Hero's Journey of Lotte Mullan and her anti-bullying anthem

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Congratulations to Lotte Mullan from Norwich in the United Kingdom. Lotte, using the vehicle of her anti-bullying anthem, is taking a strong stand against bullying. Read the story of her hero’s journey.

Introduction

Joseph Campbell, the author of “The Hero with a Thousand Faces,” teaches the process of taking a hero’s journey. Many books, movies, and other projects have been based on this journey. I based a large part of my conflict resolution curriculum called the 3 C’s: Conflict Resolution, Character Education, and Communication Skills on the hero’s journey approach.

As I discover schools, organizations, and people taking a stand against bullying, we will learn more about their particular hero’s journey.

     The 5 W’s of the Ordinary World

Who: Lotte Mullan

Where: Based in London, touring around the UK

When: Free download of her song from Oct. 5-19, 2009. Lotte just wrapped up her 50-school tour throughout the UK.

What: Anti-bullying anthem called “Alright With Me”

Why: Lotte wrote this anti-bullying anthem after finding out that her 9-year-old sister was suffering from continual bullying at school. Lotte says she wrote this song because she wants to inspire confidence in her sister and others.

     Call to Adventure

On any hero’s journey, a Call to Adventure or a Call to Action is issued. Naturally, the hero has two choices. He or she or they can accept their Call to Adventure and embark on their hero’s journey. Or they can attempt to refuse the Call to Adventure.

Sometimes, whether they want to or not, a hero is forced into going on this journey anyway. A reporter for the Enfield Independent in the UK quotes Lotte: “At school I was a complete misfit and I remember doing everything possible to blend in. I really didn’t fit in and my school days were miserable.” So at that time, Lotte refused her Call to Adventure to speak out and take a stand against bullying as she felt ill-equipped.

Around the age of 25, she came home to visit her family. When she found out that her own sister, age 9, was getting seriously bullied at school, Lotte realized that she could no longer refuse this Call to Adventure. Listen to Lotte speak about this part of her hero’s journey on this YouTube video:

YouTube video - ‘Alright With Me’ explained – Lotte Mullan

     Cross First Threshold

One of the ways that Lotte is working to make certain that other young people get over the threshold of being better prepared to deal with bullying is through the vehicle of a great sing-along song that helps the listener to have increased self-esteem and self-acceptance. Some examples from her lyrics that she posted on YouTube include:

* “I don’t buy your lines I ain’t got time and there’s a smile on my face.”

* “I’m beautiful and I’m perfect from my head down to my feet. I’m everything I wanna be. The package came complete. Mother nature made me the way I’m meant to be. I’m beautiful and I’m perfect. I’m alright with me.”

Listen to this catchy song and see if you don’t feel better about you.

YouTube video – Lotte Mullan – Alright With Me

     Approach to the Inmost Cave

Lotte works to arm students on her 50-school tour and the others who connect with her through YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, to approach the Inmost Cave with increased self-confidence.

Reporter Rob Garratt from the Norwich Evening news 24 shares some background information on Lotte. Lotte works in London as a musician. Her family lives in Taverham, her former home. “Her father is humanities and art teacher John Allerhand, while her brother Max is a popular DJ on the Norwich nightlife scene, better known as DJ Bogart.” She has two younger sisters, one of whom inspired this song.

He quotes Lotte: “I wasn’t that popular at school and didn’t have much confidence to do things and I want to just tell kids to give it a go and find something they enjoy.”

     Supreme Ordeal

Being bullied is a Supreme Ordeal for any child. The next worst thing is to be a bystander or witness of this bullying. On Lotte Mullan’s MySpace page, she urges, “One of the main things with any kind of bullying is to encourage people to speak out and not keep the issue to themselves but it is tricky … . Bullying can occur in mainly places from school to the home and anywhere in between and some people don’t feel they have anyone to talk to about these issues.”

To help others survive the Supreme Ordeal of being bullied, Lotte provides links to two charities that can help residents of the UK:

1. Childline.org.uk – Lotte says, “With Childline, you can phone and the call won’t come up on a bill or anything so it’s completely anonymous.”

2. Act Against Bullying.org – Lotte says, “The ‘act against bullying’ is part of a ‘cool to be kind’ initiative which encourages kids to act in a positive way and explores the issue in some depth.”

Visit Lotte’s MySpace page to see some other cool videos by her.

     The Road Back

The part of the Hero’s Journey known as “The Road Back” might make you feel that the danger is over and there is no longer a need to be vigilant or concerned. According to Joseph Campbell, there are still dangers to be faced. This is not a time to relax your guard.

So what is Lotte doing to help others on their Road Back? She allows you to connect with her in a variety of ways:

YouTube – In addition to the two videos posted in this article, you can also watch:
Lotte Mullan Tour Diary, Part 1
Lotte Mullan Tour Diary, Part 2

Additionally, you can connect with her through her Twitter page and her Facebook page.
Follow Lotte on Twitter
Request to become Lotte’s Facebook friend

     Resurrection & Return with the Elixir

It is too soon to know how the hero’s journey of Lotte Mullan and her anti-bullying anthem will end. Lotte gives her listeners a wonderful tool to help defuse the sting of bullying. A reporter from the Chichester Observer in the UK states, “The key point for Lotte is that it isn’t a dreary song about how miserable it is to be bullied; it’s a cheery track  - ‘quite simple and a bit nursery-rhymish’ – underlining self-esteem and confidence as ways to deal with it.”

What is the Resurrection of Lotte’s particular Hero’s Journey? It is the resurrection of hope. Lotte observed her younger sister had “lost her confidence. She didn’t want to go to school. … She had put on weight and she didn’t really want to talk. … She’s quite hesitant before she says something.”

Lotte is doing her part to help her younger sister and all her listeners get that Resurrection of hope back. She states, “It all comes back to confidence and self-esteem, the first things the victims of bullying will lose – and the things the victim must get back.”

Get the free download to her song or listen to it above. See if it perhaps will inspire a resurrection of hope within you as well.

Resources:

Singer to perform anti-bullying song at schools by staff writer for Enfield Independent in the UK. Posted 11-Sep-2009.

Hear singer’s anti-bullying anthem – and download for free by Rob Garratt, on Norwich Evening News 24. Posted 10 Oct. 2009.

Tour: Singer-songwriter Lotte Mullan in Worthing by a staff reporter for the Chichester Observer posted on 10 Sep, 2009.

One to watch: Lotte Mullan posted on SugarScape on 16 Sep 09.

YouTube video - ‘Alright With Me’ explained – Lotte Mullan

YouTube video – Lotte Mullan – Alright With Me

The Hero with a Thousand Faces (first published in 1949) by Joseph Campbell