Roberts-Patriot Games

Family is a huge theme within the movie Patriot Games. There are several different types of families within the movie, some conventional while others not so much. First there is Jack Ryan's family which is a standard nuclear family and in the same vein there is Lt. Robby Jackson's (Samuel L Jackson) family. Then there are a series of several other organizational families. The first is the offshoot of the IRA who are considered a family although they turn very quickly if they suspect betrayal. The CIA, which could be considered Jack Ryan's second family, is another one and much like the IRA it is extremely exclusive but does not turn to violence like the IRA does.

Two families in the film are crucial in creating plot points and driving the plot along. These two families are Jack Ryan's family as well as the terrorist-like IRA group. At the beginning of the film Jack Ryan protects his family and ends up killing Sean Miller's, part of the IRA, younger brother. Miller is understandably angry as family, especially blood relatives, are very important and makes an effort to get revenge by somehow hurting Ryan's wife and daughter. Miller's true act of revenge happens at the mid act climax where he causes Ryan's wife and daughter to get into a potential life threatening car crash. They are not killed but the safety of Ryan's family has once again been threatened. The theme of the threatened family appears again and again throughout the film and not just between Ryan and the IRA. Protection of the family is extremely important for all groups involved and acts as a device to move the plot along.

Roberts-Presumed Innocent

After the trial Sabich is no longer convicted of killing Carolyn so he resumes his semi-normal routine. It is during his return to normalcy that he discovers that his wife is the true murderer of Carolyn. The murder weapon is found among the tools he is using to fix his fence and when his wife returns home that evening he silently confronts her about it. He doesn't need to say a single word his wife knows and details her entire murder plan.
This scene is pivotal because Rusty Sabich has felt guilt throughout the film, but not guilt for killing Carolyn rather guilt for having an affair with her earlier on. It is in this moment that his guilt truly manifests itself . Because of his affair his wife felt the need to "destroy the destroyer," or kill Carolyn, the woman who "bewitched" his husband. Rusty feels like his initial affair set off a chain of events that led up to Carolyn's death. He is not directly guilty of the crime, like his wife is, but he feels guilt for ultimately causing it.

Robert-Witness and Mosquito Coast

The scene in Witness where Samuel and his grandfather are talking about Book's gun is extremely important. While sitting on the bed his grandfather tells him about how one should never take the life of another. He is playing a patriarchal role, since Samuel's father is dead, and showing Samuel right from wrong. However, since Samuel has witnessed what violence can do he no longer sees things the way that his grandfather does. He agrees that he would never take the life of anyone unless they were a "bad man." He surpasses the knowledge of his grandfather because he has seen this sort of violence while his grandfather probably hasn't.

The first lines in Mosquito Coast are Charlie speaking about his father, "I grew up with the belief that the world belonged to him, and that everything he said was true." He has much respect for Allie, his father, and never argues with what he has to say. As the movie progresses, however, it's obvious that Charlie's trust in Allie wavers as his claims and actions become more outrageous. The scene in which Charlie's view of his father is forever changed is when they use the ice machine to kill three men who have come, unwelcome, into Allie's jungle town. The climax of this is scene is the ultimate explosion of the machine which destroys both Allie's prized invention as well as the village. Charlie looks at his father, as the fire eats up "Fat Boy," the ice machine, and no longer sees the father he had while they're were in America. In this scene Allie looks maniacal yelling out in anguish as his invention burns in the distance.

Roberts-Temple of Doom

In the beginning Indiana is approached by a small village for help when one of their shrine stones goes missing. They believe that he was sent to them from Shiva to return it to them. Indiana is apprehensive and faithless until he realizes that the stone may be a Sankara stone which if retrieved would promise fortune and glory. His journey for the stone is not to help the village but to advance himself. Fast forward to the end. Indiana has drunk the blood of Kali, been rescued by Shorty, and now the original trio are trying to make their escape across a flimsy rope bridge. This is where Indiana's Apotheosis occurs.
Originally doubting the faith of the villagers from before Indiana now invokes the power of Shiva in order to defeat the villain. He no longer seems worried about his original goal of fortune and glory and instead threatens to dispose of the stones when Willie and Shorty's lives are threatened. Finally he is not upset when two of the three stones are lost to the crocodiles below. He has the one that was needed for the village's shrine. He returns it to the village and concludes his journey.

Roberts-Leia's Role in Return of the Jedi

Within Joseph Campbell's monomyth it is custom for the hero to come into contact with both a goddess and a temptress at some point in his journey. In Star Wars Return of the Jedi Princess Leia acts as both a goddess and a temptress to our hero Luke.
The goddess traditionally "gives purpose and meaning" to the hero's journey and shares a special bond with him as well. In Return of the Jedi Luke returns to Dagobah to visit the dying Yoda and is visited by Obi Wan's apparition who reveals that Leia is in fact Luke's sister. She, like Luke, is also able to use the force, however, the audience has not seen her do so. The two now share a familial bond which make their previous kiss in The Empire Strikes Back a little more uncomfortable but secures her a spot as Luke's goddess. He even acts out, in an un-Jedi like manner, when Vadar threatens to turn Leia to the dark side.
The scene on Endor where Luke tells Leia that she is her brother is the same scene in which she acts like Campbell's described temptress. The temptress tries to get the hero to stray from his journey. Luke decides that he needs to face Vadar once more but Leia tries to keep him from going. This meeting with Vadar would ultimately complete Luke's journey. Luckily, Luke chooses to go instead despite the warnings from Leia.