Cataleya From The Film Columbiana - Essay Example

Cataleya From The Film ColumbianaMy hero is Cataleya from the film Columbiana. At a tender age, she witnesses the brutal murder of her father by Marco, who was Don Luis Sandoval’s henchman. Fabio Restrepo, Cataleya’s father had crucial information about the drug lord Don Luis Sandoval, and when Sandoval learns about this, he sends Marco to kill him. Before his murder, Fabio gives the information to Cataleya, telling her that it was her passport. He subsequently gave her directions to her uncle Emiliano, a criminal who lived in Chicago.

Through the American embassy, Cataleya found her way to her uncle, and swore to revenge her father’s murder and personally deal with the criminals. Fifteen years later, as a ground up young woman, she receives extensive training on fighting and defence tactics. By this act, she portrayed a hero’s characteristic of undergoing trials and tests to test her courage, the knowledge, and the capacity to survive. With bitter memories of her parent’s death, she becomes a merciless killer who does not care the extent she was likely to go in finding the murders of her parents.

She eventually t6racks them down and kill all of them, including their leader Sandoval.Cataleya exemplifies several of Campbell’s characteristics of a hero. Campbell states that a hero is somebody who something has been taken from him or her (Campbell, 1988). To Cataleya, her parents, who meant everything to her, were brutally murdered and this was the basis of her revenge mission.A hero, according to Campbell (1988) performs a courageous act, either physical or spiritual. Cataleya, choosing to avenge her parents’ murder showed her act of courage.

Despite the various discouragements from a number of people, she was determined to accomplish her mission. The revenge mission was not an easy one. Cataleya remained strong regardless of the challenges she met. At one point, when pursuing the murderers, she felt like giving up but remained strong and committed. Lord Luis Sandoval was a much respected man in the drug world, and nobody ever thought of going against him. The police themselves had been unable to arrest him. However, Cataleya single handed killed him and his team.

A hero's journey usually consists of a departure, a fulfilment, and a return (Campbell, 1988). Cataleya left her home and went to her uncle in Chicago. She fulfilled her mission of revenge and returned to her home to live in peace. A hero also has to achieve something, and to her, the murder of Lord Luis Sandoval was her achievement. ReferenceCampbell, J., & Moyers, B. D. (1988). The power of myth. New York: Doubleday.