The Hero's Journey is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon – understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters.
The Hero's Journey:
· Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.
· Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.
· Interpreted metaphorically, laterally and symbolically, allows an infinite number of varied stories to be created.
The Hero's Journey is also a study of repeating patterns in successful stories and screenplays. It is compelling that screenwriters have a higher probability of producing quality work when they mirror the recurring patterns found in successful screenplays.
Recurring Characters
Many successful stories and screenplays repeatedly use the same character types or archetypes. More than thirty archetypes have been defined but there are a core set that appear in almost every movie, so much so that it is UNUSUAL if they ARE NOT PRESENT.
The Hero: Often the character that undergoes most change, features most frequently and follows the path of the Hero's Journey. In the Godfather (1972), Michael Corleone transforms from a man who is determined not to follow in his father's footsteps to someone who is pushed into it. The gradual transformation is mirrored by his facial and clothing change – when he returns to meet Kay, he is effectively the dark angel dressed in black.
The Romantic Challenge: The hero (or heroine) often has a romantic challenge that s/he must conquer (as well as an inner and outer challenge). The conquest of the romantic challenge is usually completed after the "rebirth through death" stage, where the romantic challenge is, in effect, the reward. This is where the sex scene occurs most often. In Thelma and Louise (1991), this is where Thelma beds Brad Pitt. In Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), this is where Marion attempts to bed Indy. In Gladiator (2000), this is where Maximus and Lucilla touch and declare the sexual tension between them. In Million Dollar Baby (2005), this is where Frankie and Maggie establish their bond.
The Supernatural Aid: The hero is often accompanied or assisted by a mentor. The mentor gives spiritual advice, guidance and more. However, what is often forgotten is that the mentor usually has a challenge of his own. In Million Dollar Baby (Academy Award Winner Best Film 2005), Morgan Freeman has to decide what to do with Danger Barch. In Gladiator (Academy Award Winner Best Film 2000), Proximo has to remember and revert to his Old Self. In Star Wars (1977), Ben Kenobi must face Vader.
The Shape Shifter: The shape shifter is the hero's rival and switches from good to bad or bad to good. But he is also a romantic rival and attempts to woo the hero's romantic challenge. In Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Professor Snape is dressed in black but always (so far) seems to do the right thing. In Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Belloq buys Marion a dress and shares a bottle of wine. In Matrix (1999), Cypher tells Trinity he loves her. In Star Wars (Han Solo), finally joins the Rebellion.
The detailed, complete deconstruction and the Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and FREE 17 stage sample and other story structure templates can be found at
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Kal Bishop, MBA
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Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. His specialities include Knowledge Management and Creativity and Innovation Management. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached at
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