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Film Studies: The Hero's Journey & Character Archetypes (Creative Writing)
Screenwriters and novel writers will learn about The Hero's Journey and character archetypes that populate this favorite and ancient storytelling structure, and they will create characters and plot their own short story, novel, or movie.
Class Experience
US Grade 9 - 12
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...
6 lessons//6 Weeks
Week 1Lesson 1Hero's Journey and Character ArchetypesLearn the basics about the Hero's Journey and the character archetypes that are most commonly found in this story structure.Week 2Lesson 2Hero's Journey Steps 1-3Learn 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.Week 3Lesson 3Hero's Journey Steps 4-6Learn about and watch clips as an example of what traditionally occurs in these steps of the Hero's Journey: 4) Meeting with the Mentor, 5) Crossing the First 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 to your hero, what the hero does to decide to go on the adventure, and now the hero is in the thick of things and will meet allies and enemies on their journey.Week 4Lesson 4Hero's Journey Steps 7-9Learn about and watch 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.Week 5Lesson 5Hero's Journey Steps 10-12Learn about and watch clips as an example of what traditionally occurs in these steps of the Hero's Journey: 10) The Road Back, 11) The Resurrection, and 12) Return with the Elixir. This is your ending (Act 3), we'll talk about whether the hero goes back to their normal world or can't, your hero will face the final and most difficult challenge of the journey, and now they have triumphed and what does your character do at The End.Week 6Lesson 6Create Characters and StoryStudents will map out their own hero's journey story on a beat sheet and plan out two characters (of their choice) to star in the story.
- Students will understand what the Hero's Journey is and each step their hero will go through to reach the end of the story.
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.
0 - 1 hours per week outside of class
Homework
Frequency: 1-2 throughout the classFeedback: includedDetails: 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
Frequency: includedDetails: 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.
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.
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
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.
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.
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
Pronoun: she/her/hers NOTE: If you were looking at one of my flexible schedule classes and they are suddenly gone, yes, I still have them, and I am currently figuring out which classes will be able to go into the new self-paced designation that...
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Self-Paced Class
$15
weekly or $90 for all content6 pre-recorded lessons
6 weeks of teacher support
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1 year of access to the content
Completed by 11 learners
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Ages: 14-18