Hero's Journey (Monomyth): Evey Hero Goes to That Place Which He (Or She) Fears Most

The Hero's Journey is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. In fact, ALL of the hundreds of Hollywood movies we have deconstructed (see URL below) are based on this 188 stage template. Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters. a) Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told. b) Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on. c) Gives you a tangible process for building and releasing dissonance (establishing and achieving catharsis). d) Gives you a universal structural template upon which you can superimpose your situational story. and more... Every Hero goes on a Journey. As is implied, the Journey is physical but also psychological: The Hero journeys from an Ordinary World to a New World and transforms from an Ordinary Self to a New Self (the physical journey induces the psychological transformation). A critical element of both journeys is the First Threshold. Psychologically, the First Threshold is that place which the Hero fears most and from where he cannot return ("beyond here there be dragons"). This fear is exacerbated by the earlier Refusals, Interdictions and Dove and Hawk debates. In Dances with Wolves (Academy Award Winner Best Film, 1990), John Dunbar is initially afraid of the Frontier because it is unknown and afraid of the Indians who live there. In The Matrix (1999), Neo is afraid to learn the truth; once he has crossed over, he cannot return. Physically, the First Threshold is some New Domain that is a polar opposite of the Hero's Ordinary World. It is a dangerous place, with dangerous and unfamiliar objects and inhabitants and is separated from the Ordinary World by physical barriers or markers (rivers, railroads, tunnels etc ) that the Hero must cross. In Dances with Wolves (Academy Award Winner Best Film, 1990), John Dunbar must cross the prairies to reach the Frontier; when he gets there he finds it to be the polar opposite of where he has come from - devoid of people and peaceful (he has just come from fighting in the civil war). In The Matrix (1999), Neo crosses over to find a world completely different to that from where he has just come - humans are in pods and managed by machines.

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