 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.