I've been thinking about the Hero's Journey a lot lately
Apr 16, 2023 4:40 am
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Dear reader,
You know about the "Hero's Journey", right? It's sometimes called the "Hero Cycle" or the "Monomyth", but it's all the same thing. If not, forgive me, but I'm about to pop on my English teacher hat for a sec.
A few years before our dear old Grandpa Tolkien published his books, a professor named Joseph Campbell wrote one called The Hero with a Thousand Faces. In it he argues that basically all stories everywhere follow the same series of events: twelve basic steps that constitute the building blocks of plot.
There are some obvious exceptions to this: Asian storytelling, for example, has very different ideas about plot, and there are other prominent story structure theories out there, such as the "Underdog Sports Story", but Campbell's model remains remarkably accurate. If you don't believe me, go test it out. I found all 12 steps of the "Hero's Journey" in my two-year-old's cardboard puppet book about a mouse.
Now, the question that's been rattling around in my brain is this: How can author's make the Hero's Journey feel fresh and original? I don't have a definitive answer, but one option I've seen work is to make the main character NOT be the hero.
For example, Jack Sparrow is the obvious main character in the first Pirates of the Caribbean, but if you analyze the plot according to the "Hero's Journey", he's not the hero. Will Turner is. Similarly, in Avengers: Infinity War, Campbell's 12 steps can only be applied to one character: Thanos.
Bonkers, right?
Both of these movies, in my opinion, felt rather fresh and original. But what do you think? Have you seen any other books or movies flip the "Hero's Journey" on its ear? Do you have any different ideas of how to shake things up but still have a satisfying plot?
Shoot me an email. I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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Happy April, friends,
Ben Schwarting
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