FORWARD
The 188 stage Hero's Journey (Monomyth) is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. In fact, ALL of the hundreds of Hollywood movies we have deconstructed (see URL below) are based on this 188+ stage template.
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 188 STAGE 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) Tells you what to write. For example, at a certain stage of the story, the focus should be on the Call to Adventure and the micro elements within.
ABRIDGED TIPS, EXCERPTS AND EXAMPLES:
(simply go to heros-journey.info for full details)
*****Exile*****
Sometimes the Hero is simply banished or exiled from his Old World and arrives in a New World in which he will undergo his Transformation. In Platoon (1986), Taylor simply arrives in Vietnam. In Dead Poets Society (1989), the boys simply are at their new school.
In such situations, it is made explicit that the Hero is a Fish out of Water. In Platoon (1986), Taylor arrives as a rookie. In Dead Poets Society (1989), it is the first day of school.
*****Inner Resolve*****
With the coming of the Inner Resolve, the Hero says goodbye to his Old Self and the Old World. In Brokeback Mountain (2005), Ennis drives away and this will be the last time they see each other.
Learn more
WRITE THAT SCREENPLAY!
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Kal Bishop, MBA
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