188 Stage Hero's Journey (Monomyth)- Every Hero Must Fight His (Or Her) Final Battle Alone

The Hero's Journey (also known as the Monomyth) is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. It is upon this structure that situations are superimposed. This is why stories such as Alien (1979), Gladiator (2000), Godfather (1972), American Beauty (1999), Annie Hall (1977) and many others (all deconstructed at www.clickok.co.uk/index4.html) appear to be different but are all constructed, almost sequence by sequence, in the same way.

The following blockbusters have all been structured around the Hero's Journey template: Titanic, 1997 - grossed over $600,000,000; Star Wars, 1977 - grossed over $460,000,000; Shrek 2, 2004 - grossed over $436,000,000; ET, 1982 - grossed over $434,000,000; Spiderman, 2002 - grossed over $432,000,000. So how come you don't know it inside out?

For a number of very valid reasons, if you want to write (and sell) successful stories, whether they're Hollywood blockbusters, Indie successes, novels or other story forms, you need to master the Hero's Journey in a very detailed way

EVERY HERO MUST FIGHT HIS (OR HER) FINAL BATTLE ALONE

Between the Crossing of the Return Threshold and the Master of Two Worlds a hell of a lot happens, most of which is rarely if ever noted in analysis of the Hero's Journey.

It is critical to note that every Hero must fight his (or her) Final Battle alone - how else can he (or she) be certain that the Antagonisms (which in no small measure are psychological) have certainly been overcome.

There are a number of ways in which the above is expressed, including:

a) The disappearance of Transcendental Powers (the loss of the Supernatural Aid). In the Wizard of Oz (1939) the Wizard cannot control his balloon and flies away. In Wall Street (1987), Bud Fox falls out with his Dad, Carl Fox.

b) The disappearance of Transcendental Powers (the loss of the Magical Aid). In American Beauty (1999), Ricky can no longer supply Lester with marijuana. In Bullitt (1968), Frank no longer has Ross' dead body to play with.

c) The loss of Allies. In Alien (1979), everyone except Ripley dies. In Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Olive's family cannot perform for her.

d) Hand-to-Hand Battle. The Hero is pulled into a confrontation with the Antagonism. In Annie Hall (1977), Alvie flies to LA to persuade Annie to come back. In The Godfather (1972), Michael personally confronts Carlo.

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Learn more… WRITE THAT SCREENPLAY! The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and other story structure templates can be found at www.clickok.co.uk/ 188 stages of the Hero's Journey can also be reached from www.heros-journey.info/ You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site. Kal Bishop, MBA ********************************** You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made, the author's name is retained and the link to our site URL remains active.

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