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The art of story telling. The popular media tells stories, reflecting the way we communicate with one another on a day by day basis. Stories give structure to the way we pass on experiences and information. National culture is partly defined by its stories, like the Greeks at Troy or the Icelandic Sagas. Important events in the news are related as written stories by the press, or narrated via a camera on television.
Dig deeper and we find that most films conform to the same basic structures. The individual details of a plot can change, but basically stories deal with heroes who leave home, go through a series of ordeals before confronting the villain and marrying the princess and settling back at home. Unfortunately when we simplify events into simple linear tales, significant viewpoints are left out and omitted; this gives the disseminators of those tales privilege and power.
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Narrative and Film
‘ Discovering legends in his own lifetime’
A memo for Disney analysing storytelling acquired cult status
in Hollywood and has been turned into a book.
Rupert
Widdicombe (Sunday Times 4.9.94), abridged by Mike Mannix.
Christopher
Vogler in 1985 penned a famous memo, as newly appointed ‘story
analyst’ for Disney’s animation division.
Buried
deep in almost every story from almost every culture, Vogler
wrote, there is a universal story form – a ‘mythic
structure’. It has existed since stories were first told
and is present in today’s blockbuster movies.
Disney’s
development executives took up the memo, to be followed by
other studios.
Vogler
wrote up his findings as ‘The Winter’s
Journey’.
Many
writers had managed to hit on the same formula before, more
by instinct
than anything else. Vogler’s jobs had
led him to read fairy-tales epic poems and Norse and Celtic
myths as well as novels and comics. He noticed common elements
including familiar characters and situations. “I became
aware that there was a pattern or template, but the overall
plan eluded me,” he said.
Reading ‘The Hero with a Thousand Faces’ by American
mythologist Joseph Campbell was another inspiration. Campbell
had discovered a ‘monomyth’ which he called the
Hero’s Journey.
Vogler identified 12 stages of the journey (see below).
The
Journey begins in the Ordinary World. The hero is in some
ways incomplete
or unsatisfied, and is presented with The Call
to Adventure. Hero’s first reaction is Refuse the Call.
Enter the Mentor to encourage the reluctant hero to prepare
for the journey. Hero becomes committed by Crossing the First
Threshold into a world where different rules apply and Tests,
Allies and Enemies are encountered.
After
many adventures the hero comes to a dangerous place, where
that
which is sought resides – the Approach to
the Inmost Cave and inside faces the Supreme Ordeal and takes
possession of the Reward. The dark forces regroup to endanger
the Road Back. There is one more ordeal of death and rebirth – the
Resurrection, which must be faced before the hero can return,
transformed, back to the ordinary world, with the treasure
or lesson learned – the Return with Elixir.
Campbell
produced a complex narrative model, but Vogler simplified
this to an ‘adaptation for film model’.
“Campbell
believed every culture takes the basic structure and puts
it into its own landscape. I suppose that is what
I did with his work, I translated it into movie terms.”
OTHER NARRATOLOGISTS
Established Media Studies Structuralists, Propp, Tordorov,
Levi-Strauss, Barthes.
Aristotle’s ‘Poetics’ and Ronald B. Tobias’s ’20
Masterplots and How to Build Them’ .
Kipling defined 69 types of story, Northrop Frye (American
critic) said four. See also Cadwelti. Campbell said there is
only one, and prefers to define archetypal elements rather
than classify plots.
The Mentor could be more than one person such as Obi Wan in
Star Wars, but might be more than one person, an object or
piece of advice remembered.
Call to Adventure might be Romeo meeting Juliet or warning
ignored by Julius Caesar. The Supreme Ordeal might be on drill
square in Officer and a Gentleman.
The
adventure of Luke Sywalker aboard Death Star is based on
Campbell (George
Lucas was a fan). Vogler says this scene
(Luke escaping from the Deathstar sewage pit), the Supreme
Ordeal, lies at heart of Hero’s journey.
“The secret is that heroes must die so they can be reborn.” In
many stories, this ‘death’ is metaphorical, an
experiences that transforms. Death and rebirth is the ‘story’ that
has been told and retold through the ages of man. Campbell,
who was deeply influenced by Jung, traced it back to the earliest
myths and believed the journey was an inherited form, part
of the “collective unconsciousness.”
Vogler says these stories with structures evolved as survival
tools. Storytelling was a way of preparing the young for the
ordeal of leaving the community to hunt or gather.
The Resurrection, the second ordeal at the climax of most
stories, may have had origins in ritual purification of returning
hunters (MM takes this with pinch of salt), often involving
period of quarantine in a dark place, a symbolic death before
rebirth into the community.
Stories
appeal to urban man because they appear “genetically
encoded. We can identify with the story because we are all
on the journey.”
Vogler
worked on the Lion King, which he called Bamlet – Bambi
meets Hamlet. During production he stressed importance of baboon
shaman as Mentor to the hero lion.
Vogler warns that the formula is a buried roadmap rather than
a cookbook. The deeply embedded story should act as a blueprint.
With
more outlets for stories via cable and satellite, Hollywood
cranked
up its output to produce so called ‘software’ to
fill its schedules. By 1994, Disney was turning out 40 features
a year from 15 (and was aiming at 60).
The need to create satisfactory stories in bulk has made creating
stories a big business. Writers now rely on story analysts’ books
explaining the three-act structure with advice on where to
put turning points and inciting incidents for maximum effect.
Software
has been evolved including ‘Plots Unlimited’.
Writers can browse its data file. This method has been called ‘creative
bankruptcy’ and is responsible for formulaic form of
modern films.
It
was claimed lazy executives used Vogler’s work as
a cure-all. Writers defend themselves by pointing out how difficult
it is to produce a really good script.
Director
Brian Gibson said: “Writing one is extraordinarily
difficult to do – a good script needs its own voice,
its own vision, thematic consistency and novel characters…and
all in 110 pages.”
“Understanding the archetypes can help you to make your
story more powerful – and avoid the clichés.”
The
12 Steps of the Hero’s Journey
CASE
STUDIES – see
original article for Four Weddings, Wizard of Oz, Star Wars
and Romancing the Stone.
1. Ordinary World. L. Skywalker bored on remote farm. His
parents are assumed dead and feels incomplete.
2.
Call To Adventure Luke finds Leia’s plea for help
in R2D2.
3.
Refusal of the Call. Luke won’t take up Obi’s
challenge because uncle and aunt need him.
4. Meeting the Mentor. Luke puts himself in hands of Obi and
learns about The Force.
5. Crossing The First Threshold. Luke takes up challenge when
stormtroopers barbecue aunt and uncle.
6. Tests, Allies, Enemies. They meet Han, Wookie and Jabba.
7. Approach to the Inmost Cave. Adventures which culminate
in breakout from Deathstar.
8. Supreme Ordeal. Series of adventures in Deathstar including
near-death in garbage compactor.
9. Reward (Seizing the Sword). Luke and Co escape with information
about Deathstar destruction, but lose Obi-Wan.
10. Road Back. Worst not over. Deathstar is in range of rebel
base and must be destroyed.
11.
Resurrection. Luke trusts the force and sacrifices old part
of personality – his
dependence on machines.
12.
Return with Elixir. Luke and friends decorated as heroes.
Luke’s
internal elixir is new self-knowledge and control of the
Force.
Propp
- an outline
1.
A member of a family leaves home (the hero is introduced);
2. An interdiction is addressed to the hero ('don't go
there', 'go to this place');
3. The interdiction is violated (villain enters the tale);
4. The villain makes an attempt at reconnaissance (either
villain tries to find the children/jewels etc; or intended
victim questions
the villain);
5. The villain gains information about the victim;
6. The villain attempts to deceive the victim to take
possession of victim or victim's belongings (trickery;
villain disguised,
tries to win confidence of victim);
7. Victim taken in by deception, unwittingly helping
the enemy;
8. Villain causes harm/injury to family member (by abduction,
theft of magical agent, spoiling crops, plunders in other
forms, causes a disappearance, expels someone, casts
spell on someone,
substitutes child etc, comits murder, imprisons/detains
someone, threatens forced marriage, provides nightly
torments); Alternatively,
a member of family lacks something or desires something
(magical potion etc);
9. Misfortune or lack is made known, (hero is dispatched,
hears call for help etc/ alternative is that victimised
hero is sent
away, freed from imprisonment);
10. Seeker agrees to, or decides upon counter-action;
11. Hero leaves home;
12. Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc, preparing
the way for his/her receiving magical agent or helper
(donor);
13. Hero reacts to actions of future donor (withstands/fails
the test, frees captive, reconciles disputants, performs
service, uses adversary's powers against them);
14. Hero acquires use of a magical agent (directly transferred,
located, purchased, prepared, spontaneously appears,
eaten/drunk, help offered by other characters);
15. Hero is transferred, delivered or led to whereabouts
of an object of the search;
16. Hero and villain join in direct combat;
17. Hero is branded (wounded/marked, receives ring or
scarf);
18. Villain is defeated (killed in combat, defeated in
contest, killed while asleep, banished);
19. Initial misfortune or lack is resolved (object of
search distributed, spell broken, slain person revivied,
captive freed);
20. Hero returns;
21. Hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill, eat, undermine
the hero);
22. Hero is rescued from pursuit (obstacles delay pursuer,
hero hides or is hidden, hero transforms unrecognisably,
hero saved
from attempt on his/her life);
23. Hero unrecognised, arrives home or in another country;
24. False hero presents unfounded claims;
25. Difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal,
riddles, test of strength/endurance, other tasks);
26. Task is resolved;
27. Hero is recognised (by mark, brand, or thing given
to him/her);
28. False hero or villain is exposed;
29. Hero is given a new appearance (is made whole, handsome,
new garments etc);
30. Villain is punished;
31. Hero marries and ascends the throne (is rewarded/promoted).
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