Joseph Campbell was an American professor ofmythology. His writing and interviews with PBS anchor Bill Moyers are deeplymoving. I was recently introduced to Campbell���s work and my approach to writingor outlining a novel has profoundly changed.
Interesting fact, George Lucas was thefirst Hollywood filmmaker to credit Campbell's influence. Lucas statedfollowing the release of the first Star Wars film in 1977 that its storywas shaped, in part, by ideas described in The Hero with aThousand Faces and other works of Campbell's. The linkagebetween Star Wars and Campbell was further reinforced when laterreprints of Campbell's book used the image of Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker onthe cover. Lucas discusses this influence at great length in the authorizedbiography of Joseph Campbell, A Fire in the Mind.

Intellectualsare saying: In the long run, the most influential book of the 20th Century mayturn out to be Joseph Campbell's THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES.

It'scertainly true that the book is having a major impact on writing andstory-telling, but above all on movie-making. Aware or not, filmmakers likeJohn Boorman, George Miller, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and FrancisCoppola owe their successes to the ageless pattern that Joseph Campbellidentifies in the book.

Theideas in the book are an excellent set of analytical tools. With them you cancompose a story to meet any situation, a story that will be dramatic,entertaining, and psychologically true. With them you can always determinewhat's wrong with a story that's floundering, and you can find a bettersolution to almost any story problem by examining the pattern laid out in thebook.

Thisis the outline to telling a universally appealing story; the hero myth.

Storiesbuilt on the model of THE HERO OF A THOUSAND FACES have an appeal that can befelt by everyone, because they spring from a universal source in the collectiveunconscious, and because they reflect universal concerns. They deal withuniversal questions like "Why was I born?" "What happens when Idie?" "How can I overcome my life problems and be happy?"

The stages of the HERO are:

1) THE HERO IS INTRODUCEDIN HIS ORDINARY WORLD.

Most stories take place in aspecial world, a world that is new and alien to its hero. If you're going totell a story about a fish out of his customary element, you first have tocreate a contrast by showing him in his mundane, ordinary world. In WITNESS yousee both the Amish boy and the policeman in their ordinary worlds before theyare thrust into alien worlds -- the farm boy into the city, and the city copinto the unfamiliar countryside. In STAR WARS you see Luke Skywalker bored todeath as a farm boy before he takes on the universe.

2) THE CALL TO ADVENTURE.

The hero is presented with aproblem, challenge, or adventure. Maybe the land is dying, as in the Arthurstories about the search for the Holy Grail. In STAR WARS again, it's PrincessLeia's holographic message to Obi Wan Kenobi, who asks Luke to join in thequest. In detective stories, it's the hero accepting a new case. In romanticcomedies it could be the first sight of that special -- but annoying someonethe hero or heroine will be pursuing/sparring with the remainder of the story.

3) THE HERO IS RELUCTANT AT FIRST.

Often at this point, thehero balks at the threshold of adventure. After all, he or she is facing thegreatest of all fears -- fear of the unknown. At this point Luke refuses ObiWan's call to adventure, and returns to his aunt and uncle's farmhouse, only tofind they have been barbequed by the Emperor's storm troopers. Suddenly Luke isno longer reluctant, and is eager to undertake the adventure. He is motivated.

4) THE HERO IS ENCOURAGEDBY THE WISE OLD MAN OR WOMAN.

By this time many storieswill have introduced a Merlin-like character who is the hero's mentor. In JAWSit's the crusty Robert Shaw character who knows all about sharks; in themythology of the Mary Tyler Moore Show, it's Lou Grant. The mentor gives adviceand sometimes magical weapons. This is Obi Wan Kenobi giving Luke Skywalker hisfather's light sabre.

The mentor can only go sofar with the hero. Eventually the hero must face the unknown by himself.Sometimes the wise old man is required to give the hero a swift kick in thepants to get the adventure going.

5) THE HERO PASSES THEFIRST THRESHOLD.

He fully enters the specialworld of his story for the first time. This is the moment at which the storytakes off and the adventure gets going. The balloon goes up, the romancebegins, the plane or spaceship blasts off, the wagon train gets rolling.Dorothy sets out on the Yellow Brick Road. The hero is now committed to hisjourney... and there's no turning back.

6) THE HERO ENCOUNTERSTESTS AND HELPERS.

The hero is forced to makeallies and enemies in the special world, and to pass certain tests andchallenges that are part of his training. In STAR WARS, the cantina is thesetting for the forging of an important alliance with Han Solo, and the startof an important enmity with Jabba The Hut. In CASABLANCA, Rick's Cafe is thesetting for the "alliances and enmities" phase, and in many westernsit's the saloon where these relationships are established.

The tests and challengesphase is represented in STAR WARS by the scene of Obi Wan teaching Luke aboutthe Force, as Luke is made to learn by fighting blindfolded. The early laserbattles with the Imperial Fighters are another test which Luke passessuccessfully.

7) THE HERO REACHES THEINNERMOST CAVE

The hero comes at last to adangerous place, often deep underground, where the object of his quest ishidden. In the Arthurian stories the Chapel Perilous is the dangerous chamberwhere the seeker finds the Grail. In many myths the hero has to descend intohell to retrieve a loved one, or into a cave to fight a dragon and gain atreasure. It's Theseus going into the Labyrinth to face the Minotaur. In STARWARS it's Luke and company being sucked into the Death Star where they willrescue Princess Leia. Sometimes

it's the hero entering the headquarters of his nemesis; and sometimesit's just the hero going into his or her own dream world to confront his orhers worst fears... and overcome them.

8) THE HERO ENDURES THESUPREME ORDEAL.

This is the moment at whichthe hero touches bottom. He faces the possibility of death, brought to thebrink in a fight with a mythical beast. For us, the audience standing outsidethe cave waiting for the victor to emerge, it's a black moment. In STAR WARS,it's the harrowing moment in the bowels of the Death Star, where Luke, Leia andcompany are trapped in the giant trash-masher. Luke is pulled under by thetentacle monster that lives in the sewage, and is held down so long theaudience begins to wonder if he's dead. E.T. momentarily appears to die on theoperating table.

This is a critical moment inany story, an ordeal in which the hero appears to die and is born again. It's amajor source of the magic of the hero myth. What happens is that the audiencehas been led to identify with the hero. We are encouraged to experience thebrink-of- -death feeling with the hero. We are temporarily depressed, and thenwe are revived by the hero's return from death.

This is the magic of anywell-designed amusement park thrill ride. Space Mountain or The Great WhiteKnuckler make the passengers feel like they're going to die, and there's agreat thrill that comes from surviving a moment like that. This is also thetrick of rites of passage and rites of initiation into fraternities and secretsocieties. The initiate is forced to taste death and experience resurrection.You're never more alive than when you think you're going to die.

9) THE HERO SIEZES THESWORD.

Having survived death,beaten the dragon, slain the Minotaur, the hero now takes possession of thetreasure he's come seeking. Sometimes it's a special weapon like a magic sword,or it may be a token like the Grail or some elixir which can heal the woundedland. Sometimes the "sword" is knowledge and experience that leads togreater understanding and a reconciliation with hostile forces.

The hero may settle aconflict with his father or with his shadowy nemesis. In RETURN OF THE JEDI,Luke is reconciled with both, as he discovers that the dying Darth Vader is hisfather, and not such a bad guy after all.

The hero may also bereconciled with a woman. Often she is the treasure he's come to win or rescue,and there is often a love scene or sacred marriage at this point. Women inthese stories (or men if the hero is female) tend to be SHAPE-SHIFTERS. Theyappear to change in form or age, reflecting the confusing and constantlychanging aspects of the opposite sex as seen from the hero's point of view. Thehero's supreme ordeal may grant him a better understanding of women, leading toa reconciliation with the opposite sex.

10) THE ROAD BACK.

The hero's not out of thewoods yet. Some of the best chase scenes come at this point, as the hero ispursued by the vengeful forces from whom he has stolen the elixir or thetreasure. This is the chase as

Luke and friends escape from the Death Star, with Princess Leia andthe plans that will bring down Darth Vader.

If the hero has not yetmanaged to reconcile with his father or the gods, they may come raging afterhim at this point. This is the moonlight bicycle flight of Elliott and E.T. asthey escape from "Keys" (Peter Coyote), a force representinggovernmental authority. By the end of the movie, Keys and Elliott have beenreconciled, and it even looks like Keys will end up as Elliott's father. (Thescript not the final cut, guys).

11) RESURRECTION.

The hero emerges from thespecial world, transformed by his experience. There is often a replay here ofthe mock death-and-rebirth of stage 8, as the hero once again faces death andsurvives. Each ordeal wins him new command over the Force. He is transformedinto a new being by his experience.

12) RETURN WITH THEELIXIR.

The hero comes back to hisordinary world, but his adventure would be meaningless unless he brought backthe elixir, treasure, or some lesson from the special world. Sometimes it'sjust knowledge or experience, but unless he comes back with the elixir or someboon to mankind, he's doomed to repeat the adventure until he does. Manycomedies use this ending, as a foolish character refuses to learn his lessonand embarks on the same folly that got him in trouble in the first place.Sometimes the boon is treasure won on the quest, or love, or just the knowledgethat the special world exists and can be survived. Sometimes it's just cominghome with a good story to tell.

THE SHORT FORM OF THEHERO STORY:

The hero is introduced inhis ordinary world, where he receives the call to adventure. He is reluctant atfirst but is encouraged by the wise old man or woman to cross the firstthreshold, where he encounters tests and helpers. He reaches the innermostcave, where he endures the supreme ordeal. He seizes the sword or the treasureand is pursued on the road back to his world. He is resurrected and transformedby his experience. He returns to his ordinary world with a treasure, boon, orelixir to benefit his world.

As with any formula, thereare pitfalls to be avoided. Following the guidelines of myth too rigidly canlead to a stiff, unnatural structure, and there is danger of being too obvious.

The HERO MYTH is a skeletonthat should be masked with the details of the individual story, and thestructure should not call attention to itself. The order of the hero's stagesas given here is only one of many variations. The stages can be deleted, addedto, and drastically reshuffled without losing their power.

The values of the myth arewhat's important. The images of the basic version -- young heroes seeking magicswords from old wizards, fighting evil dragons in deep caves, etc., -- are justsymbols, and can be changed infinitely to suit the story at hand.

The myth is easily translated to contemporary dramas, comedies,romances, or action-adventures by substituting modern equivalents for thesymbolic figures and props of the hero story. The Wise Old Man may be a realshaman or Wizard, but he can also be any kind of mentor or teacher, doctor ortherapist, crusty but benign boss, tough but fair top sergeant, parent,grandfather, etc. Modern heroes may not be going into caves and labyrinths tofight their mythical beasts, but they do enter an innermost cave by going intospace, to the bottom of the sea, into their own minds, or into the depths of amodern city.

The myth can be used to tellthe simplest comic book story or the most sophisticated drama. It grows andmatures as new experiments are tried within its basic framework. Changing thesex and ages of the basic characters only makes it more interesting, and allowsever more complex webs of understanding to be spun among them. The basiccharacters can be combined, or divided into several figures to show differentaspects of the same idea. The myth is infinitely flexible, capable of endlessvariation without sacrificing any of its magic.

And it will outlive us all.

 Taken fromhttp://www.skepticfiles.org/atheist2/....

Adapted from coverage byChris Vogler

Norm Applegate author of:

The Prisoner