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Film Studies: The Hero's Journey & Character Archetypes (Creative Writing)
Completed by 14 learners
Ages 11-18
Self-Paced Class
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(171 reviews)
6 pre-recorded lessons
6 weeks of teacher support
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6 pre-recorded lessons
6 weeks
of teacher support1 year access
to the contentHomework
1 hour per week. Student's will work on their own story following the Hero's Journey roadmap throughout the weeks and create two characters following the archetypes.Letter Grade
Grade is only provided at the parent's request. A - Complete a Hero's Journey beat sheet and two character beat sheets; showing an understanding of the steps and archetypes by responding to discussion questions. B - Complete a Hero's Journey beat sheet and one character beat sheet; showing an understanding of the steps and archetypes by responding to discussion questions. C - Complete a Hero's Journey beat sheet OR one/two character beat sheets; or worked turn in doesn't show an understanding of the steps or archetypes by responding or not responding to discussion questions. D/F - Doesn't turn in the Hero's Journey beat sheet or character beat sheets.Class Experience
The Hero's Journey is a form of storytelling that follows a main character on a journey that changes them emotionally. This myth pattern has been studied for years and goes back the original written and verbally told stories of humans. Joseph Campbell brought it to popular culture with the book, The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Christopher Vogler breaks it down even further specifically for writers in the book, The Writer's Journey. Students will learn the steps of the Hero's Journey (The Ordinary World, Call to Adventure, Refusal of the Call, Meeting with the Mentor, Crossing the First Threshold, Tests, Allies, Enemies, Approach to the Inmost Cave, The Ordeal, Reward, The Road Back, The Resurrection, and Return with the Elixir, and the character archetypes that populate this story structure, and they will create their own "hero" and plot a story idea following this map in the class. Spoiler Note: Character arcs will be discussed for some example characters from films and books which could spoil the ending or twists of them: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, A League of Their Own, Harry Potter series, Star Wars IV-VI, The DaVinci Code, and Avengers: Infinity War. We will go over key plot points and spoil the following films: Star Wars, The Wizard of Oz, The Matrix, and Moana. There are NO live meetings for this course. There will be a weekly post in the classroom each week which will include: Nearpod video lessons for that week's subject, YouTube links, discussion questions, and resources for the learner's story. Learners may log in and watch the lessons at their own convenience during the week.
Learning Goals
Students will understand what the Hero's Journey is and each step their hero will go through to reach the end of the story.Syllabus
6 Lessons
over 6 WeeksLesson 1:
Hero's Journey and Character Archetypes
Learn the basics about the Hero's Journey and the character archetypes that are most commonly found in this story structure. Video Lessons: 45 min 1 assignment
6 mins of video lessons
Lesson 2:
Hero's Journey Steps 1-3
Learn about and watch film clips as an example of what traditionally occurs in the first three steps of the Hero's Journey: 1) The Ordinary World, 2) Call to Adventure, and 3) Refusal of the Call. This is the beginning (or Act 1) of the story, we'll talk about ways to introduce your hero, ways to introduce the ordinary world, how does your hero get called to go on the adventure, and why might they choose to stay where they are instead of embarking on the adventure. Nearpod Lessons: 45 min 1 assignment
Lesson 3:
Hero's Journey Steps 4-6
Learn about and watch film clips as an example of what traditionally occurs in these steps of the Hero's Journey: 4) Meeting with the Mentor, 5) Crossing the Threshold, and 6) Tests, Allies, Enemies. This is the end of the beginning(Act 1) and the start of the middle(Act 2), we'll talk about ways to introduce the mentor character, what the hero does to decide to go on the adventure, and the hero is in the thick of things and will meet allies and enemies on their journey. Nearpod Lessons: 50 min 1 assignment
Lesson 4:
Hero's Journey Steps 7-9
Learn about and watch film clips as an example of what traditionally occurs in these steps of the Hero's Journey: 7) Approach to the Inmost Cave, 8) The Ordeal, and 9) Reward. This is the heart of the middle (Act 2) and possibly near the end (Act 3), we'll talk about ways to keep the challenges coming and keep the hero moving forward, throwing even more difficult challenges at the hero that they might not survive, and what do they do when they triumph. Nearpod Lessons: 48 min 1 assignment
Other Details
Parental Guidance
The Character Info Sheet and the Hero's Journey Beat Sheet will be provided via Google Docs. The lesson and film clips will be posted in the class with Nearpod and YouTube links.
Clips and discussions will be shown from the following four films and some clips will contain violence and/or foul language: Star Wars (1977) PG, The Wizard of Oz (1939) G, The Matrix (1999) R, and Moana (2016) PG.
Supply List
A Hero's Journey beat sheet and a Character Info Sheet for the student to fill out for their own story and characters provided as a google doc link. Videos of the lectures and youtube links of film clips will be provided in class.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Sources
The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler is where the information is gathered from for this class. If the student finds they really love the Hero's Journey and want to learn more after the class, I recommend they pick up this book.
A Hero's Journey lesson plan and curriculum from PowerPoint Guru will be used.
Meet the teacher
Teacher expertise and credentials
2 Degrees
Master's Degree in Film/Cinema/Video Studies from California State University, Fullerton
Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences from Charter Oak State College
Master of Fine Arts in Screenwriting
Bachelor of Arts in Applied Arts: Creative Writing
Certificates from Institute of Children's Literature
Certificates from Institute for Writers
Writing young adult fantasy and space opera under the pen name Angelia Almos. Reviews
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