Became an American Retro Novelist - Chapter 170



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170.

Joseph Campbell, an American professor of comparative mythology, analyzed the commonalities between heroes and symbols that appear in many religious myths around the world in his book, “The Hero with a Thousand Faces,” and explained how they reveal the essence of a person’s life and rites of passage.

Since the book was published, his theory has been used for many practical purposes, most notably in the construction of scenario theory. Works such as ‘Star Wars’ have copied the hero’s journey and the main character’s story described in the book.

In the everyday world, you are called to adventure, but you reject the calling, meet your mentor and guide, go through trials, fight against your enemies with your allies, and finally get your reward and return to your everyday life.

Thus, he explained that a hero is a standardized individual and a myth is a standardized dream.

“Here, I think this ‘standardization’ is quite important.”

God explained forcefully.

So who sets the standards for that?

“It’s the public.”

In other words, the collective unconsciousness of humans according to the spirit of each era.

The problem stemmed from the fact that it was quite rare for a human being to be able to fully embody his or her own nature.

So when a hero is born, is that hero human?

Will humanity disappear and be replaced by some monster?

The students who heard the story up to that point were left speechless.

‘What’s that?’

‘Shouldn’t that be stopped······?’

The United States was actually a very conservative country.

This was especially true in the 80s. As the hippie era came to an end and Reagan was elected president, they shouted, “Make America great again,” as if they were trying to forget the chaos of the Vietnam War and start over again. Because of this, they wanted the return of a happy era under the Lord, along with family values.

God, who lived in such an era, ‘dared’ to say this.

“Jesus was a sacrificed being by the public, just like all other heroes.”

Said.

I said it.

I ended up saying it.

‘It’s thrilling!’

Rebecca Wong’s eyes sparkled with literary madness.

Beside him, John Smith’s prayer deepened with his hands clasped together.

Whether or not, the god continued speaking on the stage.

“‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ is a work that was created with that intention.”

In the work based on the myth, Jesus is portrayed as an all too human being.

He is tormented by the fact that his teachings are being misinterpreted, by the masses viewing him as nothing more than the son of God, and by the public’s demands that he die for them.

No one will remember you.

You will be forgotten 10 seconds after you die.

“But ironically, he will be remembered until the end of human history. Like many heroes.”

A hero is a scapegoat for the masses.

A being driven to realize an ideal.

It is the collective unconsciousness of humans that makes it so.

When Professor Dupree heard that story, a gunshot flashed in his eyes for the first time in three years.

It was a truly interesting interpretation.

Other students were also absorbed in his presentation.

Now, it seemed that God was going beyond the process of simply critiquing a work that reinterpreted a heroic tale, and was giving a ‘lecture’ on the heroic tale itself.

Of course, this part was added after calculating that Professor Dupree likes that style.

A hero is merely someone who is praised and sacrificed by the public.

Many people dream of an ideal and set out on an adventure, only to realize that their daily lives were actually the ideal they had hoped for.

Among them, a few eccentric people survive to the end and achieve heroic feats.

But can we really say that he is a hero in the way humans think of him?

Is it just people thinking that way?

“Is it really the result of his own free will?”

“······Ah, so.”

Professor Dupree raised his hand and asked a question.

“Are you trying to say this? Heroes are weirdos?”

“At the point where they reach the realm of accomplishment, they are not just weirdos. But the point is that no one knows what kind of thoughts the weirdos who have reached that point have. After all, aren’t they all descriptions of people around them? Even the heroes of the Vietnam War suffered from PTSD, so I wonder if they were any different.”

The hero who killed the dragon.

A hero who led the masses.

A hero who won the war.

Are they really human like us?

Or can we call someone who has become like that a human being?

“How ironic.”

Professor Dupree, chuckling, concluded:

“So that’s why he’s called ‘the son of God’?”

By then John Smith, who had been quietly saying ‘Amen,’ had no choice but to pray again.

***

The presentation class ended not too badly.

The reason I was sure of it was simple: after class, Professor Dupree left the classroom, shaking like a poodle in front of a Doberman Pinscher, and then suddenly turned sharply in my direction.

He asked.

“God, you said.”

“Yes, professor.”

“You······are a writer?”

“Yes.”

I felt the students’ eyes focused on me and smiled awkwardly.

No matter what, I never thought that he would be so blatant in saying, ‘I enjoyed your presentation.’ Does that mean that my presentation was impressive?

After a brief conversation, Professor Dupree stared at me for a while before turning around and slowly walking out again.

And the next moment, Rebecca Wong approached me as if she had been waiting for me.

“Oh my gosh, that was a fantastic presentation.”

“Thank you, Rebecca. I appreciate you helping me out.”

“No problem.”

Her confident, smiling face was dazzling.

Then, other students came to us and asked.

“What the hell is that idea?!”

“Who paid for it?!”

“······Of course it’s God.”

Rebecca cut me off like a lizard cutting off its tail.

But surprisingly, everyone didn’t seem to feel that my announcement this time was particularly blasphemous.

“I killed you.”

“Really, is this the level of something you have to do to be a writer?”

“Wow, how could you do that to Jesus Christ…. And the perspective on heroes was refreshing. I think I’ll remember this later. Thank you for giving me a fresh perspective. God.”

Surprisingly, everyone seemed to accept my opinion without much resistance.

‘Is it because they are aspiring writers?’

As I was feeling strangely alone among them, John Smith came up to me and said this with a haggard face.

“Oh my, that was a really great presentation. Thank you. It’s all thanks to you and Rebecca.”

······You don’t have to say it because it’s too much.

***

The final exams for the Stanford University winter semester began a week early, starting with the final presentation for the ‘Novel Criticism II’ class.

I had cut off contact with the outside world and focused solely on my studies. And after all the exams were over, I personally felt that I would get good grades just like I did last fall semester.

······Still, I was making good use of the study skills I had accumulated over many years since my previous life.

So the final grades, including both midterms and finals, were scheduled to be mailed out about two weeks after the break, and the school went into a short break until the spring semester.

Just before April, I drove back to Los Angeles and reunited with my long-awaited friends. Before that, I took care of some novel-related work that I had been putting off.

Julia’s ‘About T’ related work and Simon’s ‘Country of Losers’ related work.

Among them, the first one I met and talked to was Julia.

“What can I say? Right?”

A cafe in Koreatown.

When I met her after a long time, she seemed much more lively than before.

“’About T: College’ is still getting a good response, and the TV series is also progressing smoothly.”

“······I guess I’ll have to say the same thing again.”

“What is it?”

“That’s fortunate,” he said.

“Haha, as the writer in charge, I wish I could have come up with something interesting to talk about. It seems like I always end up just giving the same results, so I’m kind of at a loss for words.”

“Actually, I was a bit surprised this time.”

“Why?”

“I was prepared to be criticized for dragging a novel that started out as a teenage novel all the way to this point just for its popularity.”

“Now, it’s more than just a teenage novel; it’s a character novel. Tony and Alice are really lovable characters.”

“Well, that’s good.”

“Oh, and one more piece of news. I’m not sure if this is right.”

“yes?”

“The author’s girlfriend’s name is Alexa Flair, right?”

“Right, right?”

······Why do I feel embarrassed when it’s mentioned at work?

“I heard that his role will increase in the drama series currently in production.”

“······Yes? Why?”

“Oh, well. It’s not like my relationship with the author is known. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

“But wouldn’t it have been better to just let her know about the relationship and pull her in? Why do you hate it?”

“We talked about that part······ Anyway, that’s what happened.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I recalled that moment.

It was a story that came up casually when we were dating before.

I’m the original author of ‘About T’ and you’re my girlfriend. What do you think would happen if the production company found out about our relationship?

At those words, Alexa blushed and shouted proudly.

Absolutely not. I have goals that I want to achieve on my own.

And I respected her opinion. No, rather, I felt like I learned something else from her.

‘It must not be an easy temptation.’

Especially in this day and age, the entertainment industry tends to be more influenced by personal connections than in the future, so being acquainted with the original creator of the work you’re appearing in could be a significant advantage, but I thought that the way she thoroughly rejected that was very Alexa-like, whom I’ve come to like.

Then, in the current situation, the curiosity could not help but be different.

“But how on earth did its importance increase?”

How about Alexa, who just plays an extra character and has no acting experience?

······And after hearing Julia’s explanation, I was speechless.

Well, what can I say? It was a very guy-like method.

Since you said you had a shoot today, I’ll pick you up after work.

‘Oh, since it’s been a while since we met, I thought I’d buy some flowers too.’

A pretty flower that resembles Alexa.

***

Before she started acting, or rather, before she was on camera as an actress, Alexa never realized how hard it was to film a drama.

Among them, the part that I feel the most at the moment is the awareness of ‘cut’.

Television dramas and movies are composed by dividing scenes into several cuts for the sake of story, theme, direction, or context. For example, some works are composed of long cuts, while others are divided into short, small pieces.

It tends to vary depending on the director’s tendencies, but Jeremy Thompson, the producer currently in charge of producing the ‘About T’ series, tends to try to make the cuts as long as possible.

It was meant to describe the leisurely and peaceful atmosphere of school days.

Although Alexa wasn’t the type to take multiple takes for her parts, she always stayed on set until the end to watch the other actors’ performances, so this was something that could be known.

So everyone repeated the same act over and over again, and each time they showed great acting.

In front of him, Alexa thought.

‘I feel really, really lucky, really fantastic, to have been cast in this role.’

Everyone was really professional.

Not only while filming, but also while the director and producer were constantly talking to each other in between, the actors playing Tony and Alice were constantly replenishing moisture and fixing their makeup to control their emotions, which seemed like a great achievement to her.

A studio inside Hollywood, where industry professionals are working hard today.

It turned out that way because we were planning to film the school scene according to schedule.

The Hollywood studios, which took decades to build, were environments of truly enormous scale. Beyond one wall was a modern high school turned Western saloon, and beyond the next wall was a jungle.

Alexa, who had always watched the scene from beyond the screen, realized one thing only after coming here.

It is definitely not a place to be taken lightly.

Beyond the joy of appearing in God’s work, now feeling the responsibility and gravity of the industry, Alexa did not run away and gave it her all.

However, because she was always nervous, Alexa would calm herself down by doing some simple cheerleading moves in the corner before filming began.

······And then, just recently, I ended up getting caught by the screenwriter who adapted that image.

Actually, I didn’t tell God, but it happened while we were filming the pilot episode.

[Did you cheerlead?]

Alexa nodded, looking very nervous.

Then, an assistant director came out from next to her and explained. She was a friend who won the national competition last year and graduated. When the writer heard that, he realized who Alexa was and nodded his head, saying, “Ah~.” Then, he suddenly stared at her face so intently that it seemed a bit rude, and then he said this with a serious expression.

[No, dear. Isn’t she so pretty?]

And at her gesture, someone from the wardrobe department came over and put on the glasses.

The writer smiled and said, “Hmm~.” and went back, and the filming of Alexa’s pilot episode was completed without a hitch.

······Then, at the place where the filming contract for this series was signed, I heard this.

[Your weight has increased.]

[······yes?]

I never imagined that one incident would have such a butterfly effect.

Alexa’s character, who had simply borrowed books from the library, was elevated to the point where she found the relationship between ‘Alice’ and ‘Tony’ fascinating and occasionally appeared to recite lines about it.

Another change was that word of the cheerleading moves had spread among the people at California Pictures, and at some point, producers and cinematographers began to come up to them and playfully ask them to do some crazy dance moves to wake everyone up.

So, the diligent Alexa diligently showed off skills she had learned in high school, such as ‘Double Blizzard Hurricane’ and ‘Fire Phoenix Rain Storm’.

······For your information, all the technical names were created by other coaches before Mrs. Harvey. And the students hated using those names even if they died.

[Oh!]

[This is no joke!]

Anyway, every time, the atmosphere on set became more cheerful······.

Before I knew it, I had come to my senses and found myself in this situation.

“Bye, Alexa!”

“See you tomorrow! Come practice your acting more!”

“Yes! Everyone, please be careful on your way in······!”

Alexa smiled cheerfully and waved to each and every staff member who came to greet her.

And I thought.

‘······I don’t know why it turned out like this.’

Seriously, why on earth!

End

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