[Watch the video interview on YouTube here]
Film Courage: What is a labyrinth and why is it important for storytellers to understand?
John Bucher, Writer and Narrative Consultant: Storytellers have been using labyrinths for thousands of years. A labyrinth is a maze that may be circular, it may be square, but it has passages that always have a singular goal and that is to move you towards the center.
Now just as we see in the Hero’s Journey, it’s one thing to get to the center of a labyrinth, however we have to get back out. There’s one journey that takes us to the center of a labyrinth and there’s an entirely different journey sometimes that will take us back out. We encounter the labyrinth at different times and myth and history. The first very popular labyrinth story is about Theseus and the Minotaur. Of course the Minotaur is waiting at the center of the labyrinth for Theseus. Those of you that like the story of Theseus or are familiar with the myth know that in order to help Theseus get back out Ariadne ties a ball of yarn or ties yarn to his foot so as he ventures through the labyrinth and makes it to the center of the labyrinth and defeats the minotaur. He then can find his way back out by tracing the yarn. There’s a number of things about this story that I think are compelling to us as humans but also it becomes an archetypal story in and of itself and that I think we keep telling this story over and over again. We could even say it’s a certain version of the Hero’s Journey traveling to the center of the labyrinth and then having to bring 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.
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