Story Paradigms: Hero's Journey, Post-Aristotelian, Dramatica
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Hero’s Journey Post-Aristotelian Dramatica Theory Story Paradigm A system to help authors create stories. Narrative Theory Checklist Hero's Journey Joseph Campbell – 1904-1987 – Myths Gerpge Lucas – 1944-? – Implementer Christopher Vogler – Hollywood John Truby – Modernize Post-Aristotelian Lajos Egri – 1888-1967 – Founder Syd Field – ~1940-? – Modernizer Robert McKee – 1941-? – Hack Michael Hauge – ~1950-? – Hack Dramatica Theory Chris Huntley – ~1960-? – Founder Melanie Anne Phillips – ~1960-? – Tag-along Jim Hull - ~1970-? – Analyst Progress Reflection Hands: Which of these three story paradigms have you heard of before? Which proponents? Post-Its: What questions are you anticipating already? Hero’s Journey Joseph Campbell George Lucas Christopher Vogler John Truby Discussion Hero’s Journey Joseph Campbell George Lucas Christopher Vogler John Truby Discussion Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) Comparative mythology The fundamental structure of ancient myths. Compare scenes … …of old stories. The Monomyth Prometheus Odysseus Penelope The Buddha The old stories are all the same. Osiris Telemachus Jesus Christ The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949) The Hero with a Thousand Faces “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.” Two Sections Stages: Universal scenes, naturally leading from one to the other. Archetypes: Jungian characters, universally recognized across humanity. Seventeen Stages The Monomyth again In your handouts J. J. Abrams (1966-?) Lost The final season DVD discusses Campbell. Abrams repeatedly quotes Joseph Campbell, and tells how each character is a hero in their own way. Video About the Monomyth and LOST. We’ll Repeat the Stages For lack of time, we will not go into detail. To study the original 17 stages, We will repeat with Christopher Vogler’s 12-stage version. go to ‘Monomyth’ on Wikipedia. Others Confirm Prometheus Odysseus Penelope The Buddha Other scholars test the Monomyth. Osiris Telemachus Jesus Christ Reflection Post-Its in pairs: Name stories that follow the pattern. Hero’s Journey Joseph Campbell George Lucas Christopher Vogler John Truby Discussion George Lucas (1944-?) Star Wars “… it came to me that there really was no modern use of mythology … and I started reading Joe’s … The Hero with a Thousand Faces. I began to realize that my first draft of Star Wars was following classic motifs … so I modified my next draft …” Video About the Monomyth and Star Wars. The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949) Two Sections Stages: Universal scenes, naturally leading from one to the other. Archetypes: Jungian characters, universally recognized across humanity. Archetypes Quick to identify Archetypes are recurring patterns of human behavior. They are symbolized by standard types of characters. Stereotype Hero Heroes are the central figures in stories. Everyone is the hero of his or her own myth. Herald Heralds bring the Call to Adventure. Could be a person or an event. Mentor The Supernatural World is new and difficult. Mentors guide the hero. It is a person, or sometimes a principle. Threshold Guardian Threshold Guardians stand in the way at important turning points. The first comes in the Crossing the Threshold stage. Includes jealous enemies and professional gatekeepers, and the Hero’s own fears and doubts. Shadow Shadows are the villains and enemies. It might be the enemy within. They represent the repressed possibilities of the hero. His or her potential for evil. Or repressed grief, anger, frustration, or creativity. Something dangerous if it doesn’t have an outlet. Shapeshifter Shapeshifters represent change. The way other people keep changing. Or how the Hero’s perceptions of them change. Often of the opposite sex. Sometimes two-faced. Sometimes literally a shapeshifer, like a vampire or a werewolf. Trickster Tricksters are clowns and mischief-makers. They represent our the Hero’s own mischievous subconscious. They urge the Hero to change. They provide relief during tense action. And More From Jung Joseph Campbell suggested more archetypes. And more items and relationships. To read more, look up Carl Jung. Other Mythic Elements Star Wars The Matrix Harry Potter Morpheus Hagrid/Dumbledore The Oracle Sybill Trelawney The Mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi The Oracle Yoda The Prophecy Luke will overthrow the emperor Morpheus will find the One Harry will have the power to vanquish the Dark Lord Trickster C3PO Mouse Fred & George Han The Herald R2-D2 Punky friends invite Neo to the party Letters Failed Hero Biggs Cypher Lord Voldemort Wearing Enemy's Skin Luke and Han wear stormtrooper outfits Neo jumps into agent's skin - Shapeshifter Han Solo Cypher Snape Animal familiar R2-D2 - Hedwig Chasing a lone animal into the enxhanted wood Luke follows R2-D2 into the Jundland Wastes Neo "follows the white rabbit" to the nightclub - The Power of Myth (1988) The Power of Myth Documentary on the Monomyth and Star Wars Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers Filmed at Skywalker Ranch The Mythology of Star Wars (1999) The Mythology of Star Wars Bill Moyers and George Lucas Follow-up to ‘The Power of Myth’ Reflection Common discussion: Who is the first Threshold Guardian in a favorite movie of yours. Who is the Mentor in the Matrix? Two-and-two: Can you already see something good with the Monomyth? Something bad? Two Champions Christopher Vogler John Truby Movie-centric Author-centric Practical Theoretical 12 stages 22 stages Hero’s Journey Joseph Campbell George Lucas Christopher Vogler John Truby Discussion Christopher Vogler (1949-?) Screenwriter A Hollywood screenwriter who read Joseph Campbell. And then saw Star Wars. The Monomyth Prometheus Odysseus Penelope The Buddha Both old and new stories follow the pattern. Osiris Telemachus Jesus Christ The 7-page memo A Practical Guide to The Hero With a Thousand Faces Summarized Campbell's work. Made it practical for Hollywood. Reduced the Monomyth to 12 useful stages. Legendary Vogler’s memo is one of the most influential, legendary memos in the history of Hollywood. Vogler’s Disney Movies The Lion King Aladdin Beauty and the Beast The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers (1992) The Hero’s Outer Journey The Hero’s Inner Journey Script Consultant Vogler became a script consultant. Movies Indiana Jones The Matrix Batman Avatar Video Vogler on the Monomyth and the Matrix. Books The Da Vinci Code Richard Adams Watership Down J. K. Rowling Harry Potter Dan Brown Harry Potter and Star Wars Even many Internet memes are based on the Monomyth. Orson Scott Card (1951-?) Ender’s Game Michael Collings ‘The Leading Edge: Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy Vol. 16’ Ender Wiggins fulfills all stages of the Hero’s Journey. The Monomyth Applied Spock Jaws Prometheus Rocky Odysseus The Neverending Story Penelope Monsters Inc The Buddha Vogler mostly works with Hollywood. Wall-E Osiris Dawnbreakers Scott Pilgrim Jesus Christ Spongebob Squarepants Telemachus Kick-Ass Neil Gaiman (1960-?) Gaiman Objects “I think I got about half way through The Hero with a Thousand Faces and found myself thinking ‘if this is true — I don’t want to know.’ “I really would rather not know this stuff. I’d rather do it because it’s true and because I accidentally wind up creating something that falls into this pattern than be told what the pattern is.” Reflection Post-Its in pairs: Match Monomyth stages to Avatar scenes. Open discussion: Does knowing the Monomyth detract from stories? Hero’s Journey Joseph Campbell George Lucas Christopher Vogler John Truby Discussion John Truby (~1950-?) John Truby’ Background John Truby is a screenwriter, director and screenwriting teacher. He has consulted on over 1,000 film scripts over the past three decades. He sells the screenwriting software program Blockbuster (originally “Storyline Pro”) Hack? John Truby has not written anything himself. The All-American Boy (1973) Students Sleepless in Seattle John Truby’s Argument Others emphasize the inner transformation of the characters. John Truby emphasizes the moral effect their actions have on others. The Anatomy of a Story 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller (2007) 22 Building Blocks A more open, modern Monomyth Wrong Subtitle The book contains 22 scenes, not steps. It does contain nine steps, though. Step 1 Create your premise: State your story idea in a single sentence. This may take several hours to perfect. Step 2 Use the seven key steps of story structure: Weakness and need Desire Opponent Plan Battle Self-Revelation New Equilibrium Step 3 Create your characters: Create characters from your premise. Step 4 Outline the moral argument: What is the theme inherent in your premise? Step 5 Create the story world: Create the world as an outgrowth of your hero. Step 6 Create a web of symbols: Figure out symbols that highlight and communicate different aspects of the characters, the story world, and the plot. Step 7 Create your plot: Follow the 22 “steps” of the book's subtitle. Step 8 Create the scene weave: Before writing, list every scene in the story, and weave all plotlines and themes into a tapestry. Step 9 Scene construction and symphonic dialogue: Construct each scene to further the development of your hero. Truby’s Blockbuster software (1996) Video Introduction to Truby’s Blockbuster software. Randy Ingermanson (1958-?) The Snowflake Method bit.ly/18vCf6 Reflection Post-Its in pairs: The Monomyth exists in versions from three to several hundred scenes. Which version would help you? Open discussion: What tools do you use to overcome writer’s block? Hero’s Journey Joseph Campbell George Lucas Christopher Vogler John Truby Discussion Discussion Open discussion: How can you use the Monomyth in your stories? My view: The Monomyth is stale and not very useful. Except for fantastic spectacles. The Monomyth is bad Myth scholars doubt its validity. Feminists criticize its male bias. Hollywood sees diminishing returns. Writers doubt its usefulness to them. Scholars Doubt The Monomyth has no support in mythology. Scholars view generalizing claims with suspicion. Donald J. Consentino: ‘It is just as important to stress differences as similarities, to avoid creating a (Joseph) Campbell soup of myths that loses all local flavor.’ Hollywood Doubts The monomyth structure lacks originality. It leads to clichés. The characters are even called archetypes. Avatar got a thorough bashing. Video About the Monomyth and Avatar. Writers Doubt The Hero’s Journey was designed for ancient myths. It was never meant for modern stories. It fails to critically investigate or interpret narrative. David Brin (1950-?) Old Stories for Feudal Society It reflects cross-cultural historical similarities. Not some deeper human insight. The Monomyth is Evil Kings and priests used the Monomyth to justify tyranny. Until recently, storytellers depended on the oligarchy for their livelihood. The aristocracy punished irreverence. Set the Future Free Those historical factors have disappeared. Modern stories emerged. Science fiction is the antithesis of Campbell's monomyth. Star Wars on Trial (2006) Eight Charges The politics of Star Wars are anti-democratic and elitist. Women in Star Wars are portrayed as fundamentally weak. Star Wars has dumbed down the perception of science fiction in the popular imagination. While claiming mythic significance, Star Wars portrays no admirable religious or ethical beliefs. Star Wars pretends to be science fiction, but is really fantasy. The plot holes and logical gaps in Star Wars make it ill-suited for an intelligent viewer. Science fiction filmmaking has been reduced by Star Wars to poorly written special effects extravaganzas. Star Wars novels are poor subsitutes for real science fiction and are driving real SF off the shelves.
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