Hero's Journey

[EddieLeonardo]

Lately, I have been coming up with several screenplays, several of which I believe will become "the next big hit". Of course, this is only what I believe, but hey, I should have some confidence in this, right?

Within the last few months I have been studying all types of writing modes (especially the 4 act structure) and have discovered the Hero's Journey.

When I compare all of my screenplays to the structure of the Hero's Journey they all fit within the parameters of this mode. I am not completely surprised, because I was writing toward some of what I feel are the best movies ever made.

One of my scripts involves a romantic comedy that I believe is a high concept screenplay that follows this hero's journey with only minor exceptions. (I am contemplating making the necessary changes to convert it into a complete hero's journey.)

I am asking, do you believe that following the Hero's Journey is something that should be done if possible?

Have I been missing out on this while others here are already doing this? (I could not find another topic on this)

Also, are there any movies that are blockbuster types, that do not follow this method in some form or another?

Thank you in advance,
Eddie

 

[directorik]

There is a huge misconception of what the "Hero's Journey" is - as defined by Joseph Campbell. It isn't a rule, or a method or something writers need to follow, it's more along the lines of you have already discovered. It's good story telling.

Campbell studied story telling and found that the stories that have withstood the test of time have many similarities. And this goes far beyond movies.

Broken down I can't imagine a story working that doesn't follow it: the main character learns and grows as the story progresses while making mistakes in the process. All stories that have withstood the test of time have that.

I have one hero's journey in mind that I really hate, that to me doesn't work at all, but the series is hugely popular. I'll hold off a bit because I don't want to derail what could be a great discussion on the journey.

 

[Unknown Screenwriter]

Monomyth Structure

Lately, I have been coming up with several screenplays, several of which I believe will become "the next big hit". Of course, this is only what I believe, but hey, I should have some confidence in this, right?

Within the last few months I have been studying all types of writing modes (especially the 4 act structure) and have discovered the Hero's Journey.

When I compare all of my screenplays to the structure of the Hero's Journey they all fit within the parameters of this mode. I am not completely surprised, because I was writing toward some of what I feel are the best movies ever made.

One of my scripts involves a romantic comedy that I believe is a high concept screenplay that follows this hero's journey with only minor exceptions. (I am contemplating making the necessary changes to convert it into a complete hero's journey.)

I am asking, do you believe that following the Hero's Journey is something that should be done if possible?

Have I been missing out on this while others here are already doing this? (I could not find another topic on this)

Also, are there any movies that are blockbuster types, that do not follow this method in some form or another?

Thank you in advance,
Eddie

Eddie,

Sorry for such a late reply to your post here but better late than never?

I'll try to keep this short but yeah... directorik is basically correct... i.e., GOOD STORYTELLING.

Why?

The Hero's Journey, or MONOMYTH STRUCTURE speaks to just about every one of us on an archetypal level or in other words, a structure that is strategically put together in response to the collective wishes of a group -- for our use, the group being the eventual audience of our film.

Until something better comes along (which I sincerely doubt), the MONOMYTH keys into our deepest psyche which is why pretty much ALL MANKIND easily relates to stories structured in this manner.

Think about mythology for just a minute and consider WHY there are still myths that LIVE on today. Somewhere in that myth or story, there are elements that reach us deep inside. Elements that make us think. Elements we want to share with others. Elements we want to pursue on our own. Elements that MEAN SOMETHING TO US.

Whether we like it or not -- whether we believe it or not, myths that thrive in perpetuity do so because they somehow reach us with their symbolism and metaphors i.e., we find ourselves immediately living vicariously through these stories.

I should probably point out that I am not talking about how the use of the word, MYTH today is used... I'm talking about how we use it when we discuss storytelling. Myths started out as sacred tales worthy of a tribe's admiration and respect. They often touched upon a tribe's Gods and Mysteries of how life came to be so of course, tribespeople were mesmerized and passed these stories down to current day.

What we are attempting to do or rather, what WE SHOULD BE attempting to do with our screenwriting and filmmaking is to somehow TAP into the WHYS and WHEREFORES of certain story elements that reach and mesmerize an audience today.

While it certainly is harder to do that TODAY than it was a couple of thousand years ago, some story elements are still very basic to us and it is through these basic story elements that we CAN mesmerize our audience.

The Hero's Journey gives that to us...

In fact, very few stories in movies do NOT use some aspect of the Hero's Journey or Monomyth Structure.

So in answer to your question... Yes! You could do a hell of a lot worse than to use some aspect of the Hero's Journey. My 4 Act Structure is simply my own thesis of Monomyth Structure that I keep adding to and subtracting from.

As with anything however, I would highly recommend that you learn Monomyth Structure/The Hero's Journey backwards and forwards so that you have built yourself a BASELINE to begin with if you plan to deviate from it as I have with my 4 Act Structure.

Some good sites to check out:

Monomyth
StarWars Origins
The Hero's Journey
Mythic Hero
South Mountain Community College Storytelling Institute
The Monomyth Cycle

As with all my posts and responses, please feel free to enter into a discussion if you feel up to it.

filmy

 

[cinemagrinder]

You wrote:I am asking, do you believe that following the Hero's Journey is something that should be done if possible?

Since the hero's journey is even in play among all of us who call ourselves the makers of movies then to answer your question "yes" you should incorporate it into all of your stories if you want them to reach an audience on a deeper level.

 

[Joe999]

Another more general paradigm that complements the Hero's Journey is Aristotle's Poetics, what many experts say is the only guide one need read to learn story structure. Aristotle pretty much invented the 3 act story structure, plot, crisis, surprise twist, resolution, etc.:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenwriting#Three_act_structure
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/classics/resources/poetics/poettran.htm#Section5

...Within the last few months I have been studying all types of writing modes (especially the 4 act structure) and have discovered the Hero's Journey. When I compare all of my screenplays to the structure of the Hero's Journey they all fit within the parameters of this mode. I am not completely surprised, because I was writing toward some of what I feel are the best movies ever made.

 

[VPTurner]

I wouldn't follow it too closely because to the trained mind it comes across as lazy writing. The movie Eragon was like this. The "Journey" in the classic sense to me is becoming over used. Change it up a little and make it your own.