The main takeaway from reading pages 3-23 from The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler is that while the “Hero with a 1,000 faces” is a more intricate model for storytelling than the “Hero’s Journey”, it is still only a model. These frameworks vary to suit the needs of the audience and the storyteller. The framework acts like house-building fundamentals, not like the blueprints of the house which must be followed exclusively.
Here are my responses to three quotes from the reading.
“Stories built on the model of the Hero's Journey have an appeal that can be felt by everyone, because they well up from a universal source in the shared unconscious. It's these emotional journeys that hook an audience and make a story worth watching.” [5]
I agree that stories built on “The Hero's Journey” framework are universally appealing due to the archetypal emotional journeys of our collective consciousness. Everyone can relate to having an ordinary world that is disrupted by an incident that challenges us. Everyone can relate to being supported by a mentor of some kind to help us get across the threshold of uncertainty to a place of purpose, passion, or even waning confidence within ourselves. Everyone can relate to entering a cave of uncertainty within their life and emerging with the solution to our challenge and a path towards peaceful resolution.
“The images of the basic version — young heroes seeking magic swords from old wizards, maidens risking death to save loved ones, knights riding off to fight evil dragons in deep caves, and so on — are just symbols of universal life experiences.” [19]
I agree that the imaginary scenarios described above are symbols or metaphors for something more personally relatable. Seeking a magic sword from a wizard is like when Maxim helped me exchange my wooden sword; Dreamweaver and Chrome development tools, for a magical sword; Visual Studio Code and Firefox. With my new magical sword and encouragement, it’s easier to face a challenging coding problem that might present themselves as an evil dragon in a dark cave. This metaphor also works for college as a general magic sword, and our teachers and peers as the mentors that empower us to face the uncertainties of life with the magic tools of education and experience.
“Changing the traditional sex and relative ages of the archetypes only makes it more interesting, and allows ever more complex webs of understanding to be spun among them. The basic figures can be combined, or each can be divided into several characters to show different aspects of the same idea.” [20]
This is a cool idea that I am exploring in my storytelling project. Initially, I conceived the story based on real events from the perspective of the antagonist Ronald Frump. I noticed something happening when I was doing my emotional journey shape, and how the low points weren’t Ronald Frump’s low points but the audiences. I quickly realized that it didn’t feel right to be telling the story from the villain’s perspective. Instead, it feels better to tell the story from the perspective of the greater good. I see how the greater good could be a group dynamic or a composite of characters based on real life. Now I feel better about telling the story from the perspective of those impacted by the antagonist; such as Mother Earth, my late brothers Marty & David; who were visually impaired with chronic disabilities, champion of gender equality, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Antoinette D. Carroll; who is a black equity designer and the mother of a victim of police brutality. As I continue to learn and grow, I understand how crucial these marginalized voices are in the resistance to Fascism and how amplifying their stories can create healing and more support towards the peaceful resolution of equity and equality.
Here is a video I found elaborating more on the hero’s journey.
Citation Sources:
[5, 19, 20] The writer's journey : mythic structure for writers / Christopher Vogler. ~ 3rd ed. (1998)
Image and Video: https://indiefilmhustle.com/chris-vogler-writers-journey/