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 involves a number of major phases, including:
a) The arrival from Another World into an Ordinary World.
b) The Ordinary Self, that has come about as a result of being in the Ordinary World.
c) The encouragement from the Ordinary World into a New World.
d) The gradual dissolution of the Old Self.
e) The becoming of the New Self.
f) The thrusting away from the New Self and New World.
g) The confrontation with challenges.
h) The mastering of the Old and New Worlds and Selves.
more…
(simply go to heros-journey.info/ heros-journey.info/ for full details)
ABRIDGED TIPS, EXCERPTS AND EXAMPLES:
EXILE, ORDINARY WORLD AND ORDINARY SELF
It is common to make explicit the Ordinary World. This is a benchmark of the physical journey. It is the start point against which the end point will be measured. The Hero will eventually return to this (In Lord of the Rings (2004), Frodo returns to the Shire) or move away from it (In Alien (1979), Ripley never again returns to that world she knew, in which the Alien is not present).
It is also common to make explicit the Ordinary Self. This is a benchmark of the psychological journey - the Transformation. Again, it is the psychological start point against which the end psychological state will be measured - the movement from the Ordinary Self to the New Self. For example, in Annie Hall (1977), Annie moves from shy and dependent in New York to confident and independent in Los Angeles.
It is also common simply to thrust the Hero into a New World (Platoon (Academy Award Best Film, 1986); Dead Poets Society (Academy Award Nominee Best Film, 1989)), where the difference between the Hero’s Old and New Worlds and Old and New Selves are made explicit or referred to. Terminology such as “Fish out of Water” and “Newbie″ are usual.
Learn more…
WRITE THAT SCREENPLAY!
The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and other story structure templates can be found at monomyth.info/ monomyth.info/
188 stages of the Hero’s Journey can also be reached from story-structure.org/ story-structure.org/
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Kal Bishop, MBA