A Heros Journey - The Perfect Formula for Great Storytelli

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Ah yes, Star Wars. One of only a few films that people can know about without ever having to watch it, but if you have never watched it still get roped into seeing it eventually. It is one of the most influential stories ever told, inspiring millions since its original release in theaters in 1977. In this epic saga of good versus evil, it brings us to the question, what gave this original, yet wacky story about space wizards and laser swords so much popularity with their audience? Gripping the imagination of so many, it spawned books, toys, games, and even amusement parks, it is so popular in fact that we even have an official “Star Wars Day”, May 4th. Star Wars isn’t just a movie or a saga of movies, but a way of portraying how we should all live our lives. In a sense, Star Wars is a life lesson everyone can relate to, that’s what makes it so popular, and so enjoyable.
With a budget of only $11 million, earning them a box office of $775.8 million, it earned its title as one of the first blockbusters. It was a generally new idea besides other space themed monster movies of the time like Planet of the Apes (1968), THX 1138 (1971), or The War of the Worlds (1953). But what made Star Wars really stand out from the rest of these films? It was massively innovative at the time including special effects, and narrative storytelling. It combines many genres together successfully including western, sci-fi, fantasy, romance and more. The director of the film, none other than George Lucas had all these crazy ideas, characters, planets, weapons, and technology in his head, but couldn’t figure out how to put all the pieces together. That was until he met with a very special colleague, Dr. Travis Langley.
Langley is a forensic psychologist who’s helped written many of the world’s most popular films and TV shows including The Walking Dead (2010), Game of Thrones (2011), Star Trek (1966), and yes, Star Wars. When George Lucas had trouble piecing his epic story together, he turned to Langley for help. It was then that Langley helped George Lucas to discover Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero with a Thousand Faces, originally published in 1949. The book goes into detail examining many myths of similar structure of storytelling that works in almost any sense to tell a great story every time. In 2011, Time placed the book in its list of the 100 best and most influential books written in English. Similar stories like The Odyssey and Beowulf from our ancient pasts share these similar plot lines that Star Wars adapted. This same plot is not only seen in Star Wars however, it can also be seen in film, like Lord of The Rings, The Hobbit, Harry Potter, The Matrix, and many more. Joseph Campbell refers to this in so many films in the past and today as the “Hero’s Journey”. This pattern consists of 12 steps that a character must go through to be the “hero” of the story. In doing all these it creates a perfect beginning, middle, and end that can be setup with just about any genre imaginable, even as wild as space wizards fighting for peace against evil space Nazi’s. The steps go like this:
1) THE ORDINARY WORLD – The hero (Luke) is just living a boring life.
2) THE CALL TO ADVENTURE – Something happens to force change; his parents are murdered by the empire.
3) REFUSAL OF THE CALL – The unknown keeps the hero from pursuing the call; Luke has never left his home planet and is scared.
4) MEETING WITH THE MENTOR – A seasoned traveler enters the hero’s life; Ben Kenobi, Han Solo.
5) CROSSING THE THRESHOLD – The hero commits to leaving the ordinary world; his home planet Tatooine.
6) TESTS, ALLIES AND ENEMIES – Sorting out allegiances; meeting Han, Chewbacca, and Princess Leia, The Empire, and Darth Vader. Luke’s tests involve saving the Princess from the Death Star and everything that goes down.
7) APPROACH – The hero and new allies prepare for a challenge; Discovery of the Death Star and its power to destroy entire planets.
8) THE ORDEAL – The hero faces death or confronts a great fear; Luke encounters Darth Vader, and he kills Ben Kenobi.
9) THE REWARD – The hero has gained something from the ordeal, but is in danger of losing it again; Luke lost Ben but now he has a greater understanding and use of the Force through him.
10) THE ROAD BACK – The hero must complete the adventure; Escapes on the Millennium Falcon to meet the Rebels at the Yavin base, planning to destroy the Death Star.
11) THE RESURRECTION – One more severe test, a possible moment of death and rebirth; Luke has to do the trench run in his X-wing to destroy the Death Star. Using his new found power of the Force, Ben helps him to destroy it successfully.
12) RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR – The hero has been transformed; Luke now understands the Force.

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