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Week 3:
"The Hero's Journey is not an invention, but an observation. It is a recognition of a beautiful design, a set of principles that govern the conduct of life and the world of storytelling the way physics and chemistry govern the physical world. It's difficult to avoid the sensation that the Hero's Journey exists somewhere, somehow, as an eternal reality, a Platonic ideal form, a divine model. From this model, infinite and highly varied copies can be produced, each resonating with the essential spirit of the form. The Hero's Journey is a pattern that seems to extend in many dimensions, describing more than one reality. It accurately describes, among other things, the process of making a journey, the necessary working parts of a story, the joys and despairs of being a writer; and the passage of a soul through life. I am convinced the principles of the Hero's Journey have had a deep influence over the shaping of stories in the past and will reach even deeper in the future as more storytellers become consciously aware of them. Joseph Campbell's great accomplishment was to articulate clearly something that had been there all along - the life principles embedded in the structure of stories. He wrote down the unwritten rules of storytelling, and that seems to be stimulating authors to challenge, test, and embellish the Hero's Journey." (from the Preface of The Writer's Journey, by Christopher Vogler)
Follow the link to view the elements of a Hero's Journey and post to the discussion your thoughts considering the archetypes and the twelve stages. Can you tell of a recent film or play that you have seen or book you've read that came to mind while reflecting on the twelve stages of the Hero's Journey? While your students continue to develop their scripts encourage them to think about the archetypes and stages and identify any characters or sequences that correspond to the Hero's Journey. This is not a formula to follow. It is simply a consideration in the creative process. By the end of this week they should have a good solid draft of their vignettes. This does not mean that changes will not be made when they mount their scenes for production. The process requires changes to be made continually so don't become too attached to the exact written text. You will find that being open to revisions will allow another "creative flow" when actually inserting actors into the project. When you have a draft of your script that you are willing to share please post it to the discussion. |