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LifeWriting Articles
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Written by Steven Barnes
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Sunday, 15 August 2010 07:27 |
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During the past thirty years, much has been (rightfully) made of Joseph Campbell's breakthrough research in cultural anthropology, most famously published in "The Hero With A Thousand Faces." In this book, Campbell examines the many cultural expressions of the heroic role model, and in doing so helped to establish the universality of human hopes, dreams, and lives. Hollywood, in particular, has embraced this vision, which powers dozens of films a year, and has become clichéd wisdom in development executive suites all over Southern California. Of course, the question of the nature of heroes enters other arenas as well. In the political arena, shaping doctrine around strong leader figures is one way to promote ideas to the public. Heroic firefighters and soldiers appear in ads for one party or another, and our elected officials trumpet their military service—or are criticized for their lack thereof, or are called cowards or even traitors if they disagree with the plans or opinions of an opponent. Whether one wishes to understand the "Hero's Journey" as a tool for fiction, or desires to rise above the rhetoric a bit, it's useful to define just exactly what a hero is. This is, after all, the human face of the story. If the "Journey" is important, even more so is the person taking it. If we, as a culture, tend to worship and follow heroes, it is vital to have a definition of exactly what this is. Of course, each of us should search our own hearts for the definitions that help us guide our lives. With that understanding, I'd like to present a definition that has worked for this writer and citizen for many years. "A hero is a man or woman who holds to their deepest values, regardless of the stress or pressures." This applies to soldiers in combat, teachers in the inner city, mothers sacrificing for their children, artists resisting commercial demands, teenagers resisting the call of drugs or alcohol or premature sexuality. It demands that the "Hero" understand his or her deepest values, and often, the entire purpose of a story is to force them to confront these deeper truths, stripping away superfluous ego-identity. Culturally, this means that a person of Heroic dimension doesn't necessarily share our point of view, our political beliefs, even our morality. To understand this is to understand how an apparent moral monster can be lionized by his followers. When we disagree with a leader, and are forced to dehumanize him in order to justify our own position, we diminish our capacity to understand the human condition. We must hold to our values, and be clear about them. The entire world of advertising—whether Madison Avenue is selling cereal or an unpopular war—is based on anchoring some goal to basic human drives. Those who are uncertain of their values are like straws in the wind, blown by whoever plucks their strings. No wonder we cherish those who seem clear and strong in their identity, who stand by their choices even under stress. No wonder we respect these men and women even as it becomes clear that flexibility and compromise might be the better way. At least they believe in SOMETHING! If we are to grow beyond sheep needing a shepherd, we must be strong ourselves. We must know ourselves deeply and honestly, and find the bedrock of our own morality. From this place it is easiest to determine when a leader is truly worthy of emulation or admiration or obedience. When we walk this road of self-discovery, we become heroes ourselves, experiencing the adventure of our own lifetimes. ###### Learn more about Lifewriting at: www.lifewriting.biz and www.lifewrite.com Dark Dream 906 Ashworth Pl Glendora, CA 91741 US |
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David Farland
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Written by David Farland
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Sunday, 15 August 2010 07:25 |
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Sometimes, truth seems stranger than fiction. Last week, we had our young Japanese exchange student lose his wallet, with several hundred dollars inside. My wife went down to his room to look for, it and found it within minutes. However, instead of being grateful, the young man explained, "That’s not my wallet." Well, it had lots of money inside. It was a kid’s wallet with Japanese designs on it. Who else’s could it be? The problem is, you can’t write about such coincidences and get away with it, at least not in a serious work. If you have "coincidence" playing an important role in your plot, the reader will look at the situation and instantly ask, "Oh, yeah? Would that really happen?" Regardless of how likely or unlikely the reader eventually decides your coincidence is, you’ve lost. You see, your job is to engross the reader, to bring them into your waking dream and let him or her experience the story vicariously. If the reader is taken out of that dream for any reason, then you’ve tainted the story. Now, in comedic literature, a coincidence can work just fine. Let’s take the wallet example. Let’s say that you have a young man who is destitute. His entire future hinges on getting $500 right NOW! Perhaps he has to get to the woman that he loves before she heads off on a trek across Antarctica. So he decides to rob a Quickie Mart. He goes in and points his finger into the cashier’s back and demands the money, but only gets $20 out of the till, since the cashier had just made his hourly deposit into the safe. So our protagonist comes walking out of the Quickie Mart, peering about for a bank to rob. (The helpful cashier might have pointed out that there’s one across the street.) Suddenly, by coincidence, he sees a wallet on the ground, and inside is $600 and no ID. He rushes back in to pay the teller his money back and beg forgiveness, just as the police pull up to the door, responding to a silent alarm—all of which can lead to a fun chase scene, with our protagonist racing to meet the love of his life with a dozen police cars giving chase. Do you see how it can work in a comedy, but not in a more serious tale? In the last couple of centuries, there were a number of important books and movies where coincidence played a pivotal role in tying up the tale, but audiences have become wary of such tales. Watch out for dumb coincidences.
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LifeWriting Articles
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Written by Steven Barnes
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Sunday, 15 August 2010 07:23 |
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he last step of the Hero’s Journey is the moment when the character resolves their current conflicts, and rises to the next level of excellence and achievement. Now, note that I’m not saying that they have no problems. A character who is broke at the beginning of the story is not problem-free if they get rich. They just arrive at their problems in a limousine. The easiest way to know if you really understand something is to teach it to others. Teaching also gives your character a place in a lineage of mentors going back to the first human families…or even before. This step is also referred to as "returning to the village with the elixir" or similar labels. The significance is the same. The current journey is ended, the Hero returns to the good life or finds love and starts his family, he rescues his friend or wins the battle and receives a promotion, or perhaps dies with courage and dignity. All of these have the same intent—to show that "proper action" in life gives positive results. Is this always true? Heck, no! But all over the world, it is clear that people WANT to believe this. If this is similar to your philosophy, it should be easy to write. If you have a different outlook, then your work will reflect that, instead…and your work is cut out for you! Personally, I believe in human dignity and the value of hard, honest work over time. My own books reflect this, and it is an accurate expression of my nature and philosophy. Make sure that your work is a reflection of yours. Steve Lifewriting ™ is the first 360-degree high-performance system for writers. You have absolutely nothing to lose…and everything to gain by ordering yours today. www.Lifewriting.biz! Dark Dream 906 Ashworth Pl Glendora, CA 91741 US |
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