I was thinking about archetypes today and how pop entertainment is essentially just a different skin over the same set of bones. By way of example, I’ve created the following table:
| Archetypes in … | Lost | X-Men | Star Wars |
| Straight-arrow leader guy | Jack | Cyclops | Luke Skywalker |
| Rogue - always at odds with leader guy | Sawyer | Wolverine | Han Solo |
| Conflicted Female - torn between leader and rogue | Kate | Jean Gray | Princess Leia |
| Physically-awkward comic-relief guy (usually hairy) | Hurley | Beast | Chewbacca |
| Wizened old mentor guy (usually bald it seems) |
John Locke | Professor X | Obi-Wan Kenobi |
There’s actually a fairly deep discussion on archetypes in literature and how we’ve used them through the ages to pass on stories. One of the best ones is Chris Vogler’s Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers which talks about how many of the most popular mainstream movies are based on stories we’ve been retelling for centuries. My little table is just the tip of the iceberg, but hopefully it makes an interesting starting point.