Vogler, Christopher. “Reward“, “The Road Back”. The Writer's Journey : Mythic Structure for Writers Third Edition. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007.
Summary
The Reward stage takes place right after the ordeal, and it is when the hero gets what they’ve been seeking. They can either win it, be given it, or steal it. The reward has a variety of shapes. It can be a celebration which provides the hero with time for rest before returning to normal world. It can be a campfire scene which gives the hero the chance to recap their adventure and allows the audience to look back on what has happened. It can also be a love scene. They usually get new perceptions when they reach the reward stage. They can gain better ability at seeing through deception, gain clairvoyance, gain a better self-realization, and have an epiphany. Another result could be the hero gaining too much of an ego and as a result have a distorted perception. Either way, the hero gains something during this stage.
The Road Back stage takes place after the Reward stage. It is during this stage that the hero makes the decision to stay in the special world or return to the ordinary world. Most of the time the hero returns to the ordinary world. Usually during this stage the hero discovers that the villain is not really dead, and the villain comes after the hero for revenge. Chase scenes are common, and in fairytales they are referred to as magic flight. The hero could also be running from admirers or chasing a villain that has escaped. Finally, the hero can experience set backs during this stage to test their resolve.
Reaction
I think Vogler did a good job explaining these two sections, and he used a better variety of movies then he did in the previous required reading. Still, I only recognized a few of the movie examples. I didn’t realize there where so many reward variations. I also did not realize that a chase scene was so common in the Road Back stage.
Questions
1)Can a story end after the reward stage?
2)Can you name a hero in a movie that decided to stay in the special world?
3)Do heroes realize that they have changed in the reward stage or does it just occur?
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
ann. bib. #7
Vogler, Christopher. “Approach to the Inmost Cave“, “The Ordeal”. The Writer's Journey : Mythic Structure for Writers Third Edition. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007.
Summary
In the “Approach to the Inmost Cave”, Vogler elaborates on the functions and the characteristics on this stage of the story. The approach allows the hero time to organize their plans; it is during this time that romances are declared in some stories. Some characters will skip a lot of the approach, and just face the cave automatically. During the approach the hero will face challenges that allow him to practice the skills they have learned on their; some of these obstacles will discourage the hero which gives the time to reevaluate their plan and why they are doing the journey. Vogler uses The Wizard of Oz to explain many of the concepts of the approach including emotionally appealing to the threshold guardian and the hero coming to the acceptance of their fate, that they have to face and conquer “the cave”.
In “The Ordeal”, Vogler emphasizes the importance of the hero going through some form of death and rebirth whether it is literal or abstract. They go through some form of death and are reborn a changed hero. This event is suppose to be the central event in the so-called second act of the story and is usually found halfway through the second act, but it can be placed anywhere as long as it is present. Vogler makes a point to mention the audiences emotion to the story lines, to make the importance of the hero’s death more evident. The hero doesn’t have to be the one to die for this death to take place. For example, the hero can kill someone and as a result their innocence died. One of the more common ordeals is that of a confrontation between the hero and the enemy. In some instances the enemy dies at this point, but not always. Basically, the ordeal is when the hero faces his greatest fear, and either conquers and comes out a changed person or dies completely; the example given for that one was in the movie Psycho, the death of Marion.
Reaction
I thought these two chapters were very informative. He did a good job at describing the different aspects present in these two stages of the hero’s journey. I like the fact that he pointed out that the supposed hero does not always have to survive the ordeal and can be replaced.
Questions
1)Can you name a movie that does not have an ordeal in the middle of the story?
2)Can you name a movie without a true villain?
3)Do you consider it necessary to have allies on the approach to the innermost cave?
Summary
In the “Approach to the Inmost Cave”, Vogler elaborates on the functions and the characteristics on this stage of the story. The approach allows the hero time to organize their plans; it is during this time that romances are declared in some stories. Some characters will skip a lot of the approach, and just face the cave automatically. During the approach the hero will face challenges that allow him to practice the skills they have learned on their; some of these obstacles will discourage the hero which gives the time to reevaluate their plan and why they are doing the journey. Vogler uses The Wizard of Oz to explain many of the concepts of the approach including emotionally appealing to the threshold guardian and the hero coming to the acceptance of their fate, that they have to face and conquer “the cave”.
In “The Ordeal”, Vogler emphasizes the importance of the hero going through some form of death and rebirth whether it is literal or abstract. They go through some form of death and are reborn a changed hero. This event is suppose to be the central event in the so-called second act of the story and is usually found halfway through the second act, but it can be placed anywhere as long as it is present. Vogler makes a point to mention the audiences emotion to the story lines, to make the importance of the hero’s death more evident. The hero doesn’t have to be the one to die for this death to take place. For example, the hero can kill someone and as a result their innocence died. One of the more common ordeals is that of a confrontation between the hero and the enemy. In some instances the enemy dies at this point, but not always. Basically, the ordeal is when the hero faces his greatest fear, and either conquers and comes out a changed person or dies completely; the example given for that one was in the movie Psycho, the death of Marion.
Reaction
I thought these two chapters were very informative. He did a good job at describing the different aspects present in these two stages of the hero’s journey. I like the fact that he pointed out that the supposed hero does not always have to survive the ordeal and can be replaced.
Questions
1)Can you name a movie that does not have an ordeal in the middle of the story?
2)Can you name a movie without a true villain?
3)Do you consider it necessary to have allies on the approach to the innermost cave?
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
annotated bibliography 5
Vogler, Christopher. “The Refusal of the Call“, “Meeting with the Mentor”. The Writer's Journey : Mythic Structure for Writers Third Edition. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007.
Summary
Volger elaborated on his explanation of “the refusal of the call“. This is the stage where the hero refuses to go on the adventure, and it can be a quick refusal or a prolonged refusal. The pause between the knowledge of the adventure and the acceptance of it, gives the hero the opportunity to weight the consequences and the choices that they have. The majority of hero’s originally refuse to go on their adventure. Some persistently refuse to go on their adventure, which is a trait of the tragic hero. There can be more then one adventure that a hero is called to go on, and they have to choose between the two. Some refusals of the call are positive, if the adventure is a trap. Heroes that do not refuse the call are known as willing heroes.
Mentors are the archetype that help the heroes prepare for their adventure. All heroes come into contact with a mentor over the course of a story, even if they are not a person. Mentors can be used to trick the audience by defying their archetype. They can truly be evil and try to misguide the hero, and they can have ulterior motives. The relationship between a mentor and a hero does not have to be a good one. Some stories revolve around the teachings of a mentor. While there are mentors in every story, there is no definite traits that they are confined to, except that they provide some sort of guidance for the hero.
Reaction
While there was a little bit of new information in these two sections, they were pretty much nothing more then a repeat of what was stated before. I think the book could have gone without them. The movie examples were helpful. Other then being repetitive, it was good.
Questions
1)Can you name a story that is about a mentor?
2)Can you name a tragic hero?
3)Can you name an example of a story where a hero had to make a choice between two calls and chose the wrong one?
Summary
Volger elaborated on his explanation of “the refusal of the call“. This is the stage where the hero refuses to go on the adventure, and it can be a quick refusal or a prolonged refusal. The pause between the knowledge of the adventure and the acceptance of it, gives the hero the opportunity to weight the consequences and the choices that they have. The majority of hero’s originally refuse to go on their adventure. Some persistently refuse to go on their adventure, which is a trait of the tragic hero. There can be more then one adventure that a hero is called to go on, and they have to choose between the two. Some refusals of the call are positive, if the adventure is a trap. Heroes that do not refuse the call are known as willing heroes.
Mentors are the archetype that help the heroes prepare for their adventure. All heroes come into contact with a mentor over the course of a story, even if they are not a person. Mentors can be used to trick the audience by defying their archetype. They can truly be evil and try to misguide the hero, and they can have ulterior motives. The relationship between a mentor and a hero does not have to be a good one. Some stories revolve around the teachings of a mentor. While there are mentors in every story, there is no definite traits that they are confined to, except that they provide some sort of guidance for the hero.
Reaction
While there was a little bit of new information in these two sections, they were pretty much nothing more then a repeat of what was stated before. I think the book could have gone without them. The movie examples were helpful. Other then being repetitive, it was good.
Questions
1)Can you name a story that is about a mentor?
2)Can you name a tragic hero?
3)Can you name an example of a story where a hero had to make a choice between two calls and chose the wrong one?
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Project 1 revision
Edit:
1) I'm going to fix my comma in the first paragraph.
2) I'm going to fix the "things, this, it's..."in the paragraphs.
3) I'm going to fix some of the sentence structures.
Revise:
1) I'm going to make my "so what"more clear.
2) I'm going to unclutter a couple of the paragraphs.
3) I'm going to add a little more detail to the last few paragraphs.
1) I'm going to fix my comma in the first paragraph.
2) I'm going to fix the "things, this, it's..."in the paragraphs.
3) I'm going to fix some of the sentence structures.
Revise:
1) I'm going to make my "so what"more clear.
2) I'm going to unclutter a couple of the paragraphs.
3) I'm going to add a little more detail to the last few paragraphs.
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