# Un-Pausing my Hero's Journey



## Ian8777 (Aug 22, 2016)

Recently I completed a degree in creative writing. Why did I do this? Still not sure if I am honest. I have always liked writing stories and odd little poems. In later years I have been writing jokes and stories to perform as an amateur stand up comedian. As far back as I can remember I have put pen to paper in one form or another. I think the main reason I went to University was for clarification that I was doing things right. Either that or it was part of my ongoing mid-life crisis. Whatever the reason I am glad I did it. At the age forty-one I graduated from Bangor University with a first class honours degree in Creative and Professional writing.

The degree taught many aspects of writing: Screenwriting, poetry, short stories, novel writing, literary analysis, animation, game design, and digital publishing to name a few. One of the modules that I enjoyed the most was a module called narratology. Narratology is basically the study of narrative. In other words it is the study of story and how stories are structured. I was taught many ways to structure a story such as the three-act structure, the five act structure, spiral narratives, linear narratives, fractured narratives, postmodern narratives, Marxist narratives, formalist narratives… The list goes on.

The structure that really captured my attention is known as the The Hero’s Journey. You may think you don’t know what the Hero’s Journey is, but if you watch movies then you know the Hero’s Journey because it has been the blueprint for many popular films. The Hero’s Journey can be seen in Jaws, Independence Day, Toy Story, Forrest Gump, Spider-man, Lord of the Rings, Lawrence of Arabia, The Wizard of Oz, Rocky, X-Men, and many many more films, stage plays, novels, and short stories.

The Hero’s Journey originated from an American mythologist, writer and lecturer called Joseph Campbell, who, from his study of myth, folklore and legend discovered there were common elements to stories that are not only separated by thousands of miles, but also by thousands of years. Campbell describes the Hero’s Journey as follows:

“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”

The Hero’s Journey can be broken down into twelve distinct stages.

1) Ordinary World
2) The Call to Adventure.
3) Refusal of the Call.
4) Meeting the Mentor.
5) Crossing the Threshold.
6) Tests, Allies, Enemies.
7) Approach to the Innermost Cave.
8) Ordeal.
9) Reward.
10) The Road Back.
11) Resurrection.
12) Return with the Elixir.

Let’s look at each stage by identifying them in the original Star Wars film. When George Lucas wrote Star Wars he was very conscious of creating a true Hero’s Journey and worked very closely with Joseph Campbell in order to make his story structurally sound. Let’s break it down. (This is my personal interpretation of the film and how the Hero’s Journey applies. It is not fact.)

The Ordinary World.

The ordinary world stage of the Hero’s Journey is where we see the hero in his everyday life prior to the story taking off. Luke Skywalker is introduced on his home planet of Tatooine. We see him as a curious and frustrated young man who dreams of a bigger, better future. Luke’s world is mundane and unexciting. All his friends have left home and Luke feels trapped. If you could sum up his life in one word it probably be something like bland, dull, or frustrating.

The Call to Adventure.

Along comes R2D2 with his hidden hologram message… ‘Help me Obi Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.’ Soon after we meet Kenobi who tells Luke he is to come with him to help the Princess. ‘You must come with me to Alderaan if you are to learn the ways of the force…’

Refusal of the Call.

Obi-Wan’s invitation presents Luke with conflict. He desperately wants to join Kenobi on his adventure but feels guilty because he can’t leave his uncle alone at the moisture farm. Luke’s sense of responsibility keeps him tied to an unfulfilled life. Luke fears his uncle and it is this fear that makes him decline Obi-Wan's invitation.

Meeting the Mentor.

According to Campbell, a key responsibly of the mentor is to provide the hero with advice, guidance and often some form of gift that will assist the hero in his quest. In Star Wars, Obi-Wan presents Luke with Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber and will later introduce him to the mysterious ways of the Force. Gifts that will be pivotal in Luke’s journey.

Crossing the Threshold.

When Luke returns home he finds both his uncle and aunt dead; killed by Imperial Stormtroopers who want R2-D2 and C3-PO. Luke has nothing more to stay for and joins Kenobi on his damn fool adventure. Luke leaves his old world behind and crosses the threshold into a new world that is both frightening and exciting.

Tests, Allies, and Enemies — (Part One).

‘Mos Eisley spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious,’ says Obi-Wan Kenobi before entering the port to look for a suitable pilot. In the bar with the cool music they come across Chewbacca and Han Solo who offer safe (if not expensive) passage to Alderaan. When they board the Millennium Falcon they come under attack and very soon find themselves rocketing through space being pursued by enemy Imperial Cruisers.

Tests, Allies, and Enemies — (Part Two).

After outrunning the cruisers and jumping safely into hyperspace, Obi Wan takes Luke aside for some in-house Jedi training. Using his lightsaber, Luke defends himself against the flying ball thingy with its wasp sting laser beams, much to the amusement of Han Solo. Obi-Wan makes Luke wear the blast helmet and tells Luke to trust himself and to let go. Reluctant at first, Luke does so and defends himself. He passes his first test and is congratulated by Kenobi. ‘You’ve taken your first step into a larger world.’

Approach to the Innermost Cave.

‘That’s no moon…That’s a space station.’ Kenobi tells Han Solo to turn the ship around, but it’s too late. A tractor beam pulls the Millennium Falcon into the Death Star where they will face more enemies and undergo further tests and trials.

The Ordeal.

Let’s face it the whole thing inside the Death Star is a bloody ordeal. After rescuing Princess Leia, they walk into a firefight and have to escape into a nearby rubbish dump. Luke nearly gets eaten by a monster. Then they all come close to being squished by the garbage masher. They get split up, chased by stormtroopers before ending up together looking out onto the Millennium Falcon. As they sneak on board, Luke sees Darth Vader kill Obi-Wan. Kenobi's death according to Campbell signifies ego death. Skywalker is changed and crosses another threshold into another world, albeit an emotional one.

The Reward.

With the tractor beam out of commission the gang escape aboard the Millennium Falcon but they are soon met by a swarm of TIE fighters. Luke and Han take to the laser cannons and dispatch the fighters...'Don't get cocky kid!' Safe for the moment they fly to their rebel base on Yavin armed with the Death Star plans. They are not out of harm’s way yet, and there is every chance that the reward will be short lived, but for now there is a moment of relief.

The Road Back.

Having analysed the Death Star data, the Rebel Alliance throws all its forces into an assault. Luke Skywalker is given control of an X-wing fighter and joins the attack. Luke watches many of his friends die as they try to shoot their torpedoes into the tiny exhaust port. Eventually Luke takes charge and makes his own run at the target. According to Campbell this stage is when expendable friends come in handy, often killed by the avenging force. ‘Stay on target, stay on target…’

The Resurrection.

This is the crisis moment. Luke flies down the catwalk towards the target. He turns off his tracking computer because the voice of Obi-Wan tells him to, ‘let go of your conscious self.’ Luke is pursued by Darth Vader. Vader shoots Skywalker’s wingmen leaving Luke alone. ‘The force is strong with this one,’ says Vader just before blowing R2D2 to bits. It all looks lost for Luke. Vader has him in his sights when… ‘Yeeehaaa!’ The Millennium falcon appears, blasts Vader into deep space and clears Luke to take the shot. ‘You’re all clear kid, now let’s blow this thing and go home!’ You know the rest.

Return with the Elixir.

Luke returns to the rebel base with the new found treasure of being a Jedi. He has abilities that can transform just as he has been transformed through the process of the Hero’s Journey. Through conflict and adversity and a little help from his friends, Luke Skywalker has grown from being a farm boy with a dream to a young man with a mission.

Why am so fascinated with the Hero’s Journey? Because this structure does not just apply to films or books. It applies to my life as well. Just like everyone else in the world, I am undertaking my own hero’s journey. The only problem is that lately I have become stuck. My Hero’s Journey has grinded to a halt. Fear has pulled on the brakes.

My Hero's Journey is based around stand up comedy. I became interested in stand up in my late-twenties having discovered comedians like Bill Hicks, Doug Stanhope, Bill Burr, and Louis CK. Guys who went on stage and told the truth no matter how painful, shameful, or disgusting. Soon after I booked myself into a gig in Newport and travelled down to carry out my own Call to Adventure. I did the gig and it went ok. Not great, but good enough for me to get a taste for it. Since then I have gigged when I can. I love stand up.  I love the intimacy of it. Just you, your thoughts and a microphone. Simple. 

But lately I have become stuck. A recent string of comedy deaths has knocked me off kilter. My mind is now awash with negative thoughts such as: What the heck are you doing? You are too old now. Leave it to the young kids with their styled hair cuts and in-jokes about pop culture. Who wants to hear about your life? Who wants to hear about your problems or the things that you find funny. You’re not even funny. Genital warts are funnier than you, and so on and so on…

My last gig was at my own night in Bangor. To sum it up. I died. I died hard and I died hard in front of people I know. Ouch.

The purpose of writing this post was to understand where I am in my own Hero’s Journey. I have completed the Ordinary World stage by taking to the stage. I have refused many calls by cancelling gigs at the last minute. I have met with mentors both in the comedy world and out; all of who offer the same advice: turn into the fear, meet it head on, feel the fear and do it anyway, just do the fucking work! I have undergone tests, I have met allies and enemies and I now believe myself to be stuck in the Innermost Cave stage, held in place by the increasingly stronger presence of fear. 

There is hope however. 

While I am afraid of getting back on stage. I have also become fearful of something else lately: The fear of my own deathbed. I know that sounds morbid, but I am beginning to suspect that the little voice inside my head that says, ‘Don’t take to the stage again,’ is going to be the same voice that says, ‘Oh dear oh dear oh dear…all that life and you wasted it on Facebook, online arguments, and other pointless things. Well too late now sucker…See ya!’

That scares me.

That really scares me.

Can there be any lonelier place than your deathbed when you are presented with a lifetime of regret for the things you wanted to do but were too scared? 

That is not going to happen to me.

To that end. I have booked myself a gig in Manchester on the 15th September and I am also going to do a spot at my own gig in Bangor on the 23rd. In Hero’s Journey terms this gig represents the stage known as The Ordeal. This is the stage where the hero confronts death or faces his greatest fear and out of this moment comes new life.

This may sound dramatic but this sums up exactly how I feel about it. I must confront the comedic deaths I have suffered in recent times, and more so I will do it in front of people I know which believe me is a lot more frightening that doing it in front of a crowd of strangers.

How do I feel about this? I am scared, but I should be scared. Anyone undertaking a Hero’s Journey will and SHOULD face fears along the way. That is part of the process. I need to confront my fears and move onto the next stage of my journey. Fear presented Luke Skywalker with many chances to give up but he did not. He stood in front of his fears and confronted them. For better or worse I plan on doing the same.

I just wish I had a lightsaber to deal with drunken hecklers.

May the Force be with you.


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## WildPolitics (Aug 22, 2016)

Ian, thank you for sharing a powerful piece – both about your own story and how familiar narrative is mirrored so often in our lives. 

It makes me wonder if anyone in the non-fiction world has consciously constructed their work along the 'Hero's Journey' stages. It would be a fascinating exercise to undertake

I hadn't realized that George Lucas worked with Joseph Campbell! No wonder the story stands up so well, even today.

I'll be thinking of you on 15th September.

Margi


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## Plasticweld (Aug 22, 2016)

If the comedy doesn't work out your writing might, very well written and presented.  You easily connected with the reader which is the key to comedy, applying the same skills in the verbal realm requires the same approach.   I would be curious who you admire as a fellow comedian, it would say much about your routine and approach.  I have a brother who lives just a few miles north of Manchester, if you like I can send  him down to heckle you :}   Bob


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## Ian8777 (Aug 22, 2016)

Hey Bob....

Thanks very much.... My favourite comedians are people like Bill Burr, Louis CK... Doug Stanhope...Jim Jeffries...I like guys who are brutally honest about themselves and their thoughts....  I would be happy for your brother to heckle me!!


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## Bard_Daniel (Aug 22, 2016)

This was a very well written piece and I enjoyed reading it. You definitely have some writing skill and I think you showcase it quite adeptly here. Hope to see more soon!

Keep up the good work! : D


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## Agrippa91 (Aug 31, 2016)

I recently read a book -- in preparation of editing the first draft of my novel manuscript -- about the structure underlying all stories. This is a great reminder that stories are a creative exercise, but also have certain elements that are universal and never change ...&nbsp;<br><br>Great piece!&nbsp;


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## Pippin65 (Sep 19, 2016)

Was wondering how your stand up gig in Manchester went. Great and interesting post btw.


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## Ian8777 (Sep 20, 2016)

it went great thank you.... great to get back in the ring so to speak...


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