All We Want is Life Beyond the Thunderdome
In her 1985 hit song, We Don’t Need Another Hero, musician Tina Turner sang, “All we want is life beyond the Thunderdome.”[1] This anti-love song is about a woman who desperately yearned for “freedom beyond the ragged dystopia”[2] of her oppressed and loveless marriage. She finally sought and found independence and encouraged others to stand up for a better future.
Born Anna Mae Bullock, Tina was ten years old in 1949 when Joseph Campbell’s original edition, The Hero with A Thousand Faces, was published. In it, Campbell describes mythological and cultural parallels found across the globe. While people don’t typically consider myths to be true, Campbell argues the opposite. “Myth is much more important and true than history. History is just journalism, and you know how reliable that is.”[3] His position implies that truth is a matter of interpretation rather than fact, an argument routinely held about Biblical stories.
I believe Campbell’s derived reasoning is more about identity. Who are we in a hero’s journey? Who are we in the story of Christ? “In the Bible, the stories of Jonah, Adam and Eve, Moses, Samson, and Jesus follow the hero’s journey structure as well,”[4] said essayist Bryce McDonald.
In The Hero with A Thousand Faces, Campbell’s comparative studies describe a monomyth lifecycle pattern: a series of steps one takes throughout life and living between ordinary and special worlds to reach one’s ultimate destiny. As told by Matthew Weber in What Makes a Hero, Tina Turner’s life followed that natural process of Campbell’s created monomyth. Only her story was true.
Raised in an ordinary, impoverished Tennessee home, Anna Mae responded to the call for adventure in a special world through her gift of singing. Along the way, she met and married Ike Turner, an abusive man whose selfish desire for fame served as both her unique guide and nemesis. She adopted Tina Turner as her moniker in 1960 and continued the warrior’s journey toward musical success one performance at a time while battling her husband’s jealous manipulation. Overcoming numerous crises fueled by greed and domestic violence, Tina eventually achieved her treasure of international stardom. In the result phase, Tina divorced Ike and forged a new life as an “even bigger solo star,”[5] a role she continued for many years until finally settling down and returning to the status quo stage with ambivalence about her journey. It was here that she remained until her death in May 2023.
I believe that Tina Turner’s primary weakness was giving away the power of agency bestowed upon her by Christ Jesus. She forgot her identity – a battle that many modern heroes face. Who are we? What do we believe and why? How do we know our belief is true? Plenty of rhetoric exists to argue either side.
For Joseph Campbell, growing up in the Catholic Church was part of his roots; however, those foundations began to crumble when early modernism arrived. The traditional Latin language that guided the familiar weekly sermons shifted. A new era was upon him, and Campbell felt it sucked away the theological soul of the religion, stripping it down to a mere science experiment.[6] As a result, he became frustrated and searched for life’s meaning and purpose elsewhere. The mysticism and intrigue of cultural tales captured his attention, and it was there that he found a new sense of passion. Shouldn’t we all be so passionate about our studies?
In today’s world, the modern hero must overcome the darkness to bring light to the lost so humanity can have hope again. Courage and resolve are crucial characteristics. But to be admired by others, one must show love above all else. “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends,” John 15:12-23.[7] This is how we will get to life beyond the Thunderdome.
[1] “Lyrics | Tina Turner | We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) [Extended Version],” accessed February 3, 2024, https://lyrics.lyricfind.com/lyrics/tina-turner-we-dont-need-another-hero-thunderdome-2.
[2] “1985: Tina Turner, ‘We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome),’” SIXTYEIGHT2OHFIVE, accessed February 2, 2024, https://www.68to05.com/essays/1985-tina-turner-we-dont-need-another-hero-thunderdome.
[3] Joseph Campbell, Bill D. Moyers, and Betty S. Flowers, The Power of Myth (California: Turtleback Books, 2012).
[4] Bryce McDonald, “Finding Christ in the Hero’s Journey,” The Harvard Ichthus (blog), March 26, 2020, https://harvardichthus.org/2020/03/finding-christ-in-the-heros-journey/.
[5] Eric Deggans, “Tina Turner’s Life Explored In New Documentary,” NPR, March 28, 2021, sec. TV Reviews, https://www.npr.org/2021/03/27/979683306/tina-turners-life-explored-in-new-documentary.
[6] Joel Pelsue, “Art & Dangerous Ideas Joseph Campbell,” Arts & Entertainment Ministries (blog), May 18, 2023, https://a-e-m.org/art-dangerous-ideas-joseph-campbell/.
[7] Katie Taylor, “30 Bible Verses about God’s Call to Love Others,” World Vision Advocacy (blog), August 30, 2019, https://live-advocacy.d2.worldvision.org/2019/08/30/30-bible-verses-about-gods-call-to-love-others/.
About the Author
Jennifer Eckert
Fundraising director, people connector, believer in second chances, fights poverty, supports justice reform, lives a life integrated with Matthew 25.10 responses to “All We Want is Life Beyond the Thunderdome”
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Hi Jennifer, thank you for your blog. I was intrigued by the through-line of Tina Turner’s life and am curious about how you came to it? Did you consider other examples and if so, what about Ms. Turner’s life so captivated you?
Hi Julie, thanks for reading it. I did consider numerous other subjects, especially Bible figures, but I felt the survivalist story of Tina Turner might present a unique angle in what heroism looks like. I recently saw her Broadway musical performance and was reminded of the hope-filled impact on so many women, especially women of color. Throughout her career highs and lows, she remained extremely humble and unmoved by the fame. I hope that answers your question.
Hi, Ms. Eckert, I like it when you mentioned that many modern heroes downfall is that they forget where they came from and the source of their success. It is so true these days. Thank you for the reminder and the lesson that is important in this journey. Thanks again.
Thank you, Noel, for taking time to read and comment.
Hi Jennifer, I hadn’t thought of Campbell’s book in quite the same way as you did so appreciate how you look at different people from scripture and see how their journey’s fit the monomyth journey. It is interesting to see the different perspectives as we read each other’s blogs. I wonder if there was anything in the examples you mentioned from scripture or Tina Turner that encourage or inspire you on your journey.
Thank you, Diane, for your question. Oddly, I thought a lot about the story of Samson and, at one point, tried to draw parallels between him and Tina Turner, but alas, my overthinking caused too many rabbit trails, and I needed to submit the work. However, the inspiration I found in both was the resilience following a season of weakness and temptation. It was the gumption to overcome by drawing on the inner strength of God. In Samson’s case, his resilience was not physical (he died), but rather his legacy, which, in many ways, seems stronger than any superhuman strength he held.
I think that often the posthumous stories of the hero are stronger than the person was in their days.
Jennifer, I really enjoyed your correlation of the monomyth with Tina Turner’s life as well as Campbell himself. I would love to hear what personal impact did these stories have on your monomyth?
Hi Kari, great question. I find connections in a couple of ways. One is the courage to seek adventure. For Anna Mae (Tina), it was to follow her love of music. For Joseph, it was his love for stories as they are told across the sphere of humanity. Both had the humility needed to receive guidance from helpers along the way and the strength to overcome life’s battles, large and small. The largest battles created the most significant threshold changes, which can be seen in their character. For me, it was overcoming the sense of rejection and grief following numerous suicides in my family, starting with my father when I was a pre-teen. While I am no hero in the popular sense, I do know the work of the enemy quite well, which has led me to a journey seeking Christ later in life, so I can know him even more.
Jennifer, thank you for highlighting the great Tina Turner! Growing up near Hollywood, I have often wondered why stardom can so easily destroy people. However, I keep going back to Camacho’s emphasis on the idea of clarity with God and self. Once we lose clarity, we are vulnerable to derailment.
There can be many voices shouting at us in our own Hero’s Journey, external and internal. I would love to know which of God’s promises keep you on course and purpose-driven in your journey.
Elysse, what a great question! God promises all of us that he will not leave or forsake us. When we are in the valley, he is in the valley. When we are on the mountaintop, he is there alongside us. I see him in so many things and people that I can’t deny his existence and work in my life. Still, as a newish Christian, I seek to learn/understand/relearn what God tells us about himself and his nature. There are moments of doubt like everyone has, but if I look at the breadcrumbs of my life, he was way more present than I could have imagined. I often feel very small in God’s enormous embrace. I hope you do too.