Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters. This is the template you must master if you are to succeed in the craft.
[The terminology is most often metaphoric and applies to all successful stories and screenplays, from The Godfather (1972) to Brokeback Mountain (2006) to Annie Hall (1977) to Lord of the Rings (2003) to Drugstore Cowboy (1989) to Thelma and Louise (1991) to Apocaplyse Now (1979)].
THERE IS ONLY ONE STORY
THE HERO'S JOURNEY:
a) Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.
b) Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.
c) Gives you a tangible process for building and releasing dissonance (establishing and achieving catharses, of which there are usually four).
d) Gives you a universal structural template upon which you can superimpose your situational story. This is why stories such as Alien (1979), Gladiator (2000), Midnight Cowboy (1969), American Beauty (1999), The Graduate (1967) and many others (all deconstructed at the URL below) appear to be different but are all constructed, almost sequence by sequence, in the same way.
and more...
HERO'S JOURNEY TIP OF THE DAY: EVERY HERO UNDERGOES A TRANSFORMATION IN THE FIRST THRESHOLD
Whilst Transformation is the essence of the whole story and can be traced back to the Original State of Perfection and right up to the Afterlife Act, a significant change occurs in the First Threshold.
In The Godfather (1972), before entering the First Threshold, Michael Corleone is having fun with Kay in a hotel, plans to marry her, wants nothing to do with The Family business and is safe because the other Families know he is a "civilian." Upon departure of the First Threshold, he is prepared to kill a police Captain, incite a war between the Families, will be hunted by the other Families and will voluntarily leave Kay behind and disappear to Sicily (where he will further follow the traditional path by marrying a Sicilian).
In Spartacus (1960), Spartacus enters the training camp and is taught by Marcellus. By the time he leaves, he is able to defeat him.
In The Matrix (1999), when Neo enters the Nebuchadnezzar he is a Fish out of Water. By the time he leaves, he has mastered a number of martial arts and is keen to defeat Morpheus.
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Go to http://www.clickok.co.uk/index4.html for more info on the 510+ stage Hero's Journey....
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