Hero’s Journey (Monomyth): Learning from James Bond
October 30th, 2007 | by Naimp | Posted in Writing |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.
There is only one story.
The Hero’s Journey:
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…
LEARNING FROM JAMES BOND
One critical and amusing stage of the Hero’s Journey / Transformation is the giving of magical gifts by the Supernatural Aid / Mentor. You can see this in the most successful stories, including those that do not seem like Hero Journeys, such as The Godfather (1972), Annie Hall (1977) etc.
The most successful Bond stories run through the Hero’s Journey by the book. Alot can be learned about this stage simply by analysing the James Bond franchise, including:
a) Q always gives Bond his gadgets at a particular stage of the story.
b) There are always a specific number of gadgets.
c) The gadgets are always used at particular stages of the story.
d) The gadgets are always spent by a particular stage of the Journey.
Learn more…WRITE THAT SCREENPLAY!