You've definitely heard of "The Hero's Journey", the narrative structure found in countless stories dating back to Homer's Odyssey in ~7th century BC.
A great way to learn the framework: comparing scene-by-scene images from "The Matrix" and "Star Wars".
Check it out🧵
0/ The "Hero's Journey" was coined by Joseph Campbell, an American literary prof.
He studied ancient myths and found many shared a similar character arc (AKA the "monomyth").
It follows 12 stages, with a hero venturing from an "ordinary world" to a "special world" and back.
1/ Ordinary world
The hero's normal life before the adventure begins:
◻️ Luke Skywalker lives on a farm in Tatooine
◻️ Neo is a corporate slave in the real world
2/ Call to adventure
The hero is faced with an event, conflict, problem, or challenge that starts the adventure:
◻️ R2D2 flashes a hologram of Princess Leia asking Obi-Wan for help
◻️ Neo is sent a message to "follow the white rabbit"
3/ Refusal of the call
The hero refuses the adventure because of hesitation, fears, insecurity or other:
◻️ Luke tells Obi-Wan he has to stay on Tatooine farm to help his aunt and uncle
◻️ When agents come to his office, Neo won't escape by stepping outside the window
4/ Meeting the mentor
The hero encounters a mentor that can give them advice, wisdom, information, or items that preps them for journey:
◻️ Luke's aunt and uncle murdered by stormtroopers, he agrees for Obi-Wan to train him
◻️ Neo meets Morpheus, who soon trains him
5/ Crossing the threshold
The hero leaves the ordinary world for the first time and crosses the threshold into adventure:
◻️ Luke follows Obi-wan to the Mos Eisley spaceport (a "wretched hive of scum and villainy", Luke no longer safe)
◻️ Neo takes the red pill, leaves Matrix
6/ Test, Allies, Enemies
The hero learns the rules of the new world and endures tests, meets friends, and confronts enemies:
◻️ Luke meets Han Solo / Chewy, starts journey
◻️ Neo meets the team on the Nebuchadnezzar Ship, learns about the "real world"
7/ The Approach
The initial plan to take on the central conflict begins, but setbacks occur that cause the hero to try a new approach:
◻️ Luke to meet Rebels on Alderaan, but the planet is destroyed
◻️ Neo meets The Oracle, who says he's *not* The One
8/ The Ordeal
Things go wrong and a new conflict is introduced, incl. a potential life or death situation:
◻️ Luke and Co. save Leia but Obi-Wan sacrifices himself to Vader
◻️ Morpheus abducted during ambush, Neo and Trinity return to save him
9/ Seizing the Sword
After surviving The Ordeal, hero gains a reward (knowledge, physical item) to take on the biggest conflict:
◻️ Luke saves Princess Leia and has Death Star plans
◻️ Neo saves Morpheus and has confidence he is The One after fighting Agent Smith
10/ The Road Back
The hero sees the light at the end of the tunnel, but they are about to face even more tests and challenges:
◻️ Luke and Co. bring Death Star plans to rebel base and are chased by Empire
◻️ Cypher betrays team and Neo is unable to exit The Matrix
11/ Resurrection
The climax. The hero faces a final test, using everything they have learned to prevail:
◻️ Luke, Co. and rebels take on the Death Star (Luke uses the force to aim the kill shot)
◻️ Neo is killed by agents, resurrected by Trinity..he's The One and stops bullets
12/ Return With Elixir
The hero brings their knowledge or the “elixir” back to the ordinary world.
◻️ Luke is a f*cking Jedi and gets a fat medal for it
◻️ Neo can f*cking fly, is The One and is gonna cause some havoc in The Matrix
13/ Star Wars' creator George Lucas credits "The Hero's Journey" for improving his original script.
Prior to applying the framework, Star Wars -- as composer John Williams explained -- was "a Saturday morning space movie."
Lucas clearly saw his own hero's journey, too ("Luke")
14/ Since Star Wars, countless other films have used the framework (obviously The Matrix); structure varies.
I use a Sheets template to map out other Hero's Journey (like for MJ and Lebron 😂).
Sheet link here and def SMASH that follow: @TrungTPhan
🔗 bit.ly/2QoTh7c
15/ Sources
Star Wars: thescriptlab.com/features/scree…
The Matrix: thescriptlab.com/features/scree…
George Lucas: starwars.com/news/mythic-di…
How The Matrix updated Hero's Journey for 1990s: escapistmagazine.com/v2/the-matrix-…
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