The Hollywood Formula

The Hero's Journey: A Storytelling Template The Hero’s Journey is a structural model of storytelling that is based on the epic adventures of mythical figures like Odysseus, Thor, Joan of Arc and Mulan. Also known as the  monomyth , the Hero's Journey is a universal template delineated by American mythologist  Joseph Campbell . In the world of film, the model of the Hero's Journey has evolved into the  Hollywood Formula of screenwriting .  In this post, you will learn about the 12 stages of the Hero's Journey according to Joseph Campbell's book  Hero with a Thousand Faces . The Hero's Journey is a powerful formula of storytelling. There are 12 stages in the journey. The stages progress in a cyclical fashion, very much like our lives. They repeat over and over again. A journey ends, and another one begins. We are born, we grow, we decline, we die. We are recycled. Energy doesn't die. It transforms. We lead many l...

Universal Archetypes Defined Universal archetypes are images and motifs stored in the collective consciousness, or the realm of  mythology . Fairies and cyclops are universal archetypes, as are gigantic sea monsters and mermaids. All cultures have their own version of these mythological creatures, which humans have invented collectively with the use of our  creative imagination . The concept of universal archetypes is kind of like electricity. Electricity has always existed, but it wasn't till the mid 1800's that people started experimenting with it, labeling it, defining it. Thanks to these experiments, we discovered we could use this great universal light power as a source of energy to help with our survival. In other words, we didn't create electricity. We simply discovered a mighty natural power that was already there to begin with. In the same way, universal archetypes have always existed. They are like a cloud of images that float ...

Joseph Campbell: The Man Behind the Myth Joseph Campbell  was born on March 26, 1904, in a New York City suburb and passed away on October 30, 1987. Mr. Campbell is best known for his work in comparative  mythology . In his research, he compared myths from different world cultures and identified certain patterns that repeated in all of them. This discovery led him to introduce a highly influential storytelling concept known as the  monomyth .  The monomyth is a template of  universal storytelling  and it is based on the principle that all storytellers in the world tell the same story. Only, they tell it in different ways, recycling and disguising old plots and character archetypes and weaving them into seemingly-new tales. The singular universal story that we all tell, according to Joseph Campbell, is the story of the hero, who, in turn, represents our ideal self. The monomyth model, more popularly kn...