Ordinary World Limited Awareness

Hero’s Journey—Detailed summary from Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey

Ordinary World – Limited Awareness

·  Prologue: Disorientation leads to suggestibility

·  Should contrast sharply with, yet foreshadow, the special world

·  Set an inner and outer problem for the character

·  The hero enters, is introduced, audience identifies with them

·  The hero lacks something, has a tragic flaw, or a deep wound

·  Illustrate this with inability to perform a simple function

·  Establish what’s at stake

·  Exposition reveals backstory

·  The theme is set

Call to Adventure – Increased Awareness

·  An inciting incident occurs to get the story rolling

·  It may be synchronicity, temptation etc

·  A HERALD often makes the call

·  The call often produces disorientation and discomfort for the hero

·  The call is often a loss in the character’s life

·  It may be simply the lack of any other options

·  In tragedy, the call is often in the form of a dire warning

Refusal of the Call – Reluctance to Change

·  Excuses are used to avoid the call

·  Hesitation illustrates the formidability of the challenge ahead

·  Persistent refusal leads to tragedy

·  Willing vs reluctant heroes

·  A THRESHOLD GUARDIAN may test the hero’s resolve

·  Conflicting calls may be given, leading to difficult choices

Meeting the Mentor – Overcoming Reluctance

·  A MENTOR is in the widest sense simply a “source of wisdom”

·  They may not be personified, or may be incongruously so

·  The mentor is often an evolved hero

·  The mentor archetype assists the hero in overcoming their fear

Crossing the First Threshold – Committing to Change

·  The first turning point

·  A THRESHOLD GUARDIAN tests the hero's resolve

·  An external event forces the hero to make a decision

·  The decision leads to an internal commitment to the journey

·  Their threat may be illusionary, the solution simply to push through

·  Resistance creates change and strength, hence the guardian allows the hero to grow

·  The guardian may be turned into an ally

·  A physical or metaphorical crossing is made into the Special World of Act II

·  The crossing is an irrevocable leap of faith, from which there’s no turning back

·  The passage to the Special World may be exhausting, frustrating, disorientating

Tests, Allies, Enemies – Experimenting with First Change

·  The first impression of the Special World should be in stark contrast to the Ordinary World

·  The hero is tested with a series of obstacles, although not life-death as later

·  A quest for information may lead to new friends or allies, a team may be forged

·  Enemies may be made through encounters with SHADOWS or their servants

·  A rival of the hero may emerge

·  New Rules of the Special World must be learnt by hero and audience

·  A ‘watering hole’ - bar - is a commonplace setting for these relationships to emerge

·  A bar can involve music, danger, flirting, gambling

Approach the Inmost Cave – Preparing for Big Change

·  Final preparations are made for the central ordeal of the adventure

·  A series of dramatic complications further test the spirit

·  In romance, approach involves courtship

·  Obstacles and messages: beware illusions

·  A THRESHOLD GUARDIAN may be passed by earning respect

·  The challenges of the past inform the journey

·  A second special world is entered

·  Preparations are made

·  Another threshold is crossed, possibly by emotional appeal to the guardian

·  A figure representing the status quo presents a seemingly impossible test

·  A shamanic territory is entered, on the border of life and death

·  The stakes are upped, the audience is reminded the “clock is ticking”

·  Archetypes in a group might be changed as reorganization occurs

·  The hero or group “gets into the opponent’s mind”

·  Breakthrough occurs into the inner cave, from which there is no exit

Ordeal – Attempting Big Change

·  The central crisis, the hero “dies” so they can be reborn

·  A witness to the hero's “death” can be effective

·  Relief from the ordeal leads to the greatest elation on the other side

·  The hero may not die, but rather cause or witness death

·  The hero faces a demonised shadow, a reflection of their own darker side

·  The villain/shadow may die, which should be extremely difficult

·  Death of villain should switch Act III focus to moral/spiritual issues

·  Villain may escape, to be encountered again at the Climax

·  In romance, the death may be of the relationship, betrayal etc

·  Or, the crisis may involve a sacred marriage – opposing energies are reconciled

·  If the hero actually dies at this point (Pycho) – who is the next hero?

·  The hero faces their greatest fear – an authority or family figure often

·  This battle of youth vs age – possibility of atonement

·  The ordeal signifies death of the ego, an apotheosis

Reward – Consequence of the Attempt

·  A time of celebration, nostalgia, love scenes…beware the cliché!

·  The hero takes possession of the treasure – perhaps becoming a TRICKSTER briefly

·  The treasure may be the gift of new perception gained surviving the ordeal

·  This new perception may create a moment of clarity, even clairvoyance

·  The moment may be of great self-realization for the hero

·  It may also be an epiphany for the hero’s companions

Road Back – Rededication to Change

·  New doubts and fears are overcome, and the hero rededicates to the adventure

·  Motivation may come from fear of retaliation

·  Expendable minor characters may be killed

·  The hero may run for their life – a chase – back to the ordinary world

·  A sacrifice may be made in the chase, in order to stall the pursuer

·  Variously, the hero may be pursued by admirers, or the villain may escape

·  A setback, reversal of the hero's good fortune, tests the hero's resolve to finish

Resurrection – Final Attempt at Big Change

·  The climax, where death is faced finally

·  A new personality is needed for the hero to return to the Ordinary World

·  It should reflect the best part of the old self and the lessons along the way

·  One function of the resurrection is cleansing

·  There is a decisive confrontation with the shadow – a ‘showdown’

·  The stakes are at their highest – it’s not just the hero, it’s the ‘world’ at stake

·  The climax should involve a choice that illustrates if the hero has really grown

·  It may be a quiet climax, a gentle cresting of the wave of emotion

·  Rolling climaxes may occur as plot and subplots climax

·  An emotion climax may lead to a physical one, followed by catharsis

·  Ideally, the story brings all levels to climax at the same moment

·  Catharsis, purging, is the relief following the climax

·  Catharsis is the logical climax of the character arc, the slow growth through the story

·  Catharsis works best through the physical emotions of laughter and crying

·  The hero may misstep at the last moment, before succeeding

·  A false claimant may emerge, creating the need for the hero to provide proof

·  Resurrection often calls for sacrifice, something given up for the greater good

·  The hero should have incorporated elements of the archetypes they met on the way

·  The change in the hero is outwardly manifested in their behaviour, attitude, actions

Return with the Elixir – Final Mastery of the Problem

·  The denouement

·  Completion of the circle

·  Repetition of an image/phrase/metaphor from Act I, but with new meaning

·  Completion of a task that was impossible at the beginning of the film

·  Achievement of Perfection – weddings/new beginnings

·  Open-ended form – new questions are posed, resonating after the film ends

·  A return should unravel in a surprising manner

·  Punishment should come in the form of poetic justice to the villain

·  Likewise, the hero should be rewarded in proportion to their ordeal/sacrifice

·  A cynical world view would inform the nature of rewards/punishment

·  The hero must return with the elixir – a literal or metaphorical item of healing

·  Love, change, responsibility, tragedy, sadder but wiser

·  If the hero doesn’t return with the elixir, they are doomed to repeat the ordeal

·  All subplots should be resolved

·  Avoid both overly protracted and abrupt endings

·  Focus on the central theme should remain to the last moment

·  What is the ‘punctuation’ of the ending? Closed (.) or (!), or Open (…) or (?)

·  One way or another, the ending must signal a sense of completion