. The
Enlightenment's classical ideals form the natural
foundation for
enduring free markets and the creation of long-term wealth via
entrepreneurship--via
rendering ideals real in living innovation and ventures.
Arts Entrepreneurship seeks to give students, artists, and entrepreneurs
the tools to make
their passions their professions--to protect and profit from their
ideas--to take ownership in their careers and creations. For Adam
Smith's invisible hand enriches all when happiness is pursued by artists
and innovators--society's natural founts of wealth. Thomas Jefferson
eloquently
expressed the entrepreneurial premise:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men
are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights,
that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
--The
Declaration of Independence
The only clause in the main body of the United States Constitution that
mentions "Rights" states the following:
The Congress shall have power to . . . promote the
progress of science
and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors
the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;
--The
United States Constitution
Couple these two passages together, and one has the moral premise of
Artistic Entrepreneurship & Technology. Every student ought be given the
tools to create new ventures--to protect their intellectual property,
and to pursue and profit from their dreams on their "Hero's Journey"
into entrepreneurship. For it is along that journey that the long-term
"wealth of nations" is generated.
For students taking the class, the syllabus can be downloaded at the Heros' Journey Entrepreneurship site.
And you can check out Dr. E's first lecture on Arts Entrepreneurship here: http://artsentrepreneurship.com/ae2.mov. Last year's high-tech TA was--Stefan Estrada:
ssestrad*at*email.unc.edu. He loves helping artistic entrepreneurs out, so feel free to contact him!
Make your passion your profession.
R O C K Y O U R D R E A M S
Arts : Entrepreneurship : Business : Technology : Law
LAMP / XML / RDF / RSS / AJAX / PHP / MYSQL / PERL / HTML / SSL / XHTML / APACHE / DRM
'You've got to find what you love,'
Steve Jobs says @ Stanford commencement. From bittorrent, to Beethoven, to business
From NY to LA : From China to Carolina to California
From fashion magazines to social networks to record labels to indie film production.
American movies, television programs, music, books and computer software have surpassed traditional factory and
agricultural products as our largest category of exports. --NCPA.ORG | Small business is
America's most
powerful engine of opportunity and economic growth. For millions of Americans, starting a business is the best opportunity to turn a
dream into reality. --SBA.GOV | UNC's Artistic Entrepreneurship & Technology 101 brings it all
together--you are the star of this class, and you will leave it closer to your dreams. --Dr. E
WELCOME WRITERS, ARTISTS, PROGRAMMERS, DJs, GAMERS, PRODUCERS, ENTERTAINMENT/IP LAWYERS, ACTORS, MBAs & ALL
CREATORS! My name is Dr.
Elliot McGucken, and I've been teaching Artistic
Entrepreneurship & Technology 101 in Carolina and California. The class is geared toward students with an interest in the arts,
entrepreneurial ventures, and cutting-edge technology. This class is
where the arts & sciences walk hand-in-hand, exalting classical
free-market economics.
"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the
source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a
stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as
good as dead: his eyes are closed." --Albert Einstein
"MAKE MY AVOCATION MY VOCATION" --ROBERT FROST:
If you've ever thought of making your passion your profession, this class is for you. Just bring your passion, be it creative writing,
painting, classical music, photography, hiphop, open source CMS & DRM, or movie production, and during the semester you will research
the business structure and technological needs for launching your venture or career. From ecommerce to bricks & mortar art galleries,
JD's & DJ's will rock out in new ventures. Diligent students will leave the class with their own record label, photo gallery, digital
movie distribution system, or video for their band's new song.
The class looks forward to your group's final presentation on your startup movie/film production company, publishing house, modeling
agency, fashion brand, professional photography studio/archive, high-tech hosting/bittorrent distribution venture, music-booking agency,
nonprofit foundation for Baroque music, talent-management agency, or indie record label. This class is your chance to live your dream for
a semester, and hopefully beyond!
Where Entrepreneurship Connects to the Classics
Elliot McGucken, a professor of entrepreneurship at Pepperdine
University, bemoans that "a lot of schools have dismissed the idea of
teaching the great books." In a recent lecture at Pepperdine, McGucken
points out that that one lesson of the classics is, "Chance favors the
prepared mind. Instead of viewing risk as a bad thing, we can also view
it as a good thing."
The classics inspired America's Declaration of Independence, which
McGucken sees as an entrepreneurial document. Life has a way of "calling
us to adventure," he concludes. Though many entrepreneurs launch
businesses based on some "whimsical occurrence," it's their educational
and life backgrounds that enable them to recognize the opportunity.
Thus, John Bogle was able to found Vanguard based on a business-magazine
article, while actually pursuing a "higher ideal" associated with making
stock ownership available to large numbers of people. See this blog for
more information and a related video. --BusinessWeek
Online
The class's structure will be based on classical story elements as outlined in Aristotle's Poetics and Joseph Campbell's Hero
With a Thousand Faces. The independent projects will be adventures akin to Campbell's "Hero's Journey," wherein students
will become protagonists as artists and entrepreneurs attempting to realize their dream by launching a successful venture. Along the way
students will encounter antagonists and pitfalls, but these shall be overcome by the end of the semester, when students will present their
artistic ventures.
Anyone who has studied Hollywood knows that every blockbuster, from Lord of the Rings, to Star Wars, to The Matrix,
is founded upon classical story structures, and the class will be taught in this classical context. The Declaration of
Independence and Constitution are the two most fundamental business documents for artists and entrepreneurs, and students will
be required to study the pertinent aspects of these classics. From Aristotle's Poetics to the Bill of Rights to 50 Cent's
insights regarding the music business, students will be given the tools to venture forth in the contemporary context.
Technology's daily advance is fostering vast opportunities to create sustainable ventures in the arts. This class is just the beginning
of the journey. Perhaps some students will venture up to NY or west to LA, or take advantage of the digital high definition (HD)
technologies, bittorrent, open source CMS, and DRM to become tomorrow's writers, directors, producers, and record company executives right
in Chapel Hill.
Every work of art tells a story, and behind that work of art is another parallel story--the business of its creation, promotion, and
distribution. Such are the stories students will tell in Artistic Entrepreneurship & Technology 101.
BLOGGING THE VENTURE'S PROGRESS:
Students will be required to set up a blog which will serve as a log for independent projects, charting progress in pursuit of that
distant shore. The blog will link to useful resources/articles regarding the venture, and will become a valuable asset for other groups
in the class and beyond.
"GENIUS IS 1% INSPIRATION AND 99% PERSPIRATION" --THOMAS ALVA EDISON:
Artistic Entrepreneurship will be a lot of work, but the kind of exalted work that is rooted in a creative vision. As Edison said, genius
is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration, and as the class studies the careers of famous artists, entertainers, and entrepreneurs, students
will see how much work, how much relentless, unyielding effort was devoted en route to achieving their dreams. A common theme will be
just when it seems all is lost, a new day dawns.
The class will be a lot of fun too. The harder one works, the more fun it will be.
TEAMWORK: THE WHOLE IS GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS:
Students will work in self-selecting groups combining creative individuals across all disciplines, including artists, designers, writers,
musicians, photographers, and programmers.
ARTS & TECHNOLOGY:
Steven Jobs never programmed, nor designed a microchip, and yet he's responsible for Apple, Pixar, the Macintosh, and the iPod. He lead
and still leads hundreds of the best and brightest designers, programmers, and visonaries. Richard Branson never played an instrument nor
piloted an airplane, and yet he's responsible for Virgin Airlines, Virgin Records, Virgin Mobile, and a ton of other companies. He too
leads hundreds of the best and brightest.
All successful artistic ventures require a vision encompassing a wide array of talents, disciplines, and vocations, and this class will
emphasize the teamwork that underlies all successful implementations of technology. Programmers and artists will work side-by-side in
independent groups.
A theme of the class will be the social aspects of technology.
Modern artistic venture require huge respect for all professions, and students will work in groups combining writers, computer
programmers, artists, marketers, business majors, and more.
Do you want to set up a record label? You will build it with cutting edge technology implemented by a CS major. Do you want to set up a
non-profit center for classical music? You will research the business structure and write the business plan alongside a business major.
Do you want to become an indie movie producer, bypassing Hollywood? You'll work alongside a busines major, a computer programmer, and a
marketing/communications major.
BLOGGING REFLECTIONS ON REQUIRED READING:
Students will be required to read trade journals in the area of their passion. Publishing entrepreneurs will read Publisher's
Weekly. Rising movie moguls will read The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.
Required reading for this class will include Aristotle's Poetics, iCon: The Biography of Steven Jobs, and Richard Branson's
biography Losing My Virginity : How I've Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way.
TELL YOUR VENTURE'S STORY:
During the semester you will tell a story. You are the hero entrepreneur in this journey, and your dreams are the destination.
Passion for the arts and entrepreneurship are the major prerequisites for this course, and we encourage all writers, filmmakers, poets,
programmers, and musicians to apply! Within this class English majors will work with Physics majors to create new ventures.
Whatever your passion, Dr. E will guide you in devising a plan for pursuing it as a profession.
The course structure is based upon Aristotle's Poetics and Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces, which have inspired
thousands of storytellers including George Lucas in the creation of Star Wars and the Wachowski Brothers in the creation of the
Matrix.
Just like Neo and Luke Skywalker, all artists/entrepreneurs must look within for that magic creative inspiration. As the
artist/entrepreneur, you are the hero protagonist in this course, and thus the story falls upon your shoulders as we progress through the
semester. Success will be defined by the course taking you closer to your dreams in arts and entrepreneurship.
Artistic Entrepreneurship 101 Outline: (Based on Joseph Campbell's classic Hero With a Thousand Faces)
The Monomyth is divided into three sections: Departure (sometimes called Separation), Initiation and Return.
This was laid out by Joseph Campbell in the first part
of The Hero with a Thousand
Faces,
"The Adventure of the Hero." His thesis was that all myths follow this
structure to at least some extent. To take three examples: the Christ story
follows this structure almost exactly, whereas the Odyssey features
frequent repetitions of the Initiation section and the Cinderella
story follows this structure somewhat more loosely.
Departure deals with the hero venturing forth on his quest.
Initiation deals with the hero's various adventures along his or her
way. And Return deals with the hero's return home with knowledge and
powers he or she has acquired along the way.
The quest begins with the hero in a state of neurotic anguish. The
quest is often announced to the hero by another character who acts as a
'herald'.
In Star Wars, Luke Skywalker, the hero, begins the story in frustration over
being unable to leave home. The heralds are the two droids who carry a message
from Princess Leia. In The Matrix, the call comes in the form of Morpheus and his followers who
encourage the hero, Neo, to question
reality. In The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf acts as the herald who gives Frodo his mission to destroy the One Ring. Aragorn, in a separate hero's journey, is
told by Elrond of his true name and lineage as the Heir of Isildur and rightful heir to the throne of Gondor when he is 20 years of age.
In many stories, the hero initially refuses the call to adventure.
When this happens, the hero suffers somehow, and eventually chooses the
quest.
In Star Wars, Luke is initially uninterested in helping the Rebel Alliance, preferring to stay on the farm; it is only when his foster parents are killed that
he begins the quest. In The Matrix, Neo refuses to take the window washing equipment to escape and is captured by the Agents. In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo is reluctant to
set out on an adventure. Because of his delay he is nearly captured by the Ringwraiths.
The hero eventually must cross into a dark underworld, where he will
face evil and darkness, and thereby find true enlightenment. Before
this can occur, however, the hero must cross the threshold between his
home world and the new world of adventure. Often this involves facing
off against and quelling a 'threshold guardian'.
In Star Wars, the threshold is Mos Eisley,
a spaceport that acts as a doorway between Luke's home planet and the
wider universe; Luke must avoid capture by the threshold guardians, the
imperial stormtroopers. In The Matrix, Neo takes the "red pill". In The Lord of the Rings,
Frodo finally accepts his mission in Rivendell and crosses the
threshold once he leaves there. Also in Rivendell, Aragorn meets Boromir
who tells of the plight that Gondor is now in while at the same time
confronting those present for not aiding Gondor; Aragorn sees that he
must now save Gondor and claim the kingship. In The Odyssey, Odysseus must pass the island of the Sirens. In The Silence of the Lambs,
Agent Starling must enter not only Lecter's hospital, guarded by the
semen-flinging guardian, but also the second threshold of the sealed
storage facility Lecter directs her to.
Having defeated the threshold guardian, the hero finds himself in a
place of darkness where he begins his true adventure, perhaps
discovering his true purpose. This 'belly of the whale' may be an
ambiguous place of dream-like forms. The name for this stage of the monomyth
is based upon the story of Jonah.
In Star Wars, it is the Death Star, in which Luke is
engulfed and in which he learns how to be a hero. In The Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship pases through the abandoned mines of
Moria. In The Matrix, Neo finds himself waking up in a bio-electric cell where he is one of the humans being harvested by the
machines. In The Silence of the Lambs,
Starling finds the serial killer Buffalo Bill's first victim within the dark, womblike storage facility.
Once in the underworld, the hero is repeatedly challenged with
mental and physical obstacles that must be overcome. Often these take
the form of a test, by which the hero improves his skills and proves
his worth.
In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke undergoes his training with Yoda.
Aragorn, after the loss of Gandalf in Moria, must now take the position
of leader of the Fellowship, and struggles to lead them as well as
Gandalf wanted to. In The Silence of the
Lambs, Starling must deal with sexism and her own fear while investigating Buffalo Bill.
After overcoming the Road of Trials, the hero often encounters a
goddess-like woman: beautiful, queenlike or motherly. This is a grand
reward for the hero.
In The Matrix Reloaded, Neo takes
Trinity as a lover. In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo meets Galadriel, who shows him
the future. Aragorn also meets Galadriel, who counsels him on his future actions. In The Silence of the Lambs, Buffalo Bill
kidnaps a senator's daughter and the female senator initially appears as a benevolent, matriarchal force.
However, the Goddess may also negate the hero's progress through lust or greed. This may distract the hero from his ultimate goal and plunge him back into
darkness.
In The Matrix Reloaded, Persephone
attempts to seduce Neo. In The Odyssey, the temptress is the nymph Calypso. In Star Wars, there is tension between Luke and Han Solo over their love for Princess Leia. Luke is also tempted by the dark side itself, as demonstrated by his vision in the cave on Dagobah. In The Lord of the Rings
Frodo is tempted to give the Ring to Galadriel and forsake his mission.
In the Christ story, Satan takes this role (though he would
traditionally be considered a temptor, rather than a temptress). In The Silence of the Lambs, the offer of a reduced sentence for Hannibal Lecter, supposedely authorized
by the senator, is revealed as a trick.
The hero may encounter a father-like figure of patriarchal
authority. 'Father' and 'son' are often pitted against each other for
mastery of the universe. To understand the father, and ultimately
himself, the hero must reconcile with this ultimate authority figure.
In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke confronts Darth Vader
and learns that he is his father; in Return of the Jedi, he is reconciled with the reformed Vader. In The Matrix Reloaded, Neo
meets The Architect, a
program who identifies himself as the father of the Matrix. In The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn must face the legacy of his
ancestor Isildur,
by rising above the darkness where he failed. Aragorn directly faces
this legacy most clearly when he decides to ride the Paths of the Dead
and gain the allegiance of the Army of the Dead, a feat which only the
true Heir of Isildur can perform. In The
Silence of the Lambs, Starling comes to terms with the death of her father through Hannibal Lecter.
The Hero's Ego is disintegrated in a breakthrough expansion of
consciousness. Quite frequently their idea of reality is changed, they
may find themselves able to do new things or able to see a larger point
of view, allowing them to sacrifice themselves.
In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke sacrifices himself rather than turn to the dark side. In The Matrix Reloaded,
Neo destroys several Sentinels in the real world using only his mind.
Aragorn gains command of the immortal Army of the Dead, making his
forces undefeatable. In The Silence of the
Lambs after atonement, Starling gains knowledge from Lecter and must challenge Buffalo Bill on her own.
Having reconciled with the father and achieved personal
enlightenment, the hero's psychological forces are again balanced. His
new found knowledge, or boon, also has potential to benefit society.
In the Christ story, Jesus surrenders himself to the Romans, setting in motion his ultimate fate of crucifixion. In The Lord of the
Rings,
all of the hobbits gain wisdom and experience during their journey
which allows them to easily set things right in the Shire on their
return. By calling upon his heritage as the Heir of Isildur to take
command of the Army of the Dead, Aragorn is now more in tune with his
true nature and purpose as rightful heir to the throne of Gondor than
ever before. In The Silence of the Lambs Starling graduates into an agent, her psychological forces balanced despite Lecter's
escape.
A mad dash is made by the hero to return with the prize.
In the Christ story, Jesus carries his cross to Golgotha. In The Matrix Revolutions, Neo takes a ship to the Machine City. In
The Lord of the Rings
Frodo and Sam are rescued from the slopes of Mt. Doom by Gandalf and
the Eagles (which is also a "Rescue from Without"). Aragorn, after
exiting the Paths of the Dead with his new invincible Shadow Army, must
now make a mad dash across Gondor in a race against time to liberate
the coast from an invasion of Corsairs, then lead the Southern army of
Gondor north to save Minas Tirith from destruction, all in only
six days.
The hero may need to be rescued from without by humanity.
In the Christ story, Judas betrays Jesus to the Romans. In The Matrix
Revolutions, Trinity, Morpheus, and Seraph must rescue Neo from his imprisonment in the train station. In The Lord of the
Rings, Frodo is ultimately unable to destroy the Ring without Gollum's unwilling help.
Before the hero can return to the real world, he must confront
another threshold guardian. The first threshold was a symbolic death;
this is now a symbolic rebirth.
In The Matrix Revolutions, Neo again confronts Smith. In Return of the Jedi, Luke again confronts Darth Vader. In The
Lord of the Rings,
the final threshold for the hobbits re-entering the Shire is guarded by
Saruman and his Ruffians. For Aragorn, this means making a final
confrontation with Sauron's forces in a suicidal attack on his massive
army at the Black Gate.
Once the final threshold is crossed, the hero is now free to move
back and forth between the two worlds at will. He has mastered the
conflicting psychological forces of the mind.
In Return of the Jedi, Luke becomes a Jedi. In the Christ story, Jesus is resurrected. In The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn
is crowned King of Gondor and Arnor,
and has defeated Mordor (later re-destributing its conquered lands to
the former slaves that tilled the fields in its southern regions).
Aragorn then marries Arwen,
daughter of his father-figure Elrond, uniting the worlds of Elf and
Man. Finally, Aragorn finds a new sapling of the White Tree of Gondor,
and Gandalf informs him
that he is now leaving Middle-earth now that Sauron is defeated:
Gandalf now officially "passes the torch" of responsiblity for
protecting Middle-earth and its peoples from himself on to Aragon and
his descendants.
With the journey now complete, the hero has found true freedom, and can turn his efforts to helping or teaching humanity.
In The Lord of the Rings, the hobbits become prominent
citizens of the Shire with the wisdom they have gained. Aragorn reigns
as King for many decades and ushers in a new age of peace and the
rebuilding of Middle Earth. He then starts a family with Arwen, his
Queen.
From
Beethoven to Bob Dylan "Every artist
is an entrepreneur." So argues Dr. Elliot McGucken, a visiting
professor at Pepperdine University, in an online
video introduction to his course, Art Entrepreneurship &
Technology 101, which has the professor lecturing from the shore of a
small lake. Among his suggestions for artists who want to be more
entrepreneurial: launch a blog (see BusinessWeek.com, 5/18/06, "The ABCs of
Beginning Your Blog"), prepare a one-minute presentation on
"your mission," write a 20-page business plan, and be prepared
to work for a long time "for free." For information on courses
in entrepreneurship geared toward artists, take a look at www.ae2n.net. It's still in its formative
stages but eventually will feature reading lists and course evaluations.
ARTS ENTREPRENEURSHIP: HOW TO BE A
HERO
by Mike Vargo
From The Kauffman Foundation's
Thoughtbook
Elliot McGucken has an artful way of teaching entrepreneurship to artists. He explains the
entrepreneurial process, for instance, by comparing it to the classic "hero's journey" in myths
and epics. Typically, in the first stage of the story, the hero embarks on a quest that
requires "separation" or "departure" from the familiar world (here McGucken finds strong
parallels to the decision to start a company) -- and after many twists, the journey ends with
the hero's "return" (exit strategy).
"Every aspect of classical story, including antagonists, mentors, reversals of fortune, and the
seizing of the sword from the stone, may be found in the realm of entrepreneurship," McGucken
claims. And there's more. The college course he designed -- open to students in any major,
working in any of the visual, literary or performing arts -- mixes classical concepts with
cutting-edge practical advice, such as how to use open-source DRM (digital rights management)
to keep the ogres from snatching your profits.
The course is called Artistic Entrepreneurship and Technology 101. First offered this past
spring at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, with support from the Kauffman
Campuses Initiative, it has drawn rave reviews from students. The core message of AE&T 101 is
that "ideals are real," and in fact are practical: that you don't have to choose between being
a starving artist or selling out. By starting a venture of your own that combines high
artistic standards with sound business principles, you can "rock your dreams," McGucken tells
students; he says that in the arts as in business, pursuing "fundamental value" pays off.
McGucken began his career in science. In the late 1990s he was a promising young physics
researcher with a faculty position at Davidson College. But he wrote on the side and had long
loved classical literature, from the Greeks to the great novelists. Feeling that these got
too little attention nowadays he had launched a Web site, jollyroger.com, to host online forums
about the Great Books and to offer his own commentary. And lo, the quest drew eyeballs.
Before long, he says, "the advertising income from jollyroger was more than I was making from
my professorship."
By the 2005-06 academic year McGucken was involved with several more arts-related Internet
ventures while teaching physics part-time at UNC in Chapel Hill. There the Kauffman Campuses
mission to teach entrepreneurship in all fields inspired his creation of the AE&T course, which
immediately had the look of an idea whose time had come: more than 110 students applied for
40 seats.
Those chosen included undergrads from the liberal and fine arts, plus artistically oriented
computer-science students, MBAs, and a law student. They combined their skills on projects,
actually starting arts ventures or moving them along. Some showed up with ventures well under
way, like Will Hackney, a freshman with over a dozen local bands signed to a record label he'd
started in high school. Pierce Freelon, an African-American Studies major and member of a
hip-hop duo called Language Arts, was branching into ventures ranging from a Web site on
"blackademics" to the design of a hip-hop curriculum for K-12 schools.
And some were talented artists who hadn't yet turned entrepreneurial. Hannah Sink, a student
filmmaker who had shot two documentaries in Thailand with grant funding, recalls: "I just had
the idea that one day, maybe in fifteen or twenty years, I'd like to start my own production
company. What I learned is that I can start taking the steps now. So for me this course was
about homing in on a desire I already had, and learning the tangible things: forming an
L.L.C., protecting your rights, using technology." During the course Sink and a colleague,
Hope Blaylock, started Continuous Take Productions. The firm is still embryonic but the main
thing, says Sink, is that "this is real. We know where we are in the process. If and when we
take the next steps, we know what we have to do."
Elliot McGucken, meanwhile, has carried AE&T 101 over to Pepperdine University, where he's a
visiting professor for 2006-07. Replication and expansion of the course has thus begun, and
McGucken has a larger reason for hoping the effort will grow. He sees much of today's cultural
industry as being in a "decadent state," with big media firms giving us low-grade movies, books
and other product even in the face of declining revenues: "When you put the bottom line above
high ideals, both suffer," he says. But a new wave of artist/entrepreneurs -- armed with the
skills to assert artistic control by starting and controlling businesses -- could help turn
things around. "There's an opportunity," McGucken says, "for a cultural renaissance."
"The human soul, as Thomas Aquinas defined it, is the "form of the
body,"
the vital power animating, pervading, and shaping an individual from the
moment of conception, drawing all the energies of life into a unity..
In our temporal world, the soul of capitalism is the vital power that
has animated, pervaded, and shaped our economic system, drawing all of
its energies into a unity. In this sense, it is no overstatement to
describe the effort we must make to return the system to its proud roots
with these words: the battle to restore the soul of capitalism."
--John C. Bogle, The Battle for The Soul of Capitalism
How one carries on in the face of unavoidable catastrophe is a matter of
temperament. In high school, as was custom, I had chosen a verse by
Virgil to be my motto: Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito. Do not
give in to evil, but proceed ever more boldly against it. I recalled
these words during the darkest hours of the war. Again and again I had
met with situations from which rational deliberation found no means of
escape; but then the unexpected intervened, and with it came salvation.
I would not lose courage even now. I wanted to do everything an
economist could do. I would not tire in saying what I knew to be true.
--Ludwig von Mises, Notes and Recollections, p. 70
Those fighting for free enterprise and free competition do not defend
the interests of those rich today. They want a free hand left to unknown
men who will be the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. --Ludwig Von Mises
The tragedy of collectivist thought is that, while it starts out to make
reason supreme, it ends by destroying reason because it misconceives the
process on which the growth of reason depends. It may indeed be said
that it is the paradox of all collectivist doctrine and its demands for
"conscious" control or "conscious" planning that they necessarily lead
to the demand that the mind of some individual should rule
supreme--while
only the individualist approach to social phenomena makes us recognize
the superindividual forces which guide the growth of reason.
Individualism is thus an attitude of humility before this social process
and of tolerance to other opinions and is the exact opposite of that
intellectual hubris which is at the root of the demand for comprehensive
direction of social purpose. --F.A. Hayek, The End of Truth, The Road
to
Serfdom
Let no one ignorant of geometry enter. --engraved on
the door to Plato's Academy
The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.
-- Michelangelo
Luck is not chance, it's toil; fortune's expensive smile is earned.
--Emily Dickinson
It is far more difficult to murder a phantom than a reality.
--Virginia Woolf
Our peculiar security is in possession of a written Constitution. Let
us not make it a blank paper by construction. --Thomas Jefferson
The most recent episode witnessed the culmination of an era in which our
business corporations and our financial institutions, working in tacit
harmony, corrupted the traditional nature of capitalism, shattering both
confidence in the markets and the accumulated wealth of countless
American families. Something went profoundly wrong, fundamentally and
pervasively, in corporate America. . . . At the root of the problem, in
the broadest sense, was a societal change aptly described by these words
from the teacher Joseph Campbell: "In medieval times, as you approached
the city, your eye was taken by the Cathedral. Today, it's the towers
of commerce. It's business, business, business." We had become what
Campbell called a bottom-line society. But our society came to measure
the wrong bottom line: form over substance, prestige over virtue, money
over achievement, charisma over character, the ephemeral over the
enduring, even mammon over God. --The Battle for The Soul of
Capitalism,
by John C. Bogle
Artistic Entrepreneur- ship will be offered through the Business Administration department. Please contact Dr. Elliot McGucken with a brief
statement summariz- ing your vision for an artistic venture or
career in the arts and/or technology, and please include your student ID. I wish there were room for everyone, but space is
limited. We'll be hosting events above and beyond the class, including a party in November featuring local bands, DJ's, films, art, and
photography, so stay tuned! Feel free to contact me with any questions.
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Joseph Campbell's
