Other Dramatic Elements: The Hero's Journey

 

 


  


 

 

 Question 1

 

Out of the 12 elements of drama listed above, we focused on conflict. What did George Bernard Shaw mean when he said "No conflict, no drama"?

 II. Joseph Campbell

The Hero's Journey is a classic story structure that's shared by stories worldwide. Coined by American  professor of literature Joseph Campbell (1904 - 1987).  Campbell, who taught at Sarah Lawrence College, a private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion. 



(4:49 min)
 

Question 2

 What do you think Campbell means when he says, "if you are following your bliss"?

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 III
 
 
 Hero's Journey

In 1949, Campbell published The Hero with a Thousand Faces, a book in which he discusses his theory of the mythological structure of the journey of the archetypal hero found in world myths. The Hero's Journey refers to a wide-ranging category of tales in which a character ventures out to get what he/she needs, faces conflict, and ultimately triumphs over adversity. The Hero's Journey is divided into two big halve: the ordinary world and the special world. The journey has 12 stages (See the diagram below). 
 
 



   
 
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Watch Video


(3:10 min)

Hero's Journey Stages
  1. The Ordinary World: The audience meets the Hero in the ordinary world.
  2. The Call to Adventure: The Hero receives the call to adventure: a challenge, a quest or a problem that must be faced.
  3. Refusal of the Call: The Hero expresses fear and is reluctant or refuses the call.
  4. Meeting the Mentor: A meeting with the mentor provides encouragement, wisdom, or magical gifts to  push the Hero past fear and doubt.
  5. Crossing the Threshold: The Hero finally accepts the challenge and crosses the threshold into the special world.
  6. Tests, Allies, Enemies: The Hero learns about the special world through tests, encountering allies and enemies.
  7. Approach to the Inmost Cave: The Hero makes the final preparations and approaches the innermost cave.
  8. The Ordeal: The hero endures the ordeal, the central crisis in which the Hero confronts his greatest fear and tastes death.
  9. Reward: The Hero enjoys the reward of having confronted fear and death.
  10. The Road Back: The Hero takes the road back and recommits to completing the journey.
  11. The Resurrection: The Hero faces the climactic ordeal that purifies redeems and transforms the Hero on the Threshold home.
  12. Return with the Elixir: The Hero returns with the elixir to benefit the ordinary world.

Question 3 
(10:00 min)
Re-arrange the steps of the hero's journey by doing one of three things: naming them in your own words, diagramming them your own way or drawing them in a way they make sense to you. 

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Comments

  1. Kevin FlanaganNovember 2, 2022 at 10:31 AM

    1. What George Bernard Shaw meant when he said that drama that lacks conflict leaves the viewer empty. The experience is missing a certain something, even if the viewer can't exactly put their finger on it. To me, not having conflict in a performance is like cooking a meal without salt. It is one of the most bare necessities of your product and without it, you don't have much even if the other ingredients are fantastic.
    2. To me, what Campbell means when he says "if you are following your bliss" is that life is bliss. If you are following what your true calling is, then you are in true bliss.
    3. I will name them in my own words.
    1. Person takes up an instrument
    2. Audition is announced
    3. Person is reluctant to go after it. Fear of rejection, not ready, etc.
    4. Taking some lessons
    5. Starts practicing hard
    6. Learning about who else is taking the audition
    7. Travel to the audition
    8. The audition itself
    9. Being offered the job
    10. Travel home from the audition
    11. Realization of what your new life will be like
    12. The hero is transformed into a great and stable person. That is their gift to the world.

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  2. erogerscelloNovember 9, 2022 at 7:37 AM

    1. No Conflict, No Drama means that without a problem/tension/change there is no story, nothing interesting that happens, no resolve. It reminds me of Prof.Z saying that audiences don't want to see perfect, they want to see how we almost fall apart but don't, how we are having a dialogue on stage, a fight even and it resolves.
    2. I think Campbell means to be connected to what brings you joy, excitement, curiosity... what lights you up or gets you excited, and to stay connected with that throughout life, in big ways like a life path/career if we have the luxury to choose, but also as a constant, underneath things we have no control over...


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