An argument against the Hero’s Journey
When I moved to the US in 2010, I was a working editor and story developer. I had brought a handful of client projects with me, and was fully expecting to enter the film industry quickly and successfully. After all, Hollywood as one of the largest industry hubs worldwide would have use for an experienced reader/writer/developer. Or so I thought.
That absolutely did not come to pass. What started with an unease about the stories that were being told, and the way they had to be told, turned into a full-blown aversion against the repetitious formula used to force-feed unhealthy narrative to moviegoers and video streamers alike. The pressure to make lots of money off of every movie produced, is one reason to stick with what has already proven successful. Another reason to keep beating out the same old narrative, is fierce competition for viewer’s attention.
But as any culture worker and artist knows, you have to move with changes and developments in society or your work becomes irrelevant and loses its audience. Hollywood films have suspended that axiom for a very long time, and it is catching up with them.
Hollywood films use a seemingly infinite repertoire of effects and rising action to drill home one trope: The lone hero who rescues the world, defeats the most villainous…
