0 saved
12.5K views
Whether you’re writing fiction, starting a marketing campaign, crafting a pitch, or trying to ride the ups and downs of an entrepreneurial li ...
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Equidem e Cn. An est aliquid per se ipsum flagitiosum, etiamsi nulla comitetur infamia? Dempta enim aeternitate nihilo beatior Iuppiter quam Epicurus; An vero, inquit, quisquam potest probare, quod perceptfum, quod. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Qua igitur re ab deo vincitur, si aeternitate non vincitur? Nec mihi illud dixeris: Haec enim ipsa mihi sunt voluptati, et erant illa Torquatis. Cum autem in quo sapienter dicimus, id a primo rectissime dicitur. Nescio quo modo praetervolavit oratio.
Est enim effectrix multarum et magnarum voluptatum. Expressa vero in iis aetatibus, quae iam confirmatae sunt. Piso, familiaris noster, et alia multa et hoc loco Stoicos irridebat: Quid enim? An est aliquid per se ipsum flagitiosum, etiamsi nulla comitetur infamia? Quare ad ea primum, si videtur; Quae diligentissime contra Aristonem dicuntur a Chryippo.
At coluit ipse amicitias. Eam tum adesse, cum dolor omnis absit; Mihi enim satis est, ipsis non satis. Praeterea et appetendi et refugiendi et omnino rerum gerendarum initia proficiscuntur aut a voluptate aut a dolore. Quae iam oratio non a philosopho aliquo, sed a censore opprimenda est.
- Create narratives with this structure in mind.
Rather than follow the model religiously, use it as ...
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Illud mihi a te nimium festinanter dictum videtur, sapientis omnis esse semper beatos; Scaevolam M. Quod cum accidisset ut alter alterum necopinato videremus, surrexit statim. Causa autem fuit huc veniendi ut quosdam hinc libros promerem. Cui Tubuli nomen odio non est?
Sic, et quidem diligentius saepiusque ista loquemur inter nos agemusque communiter. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Quae qui non vident, nihil umquam magnum ac cognitione dignum amaverunt. Quam ob rem tandem, inquit, non satisfacit? Sin eam, quam Hieronymus, ne fecisset idem, ut voluptatem illam Aristippi in prima commendatione poneret.
Nam et a te perfici istam disputationem volo, nec tua mihi oratio longa videri potest. Erit enim mecum, si tecum erit. Illi enim inter se dissentiunt. Peccata paria. Non est enim vitium in oratione solum, sed etiam in moribus.
There were many critiques about whether or not Campbell’s original model really applied to folklore, or whether he selectively cited his examples. At the same time, his model which referenced such things as ‘meeting with goddess’ and ‘woman as temptress’ was rightly critiqued from a feminist perspective. I would argue that the updated model from Vogler does address many of these issues, especially when seen as a ‘loose framework’ rather than a tight script.
Another criticism is about its complexity and therefore usefulness to be applied. Vogler obviously reduced and streamlined the stages from 17 to 12 but even so it might be too much for some applications. Indeed, Dan Harmon, who was behind Community and Rick and Morty, simplified it further to the story circle which consists of 8 stages: a character in comfort; they want something; they enter an unfamiliar situation; they adapt; they get what they wanted; they pay a price; they return to their familiar situation; they’ve changed.
Perhaps the biggest criticism in a business context is that the approach is too bloated for a busy, overwhelmed audience. If that’s the case, Minto’s Pyramid or other models might be a better approach.
So many examples.
Many examples have been cited to back up the relevance of the Hero’s Journey in storytelling. I particularly like this wonderful infographic explaining how it applies in popular movies such as Harry Potter, Star Wars, the Matrix, Spiderman, the Lion King and the Lord of the Rings.
The hero’s journey is a fundamental, persistent and broadly used model in storytelling.
Use the following examples of connected and complementary models to weave the hero’s journey into your broader latticework of mental models. Alternatively, discover your own connections by exploring the category list above.
Connected models:
- Three act model: a three act approach to storytelling.
- Minto's pyramid: it’s different but the simplified business focused narrative structure bares some resemblance.
Complementary models:
- Journey map: use the hero’s journey to provide a structure to a customer journey.
- Design thinking: to empathise with a protagonist or customer as part of telling their story.
- Lean startup: tell your entrepreneurial story with the hero’s journey.
- Non violent communication: another communication model that you might incorporate with the hero's journey to express yourself in a more compelling way.
First described in 1949 by Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, the hero’s journey, or monomyth, aimed to capture the universal or archetypal story element found everywhere. Campbell originally described 17 stages to the model. Our diagram references the modernised and simplified version presented by Christopher Vogler in his 2007 book, The Writer’s Journey, though we have still cited Campbell as the model’s originator.
For more, watch this animated video about the hero’s journey from TedEd. Or, for my favourite video on the topic, view the Glove and Boots puppet inspired explanation of the character archetypes in the hero’s journey.
The Emma Coates framework mentioned in the summary above came from this Pixar story page by David Price.
My Notes
-
1054 days ago mlrAnother limitation is the gendered nature of Campbell's model - the heroine's journey is different and well documented. The male-gendered (Campbell) hero figure acts alone, sacrifices his connections with family and society, and seeks goals that ultimately exile him from society. In contrast, the female-gendered heroine responds to a loss of power by turning to friends and family for assistance; she enables others to have agency and demonstrate their own talents; and when she regains power, there's usually a compromise solution that is designed to bring benefits to all sides. See Gail Carriger (2020) The Heroine's Journey for a fast, easy-to-read summary of both models, as applied to writing novels and movies. https://gailcarriger.com/books/the-heroines-journey-for-authors-book/
Oops, That’s Members’ Only!
Fortunately, it only costs US$5/month to Join ModelThinkers and access everything so that you can rapidly discover, learn, and apply the world’s most powerful ideas.
ModelThinkers membership at a glance:
“Yeah, we hate pop ups too. But we wanted to let you know that, with ModelThinkers, we’re making it easier for you to adapt, innovate and create value. We hope you’ll join us and the growing community of ModelThinkers today.”
You Might Also Like:
- Actionable summaries of the world's most powerful ideas.
Subscribe now and download this practical guide to transform your thinking, plus recieve one short, powerful and actionable idea in your inbox each month.