[Watch the video interview on Youtube here]
Film Courage: For someone who’s never heard of The Hero’s Journey, how would you explain it to them and maybe you can use some film references?
John Bucher, Writer and Narrative Consultant: The Hero’s Journey is an approach to storytelling that initially was observed in stories that had been told in the past. The Hero’s Journey in many ways initially was meant to be descriptive of stories that had existed as opposed to prescriptive for how to tell a story. Joseph Campbell identified the Hero’s Journey, or what he referred to as the monomyth, a term he borrowed from James Joyce. The monomyth is meant to describe this process that Campbell broke up in 1949 in The Hero With A Thousand Faces into three different sections.
There’s what he called the separation or the departure stage. In this stage a hero departs and leaves that which they’ve known before so many times. This happens as a result of a character that loses everything or life at home becomes unsustainable. In Star Wars Luke Skywalker comes back home to find his aunt and uncle have been killed and the morning farm that he lived on has been burned, there’s nothing there for him anymore. In Moby-Dick however, Ishmael tells us that he wanders around the docks and that there was just nothing of interest for him there anymore and he decides to go out on the open sea. It can be that a character is pushed out and separated from their normal world or it could be that character chooses to go out on their own adventure because life has either become boring or there’s just nothing for them there anymore.
The second phase of the Hero’s Journey is called the initiation phase. It’s in this phase after the character has been separated from their normal world that they go through all sorts of challenges. The initiation phase is what builds character within that protagonist. They go through all sorts of troubles, trials, tribulations that end up creating something within them that did not exist before in that initial separation phase. The protagonist is usually in desperate need of therapy of some sort and it is through that initiation phase that they’re going to get what they need therapeutically that will allow them in the final phase of the journey which is called the…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
About:
John Bucher is a mythologist, storyteller, and writer based out of Hollywood, California. He serves as Executive Director for the Joseph Campbell Foundation and is an author, podcaster, and speaker. He has worked with government and cultural leaders around the world as well as organizations such as HBO, DC Comics, The History Channel, A24 Films, Atlas Obscura, and The John Maxwell Leadership Foundation. He has served as a producer, consultant, and writer for numerous film, television, and Virtual Reality projects. He is the author of six books including the best-selling Storytelling for Virtual Reality, named by BookAuthority as one of the best storytelling books of all time. John has worked with New York Times Best Selling authors, YouTube influencers with followings of more than 2 million, Eisner winners, Emmy winners, Academy Award nominees, and cast members from Saturday Night Live. He holds a PhD in Mythology & Depth Psychology and has spoken on 6 continents about using the power of story and myth to reframe how individuals, organizations, cultures, and nations believe and behave.
Advertisement – contains affiliate links
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)
More affiliates:
Check out Film Courage on Patreon!
Camera we use for interviews – https://buff.ly/3rWqrra
Sound we use for interviews – https://amzn.to/2tbFlM9
Other books on Amazon that Film Courage recommends – https://buff.ly/3o0oE5o
