He grew up on the streets of a tough town, learning how to scratch his way through life with wit, charisma, and a devil-may-care attitude that belied his deep feelings. He'd do anything to get back the one woman who knew and loved him, and if such a thing as friendship really existed, it was a bond of survival and lifelong trust-- two things never easily gained. What was family? What was comfort? What was rest? He'd never known them, so instead he accepted the role he was given: the rogue.
Han Solo was a NOMAD.
GENERATIONAL ARCHETYPES
In the words of the Oxford Conscise Dictionary of Literary Terms (2004), an archetype is "a symbol, theme, setting, or character-type that recurs in different times and places in myth, literature, folklore, dreams, and rituals so frequently or prominently as to suggest (to certain speculative psychologists and critics) that it embodies some essential element of 'universal' human experience."
Archetypes are a shortcut of a kind, a cultural point of reference for certain characteristics in a person. Their inherent familiarity lends understanding and comfort to the audience; we know what roles we will see played out in the story, and our ability to relate to these characters will help us absorb the moral lesson we are about to be taught. Wamba will bestow reason in foolish form; Frodo will wrestle with the call to action; a Genie will promise mystic power at an unexpected price. We draw parallels to our own lives and examine ourselves, hoping for guidance at our own crossroads and crises.
With such promise of universal and almost mystical meaning, archetypes have had no shortage of study, from J. G. Frazer to Carl Jung. However, one of the most popular distillations is Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces. In this book, Campbell provides eight archetypes from classic literature: Hero, Mentor, Ally, Herald, Trickster, Shapeshifter, Guardian, Shadow. But is the interplay between these, or other archetypes, enough to create a compelling story? There must be more context to it. Few stories are a homogenous group of peers with no history and no future.
This is where the generational archetypes of HERO, NOMAD, ARTIST, PROPHET come in.
MY NAME IS EGO, AND I'M YOUR DAD*
In forming a story, a writer must first consider who and what the characters will be. Relationally, the age of the character will be younger than some and older than others. It's useful to think of this directionally: UP, DOWN, and SIDE-TO-SIDE. If you can identify the generational archetype that best fits your protagonist's personality, you can then determine authentic characteristics of the other characters with whom your protagonist would interact.
UP means looking at the way your character would interact with his or her elders. For a NOMAD generation protagonist, this might mean having a contentious or resentful relationship with his PROPHET parents or boss.
DOWN means considering the way your character would interact with his or her juniors. For a PROPHET generation protagonist, this could mean a difficult and dissociative relationship with NOMAD children.
SIDE-TO-SIDE means thinking of the way your character would interact with his or her peers. For a HERO generation protagonist, this could mean a feeling of belonging with friends, a necessary connection that supersedes time and distance.
IT'S A GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL TOMORROW**
Every story also has a setting, which determines the when and how of the characters' actions. If you can determine your protagonist's generational archetype, you can also use the framework of the generational saeculum to predict his or her reaction to the setting. UP, DOWN, and SIDE-TO-SIDE are helpful directions regarding time and sentiment.
UP means looking at the way your character views the future. For a HERO generation protagonist, this means optimism, looking forward to a better (albeit vague) tomorrow after the great Crisis Era is past.
DOWN means considering the way your character views the past (personally and historically). For an ARTIST generation protagonist, this means looking on one's youth with mixed feelings of appreciation and regret for adventures that have been missed.
SIDE-TO-SIDE means thinking of the way your character views the present. For a NOMAD generation protagonist, this means survival and self-sacrifice in a Crisis Era while seeding hope in the subsequent generations.
Now, a confession: I tried to find films to illustrate each one of these examples. Unfortunately, the reigning sentiment of the day (and wildly fluctuating definitions of PG/PG-13 over the decades) has meant it's extremely difficult to find "clean" or appropriate films to list here. So I'll do my best with these four coming-of-age films for each generational archetype***. Notice how each one emphasizes a different generational attitude.
PROPHET: The Parent Trap (1961) is about a pair of separated-at-birth teenage twins who bully, then befriend each other and scheme to bring their divorced parents back together.
NOMAD: The Goonies (1985) is about a group of teen and preteen kids who undergo a dangerous adventure in search of pirate gold to save their family homes.
HERO: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) is about the sustaining bond of friendship between four teenage girls over their first separated summer.
ARTIST: Luca (2021) is about about a sea-monster boy who expands his personal horizon with new friends who bridge the divide between their disparate cultures.
In the end, maybe there are no real shortcuts in writing. Creative work is hard, and often unappreciated in its consumption. However, if the framework of the generational saeculum is even a little bit helpful to you as a writer, I'll rest contentedly. Until I have to start writing my own stories again.
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* The Celestial Ego to Peter Quill in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), a film that explores the fraught tensions of younger Generation X (NOMAD) adult children towards their absent or abusive parents.
** Walt Disney explains the theme behind the Carousel of Progress at the GE Pavilion of the 1964 New York World's Fair, putting a name on the G.I. (HERO) vision of the future.
*** As always, I recommend personal discretion in consuming any media. Do your research on ratings and content to decide what you're comfortable watching.