Strategic storytelling: where business and stories meet — Campbell, Vogler and the classic Hero’s Journey

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In “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” (1949), Joseph Campbell, a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College, tells us his theory that all mythological narratives share the same basic structure.

He refers to this structure as the "monomyth" (all hero myths share the business owner database can help same framework or structure) or the same Hero's Journey. Campbell sums it up by saying:

“A hero ventures from the everyday world into a region of supernatural wonders, encounters fabulous forces, and wins a decisive victory. The hero returns from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow blessings on his fellow men.”

The Hero's Journey is a common narrative archetype, or story template, that involves a hero going on an adventure, learning a lesson, winning a victory with that newfound knowledge, and then returning home transformed.

Campbell presents 17 total stages of the Hero's Journey structure. However, not all monomyths necessarily present all the stages or in the same order as Campbell described.

Her theory had a great influence, but we must admit that it has a very poorly developed vision of gender and is focused on the masculine, which is why we will talk about Hero and not Heroine.

The day also includes Freudian elements, such as the confrontation with the father.

Campbell's Hero's Journey Model
The Hero's Journey can be summarized in three essential stages:

The departure: the hero leaves the familiar world behind.
Initiation: The hero learns to navigate the unknown world.
The return: the hero returns to the familiar world.
Let's explore the details of the three stages:

The Departure
The hero is living in the "ordinary world" when he receives a call for an adventure.

Usually the hero is unsure whether to follow this invitation, which is why this phase is known as "refusing the call."

However, the hero is later helped by a mentor figure, who gives him advice and convinces him to follow the calling.

Initiation
In the initiation section, the hero enters the "special world", where he begins to face a series of tasks until he reaches the climax of the story - the main obstacle or enemy.

Here, the hero puts into practice everything he has learned on his journey to overcome the obstacle.

Campbell talks about the hero getting some kind of reward for his troubles; this might be a physical token or an "elixir," or just good old-fashioned wisdom (or both).

Return
Feeling ready to return to his world, the hero must now leave. Once back in the ordinary world, he undergoes a personal metamorphosis to realize how his adventure has changed him as a person.

Joseph Campbell's Hero Journey
Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey
The Hero's Journey includes some psychological models borrowed from Jung and Freud. In fact, Campbell thought that the hero teaches us something about ourselves. Here are the 17 steps of the Hero's Journey, as described by Campbell:

The game:
1) The call to adventure: something, or someone, interrupts the hero's familiar life to present a problem, threat, or opportunity.
2) Refusing the Call: Unwilling to step out of his comfort zone or face his fear, the hero is initially hesitant to embark on this journey.
3) Supernatural help: A mentor figure gives the hero the tools and inspiration he needs to accept the call to adventure.
4) Crossing the threshold: the hero embarks on his quest.
5) Belly of the Whale: The hero crosses the point of no return and encounters his first major obstacle.
The initiation:
6) The Path of Trials: The hero must go through a series of trials to begin his transformation. Often, he fails at least one of these trials.
7) The encounter with the goddess: the hero meets one or more allies, who pick him up and help him continue his journey.
8) Woman as temptress: The hero is tempted to abandon or deviate from his quest. Traditionally, this temptation is a love interest, but it can also manifest itself in other forms, including fame or wealth.
9) Atonement with the Father: The hero confronts the reason for his journey, facing his doubts and fears and the powers that govern his life. This is a major turning point in the story: every previous step has brought the hero here, and every new step will emerge from this moment.
10) Apotheosis: As a result of this confrontation, the hero gains a deep understanding of his purpose or ability. Armed with this, he prepares for the most difficult part of the adventure.
11) The ultimate blessing: The hero achieves the goal he set out to achieve, fulfilling the calling that inspired his journey in the first place.
The return:
12) Refusal to return: If the Hero's Journey was victorious, he may be reluctant to return to the ordinary world of his previous life.
13) The Magic Flight: The hero must escape with the object of his quest, evading those who claim it.
14) Rescue from outside: Reflecting the encounter with the goddess, the hero receives help from a guide or rescuer to get home.
15) Crossing the threshold of return: the hero successfully returns to the ordinary world.
16) Master of Two Worlds: We see the hero strike a balance between who he was before his journey and who he is now. Often, this means balancing the material world with the spiritual enlightenment he has gained.
17) Freedom to live: We leave the hero at peace with his life.
Vogler's Hero's Day model
Christopher Vogler, Hollywood film producer and writer, was influenced by Joseph Campbell's Hero Journey.
Christopher Vogler, a Hollywood film producer and writer, was greatly influenced by Joseph Campbell's book Hero Journey.

“The Hero with a Thousand Faces” has also influenced literature, music, film and video games.

Perhaps most famously, George Lucas credited Campbell with influencing the structure of the Star Wars films.

In the late 1990s, Christopher Vogler, a Hollywood film producer and writer, created a seven-page memo titled " A Practical Guide to the Hero with a Thousand Faces ," intended to help Hollywood writers understand the structure of Campbell's monomyth.

The memo later became a screenwriting reference book, The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers (1992).

The 12 stages of the Hero
1 - The hero enters his ordinary world
Most of the stories take place in a special world, a new and alien world to the hero. In Witness, you see both the Amish boy and the policeman in their ordinary worlds before they are thrown into alien worlds: the farmer in the city and the policeman in an unfamiliar countryside.

In Star Wars, you see Luke Skywalker bored to death as a farmer before taking on the universe.

2 - The call to adventure
The hero is presented with a problem, challenge or adventure. In Star Wars again, Princess Leia's holographic message to Obi Wan Kenobi asks Luke to join the quest.

In detective stories, the hero takes on a new case. In romantic comedies, it might be the first time seeing that special, but annoying, person whom the hero or heroine will pursue/train for the rest of the story.

3 - The hero is reluctant at first
Often, at this point, the hero balks at the threshold of adventure. After all, he or she is faced with the greatest of all fears: the fear of the unknown .

At this point, Luke rejects Obi Wan's call to adventure and returns to his uncles' farm, only to discover that they have been killed by the Emperor's shock troops.

Suddenly, Luke is no longer reluctant and is eager to set out on the adventure. He is motivated.

4 - The hero is encouraged by the wise old man or woman
By then, many stories will have featured a Merlin-like character who is the hero's mentor.

In Jaws, it's Robert Shaw's crusty character who knows all about sharks. The mentor gives advice and sometimes magic weapons. This is Obi Wan Kenobi giving Luke Skywalker his father's lightsaber. The mentor can only go so far with the hero.

Ultimately, the hero must face the unknown on his own. Sometimes, it takes the wise old man to give the hero a push to keep the adventure going.

5 - The hero crosses the first threshold
Enter the special world of your story for the first time. This is the moment when the story takes off and the adventure begins.

The hero is now committed to his journey and there is no turning back.

6 - The hero finds allies, evidence and helpers
The Hero is forced to make allies and enemies in the special world and overcome certain tests and challenges that are part of his training.

In Star Wars, the cantina is the setting for forging an important alliance with Han Solo and the beginning of a major feud with Jabba the Hutt.

In many Westerns, it is the living room where these relationships are established. The phase of trials and challenges is represented in Star Wars by the scene of Obi Wan teaching Luke about the Force, as Luke learns by fighting blindfolded.

The first laser battles with the Imperial Fighters are another test that Luke successfully passes.

7 - The hero reaches the most intimate cave.
The hero finally arrives at a dangerous place, often underground, where the object of his quest is hidden.

In Arthurian stories, “the Chapel Perilous” is the secret chamber where the hero finds the Grail.

In many myths, the hero has to descend into hell to recover a loved one or into a cave to fight a dragon and obtain a treasure.

In Star Wars, Luke and company are absorbed by the Death Star, where they will rescue Princess Leia.

Sometimes it's the hero entering the headquarters of his nemesis and sometimes it's just the hero entering his own dream world to confront his worst fears and overcome them.

This is the moment when the hero hits rock bottom. He is faced with the possibility of death, pushed to the brink in a fight with a mythical beast.

8 - The hero endures the supreme test
For us, the audience standing outside the cave waiting for the victor to emerge, it is a dark moment.

In Star Wars, it's the harrowing moment in the bowels of the Death Star, where Luke, Leia and company are trapped in the giant garbage crusher.

Luke is dragged away by the tentacled monster living in the sewage and is held so long that the audience begins to wonder if he is dead.

This is a critical moment in any story, a test in which the hero seems to die and is reborn. It is an important source of the magic of the hero myth.

What happens is that the audience has identified with the hero. We are encouraged to experience the feeling of being on the brink of death with him.

We are temporarily depressed, and then revived by the sight of the hero returning from the dead.

9 - The hero grabs and grabs the sword
Having survived death and defeated the dragon, the hero now takes possession of the treasure he has come to seek.

Sometimes it is a special weapon like a magic sword, or it can be a token like the Grail or some elixir that can heal a deep wound.

Sometimes the "sword" is knowledge and experience that leads to greater understanding and reconciliation with hostile forces.

The hero can resolve a conflict with his father or with his dark nemesis.

In Return of the Jedi , Luke reconciles with both of them, as he discovers that the dying Darth Vader is his father. The hero is also able to reconcile with a woman.

Often she is the treasure he has come to win or rescue, and there is often a love scene or sacred marriage at this point.

The hero's ultimate test may grant him a better understanding of women, leading to a reconciliation with the opposite sex.

10 - The way back
The hero is not out of the woods yet. Some of the best chase scenes come at this point, when the hero is pursued by the vengeful forces from whom he has stolen the elixir or treasure.

This is the chase as Luke and his friends escape the Death Star, with Princess Leia and the plans that will bring down Darth Vader.

If the hero has not yet managed to reconcile with his father or the gods, they may come after him in anger at this point.

11 - Resurrection
The hero emerges from the special world, transformed by his experience.

There is often a repetition here of the stage 8 death and rebirth drill, as the hero once again faces death and survives.

Each test grants him new command over the Force. He is transformed into a new being by his experience.

12 - Return with the elixir.
The hero returns to his ordinary world, but his adventure would be meaningless unless he brought back the elixir, the treasure, or some lesson from the special world.

Sometimes it's just knowledge or experience, but unless you return with the elixir or some boon to humanity, you're doomed to repeat the adventure until you do.

Sometimes the benefit is a treasure gained in the quest, or love, or just the knowledge that the special world exists and can be survived. Sometimes it's just coming home with a good story to tell.