From our deconstruction of hundreds of Hollywood blockbusters at at www.managing-creativity.com/

The Hero's Journey is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. In fact, ALL of the Hollywood movies we have deconstructed are based on this template.

Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters.

The Hero's Journey:

a) Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.

b) Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.

c) Interpreted metaphorically, laterally and symbolically, allows an infinite number of varied stories to be created.

and more...

Jarhead (2005) deconstructed

FADE IN: (Loop) narrative; his hands remember the rifle.

New World and Self: you are no longer black, green, etc.

Meeting the Hero: meeting Swoff.

Ordinary World: Fitch being himself.

On a Journey: on the bus.

Threshold Guardian: presenting his papers to the officer.

New World: the barracks.

Meeting the Shape Shifter: Troy.

New Rules: being branded; games played in the barracks.

Developing the Shape Shifter: you want a brand, you gotta earn it. Welcome to the Suck.

Hero's Backstory: Swoff being conceived; his sister; breakfast conversations with dad; college;

Romantic Challenge: his girlfriend; I'll write you everyday.

Resisting the Transformation: Swoff in the toilet.

Meeting the Mentor: Sykes.

Developing Mentor: Sykes makes Swoff play the bugle.

Conscious Agreement to the Journey: I'm still here.

Magical Gift (becoming a sniper):

JFK shot.

Training in the assault course.

You are now snipers; I was hooked; Swoff fires the shot.

Push to the First Threshold: listening to the Iraqi statement on TV.

Belly of the Whale: watching Apocalypse Now.

Journey to the First Threshold: on the aircraft.

Goodbye to the Old Self: stewardess waves goodbye

First Threshold: arriving in Iraq.

Threshold Guardian: Kazinski's speech; the picture of the Kurdish child; kick some Iraqi ass.

Outer Cave: where did the Iraqi's get their weapons from? Forget politics; we're here, all the rest is bullshit.

Middle Cave / Meeting Allies: talking about the girlfriends back home in the tent.

Inner Cave: putting on their masks; running in the suits; hrydrating, dehydrating, patrolling the empty desert.

Developing Characters and Relationships: the scorpion fight.

Inner Cave: Waiting in the desert; masturbation; cleaning their rifles; studying the phillipino mail order catalogue etc.

Wondering what she's doing now.

Trial and Transformation 1:

Outer Cave: Sykes tells them how to respond to reporters; complaints against free speech, that's un-American etc.

Middle Cave: Talking to the reporters; Swoff admits he's scared.

Inner Cave: Putting on and playing football in their NBC masks.

Transformation: Taking off their masks; getting naked; Sykes sends the reporters away.

Developing Characters and Relationships: Sykes makes Swoff et al take all that shit down.

Trial and Transformation 2:

Cortez has a son; Kristina has found a new male friend who's a good listener.

Thinking about his girlfriend in the shower.

Not being able to jerk off in the toilet.

Swoff calls home and is cut off.

Swoff wakes up and clutches his throat; "..you're making some weird sounds man