Our Fascination with Descents

Descents are everywhere. From Hercules and Orpheus venturing into Hades, to Harry Potter following the pipes down into the Chamber of Secrets, to the Sheriff and Joyce Byers frantically searching for Will in the Upside Down (in the Netflix series Stranger Things), we want our heroes to descend into the underworld, defeat the enemy, and rescue their loved ones.

We want Maui to enter the Realm of Monsters and defeat Tamatoa in the Disney film Moana. We love seeing Doctor Strange enter the Dark Dimension, experience death ad infinitum, and thereby trick and defeat Mordo at the end of the…