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. Quas enim kakaw Graeci appellant, vitia malo quam malitias nominare. Ita similis erit ei finis boni, atque antea fuerat, neque idem tamen; Zenonis est, inquam, hoc Stoici. Varietates autem iniurasque fortunae facile veteres philosophorum praeceptis instituta vita superabat.
Graecum enim hunc versum nostis omnes-: Suavis laborum est praeteritorum memoria. Stulti autem malorum memoria torquentur, sapientes bona praeterita grata recordatione renovata delectant. Non igitur de improbo, sed de callido improbo quaerimus, qualis Q. Atqui haec patefactio quasi rerum opertarum, cum quid quidque sit aperitur, definitio est. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Quasi ego id curem, quid ille aiat aut neget. Summum a vobis bonum voluptas dicitur. Roges enim Aristonem, bonane ei videantur haec: vacuitas doloris, divitiae, valitudo;
Ita relinquet duas, de quibus etiam atque etiam consideret. Quid ad utilitatem tantae pecuniae? Non minor, inquit, voluptas percipitur ex vilissimis rebus quam ex pretiosissimis. Aut unde est hoc contritum vetustate proverbium: quicum in tenebris? Idem iste, inquam, de voluptate quid sentit? Quid dubitas igitur mutare principia naturae? Quae hic rei publicae vulnera inponebat, eadem ille sanabat. Laboro autem non sine causa; Expectoque quid ad id, quod quaerebam, respondeas.
- Create narratives with this structure in mind.
Rather than follow the model religiously, use it as ...
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. In eo enim positum est id, quod dicimus esse expetendum. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Et nemo nimium beatus est; Et homini, qui ceteris animantibus plurimum praestat, praecipue a natura nihil datum esse dicemus? Legimus tamen Diogenem, Antipatrum, Mnesarchum, Panaetium, multos alios in primisque familiarem nostrum Posidonium. Tu autem inter haec tantam multitudinem hominum interiectam non vides nec laetantium nec dolentium? Quod quidem iam fit etiam in Academia. Post enim Chrysippum eum non sane est disputatum. Nihilne est in his rebus, quod dignum libero aut indignum esse ducamus?
Primum in nostrane potestate est, quid meminerimus? Certe nihil nisi quod possit ipsum propter se iure laudari. Quae cum essent dicta, finem fecimus et ambulandi et disputandi. Quamquam te quidem video minime esse deterritum. Nihil sane. In qua quid est boni praeter summam voluptatem, et eam sempiternam?
Quod autem principium officii quaerunt, melius quam Pyrrho; Quas enim kakaw Graeci appellant, vitia malo quam malitias nominare. Quorum sine causa fieri nihil putandum est. Certe, nisi voluptatem tanti aestimaretis. Si de re disceptari oportet, nulla mihi tecum, Cato, potest esse dissensio. Ergo in utroque exercebantur, eaque disciplina effecit tantam illorum utroque in genere dicendi copiam. Avaritiamne minuis? Quod quidem iam fit etiam in Academia.
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.