Understanding Archetypes

From Myth and the Movies by Stuart Voytilla

1. The Ordinary World

• Allows us to get to know the Hero before the journey begins.

• Audience must be able to relate to him.• Central or Dramatic Question the disrupts the

Ordinary World, and the Hero must enter the Special World to solve the problem.

2. The Call to Adventure

0Disrupts the comfort of the Hero’s Ordinary World.0Throws the ordinary world off balance and

establishes the consequences if the challenge is rejected.

0The Hero may need a succession of “Calls” before finally realizing that a challenge must be met.

2. Continued…

The Call to Adventure can take many forms:a message or announcementa sudden storm (Home Alone)the arrival of the villain (High Noon)a death (Jaws)an abduction (Star Wars)a man’s dying words (Citizen Kane)

3. Refusal of the Call

0The Hero is not willing to leave the safe haven of the Ordinary World.

0Used to communicate risks involved in the Journey that lies ahead.

0 If the Hero is eager and skips the refusal stage, the Hero’s Allies or Threshold Guardians may still express the fears and risks.

4. Meeting the Mentor

0Gains confidence, insight, training, or gifts0May be a physical person, or an object: map, journal,

hieroglyphics.0Or and Inner Mentor: a strong code of honor or

justice (Westerns and Detective stories)

5. Crossing the Threshold

0Committed to the Journey0Threshold is the gateway between the Ordinary World

and the Special World

6. Test, Allies, and Enemies

0Our (The Hero and the Audience’s) first look at the Special World.

0Allies are earned 0Rivals reveal themselves0Preparation for the greater Ordeals to come and the

Hero needs this stage to test his skills.

7. Approach to the Inmost Cave

0The Hero must make preparations for the Journey’s central Ordeal

0Obstacles, setbacks, or a break may occur before the final decent.

(In romantic comedies the Approach may force the lovers to question commitment)

8. The Ordeal

0The central life-or-death crisis0The Journey teeters on the brink of failure0Only through “death” can the hero be reborn

9. Reward

0The Hero has overcome0The Reward comes in many forms:

0 A magical sword0 An elixer0 Greater knowledge0 Reconciliation

9. Reward, continued

0The Hero has earned the right to celebrate.

10. The Road Back

0The Hero must recommit to completing the Journey0Choices must be made0May need to be coerced back into the Ordinary World

because of the fame found in Special World

11. The Resurrection

0Shows that the Hero has actually grown during the Journey.

0 “Cleansing” or purification

12. Return with the Elixer

0The final Reward0The Hero has been resurrected, purified, and has

earned the right to be accepted back into the Ordinary World to heal the wounded land.

0A time to celebrate the Journey’s end with love, marriage, or festivals.

0Balance has been restored.

Archetypes: The Roles Characters Play

Archetypes describe the function or role a character plays in a story. Think of an archetype as a mask a character wears in a particular scene.Example:Obi Wan Kenobi is the Mentor throughout Star Wars, and yet he must wear the Hero’s mask and sacrifice himself to Darth Vader in order to allow Luck to escape with the princess.

Archetypes…

1. Hero “to serve and sacrifice”2. Mentor “to guide”3. Threshold Guardian “to test”

4. Herald“to warn & challenge”

5. Shapeshifter “to question & decieve”6. Shadow “to destroy”7. Trickster “to disrupt”