NARRATIVE - THE HERO'S JOURNEY

This session, we looked at The Hero's Journey, 6 reasons stories are told, the 7 Basic Plots and Unconventional Narratives.

We started off by looking back on Proppian narratives, which always start with a lack of or desire of something. The characters in those narratives are less complex than real people, and audiences like seeing characters with simple desires, fuelled by complex psychological reasons. The hero suffers from acts of villainy, offer to fight villains, and are bestowed magical items.

(Link from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is an example of a hero who takes on Proppian traits - credit: Nintendo)

A lot of the time, characters are given psychic wounds. In this sense, it's some kind of defect or flaw that makes the character different, and in some cases "special". For example, Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels has the psychic wound of, unbeknownst to him, being bestowed with great power and strength in the Force.

John Yorke calls this Three Dimensional Storytelling, in which characters go on journeys to fix or define their flaw.

We also looked over what has been coined as the "6 Reasons Stories are Told". They are as follows:

1. REHEARSAL - Prepares the audience, in the event that they have to go through the same challenges as the character(s).
2. HEALING - When we see characters healing and recognising their flaws, it can lead an audience to do the same.
3. INFORMATION RETRIEVAL - Stories & narratives help people to remember information; showing cause & effect, plotlines and characters help us tie down facts and info.
4. PANACEA - Happy endings give us hope; even history can be rewritten to suggest a sense of order and justice
5. PROCREATION - Ends in sexual union, or it's "symbolic manifestation through marriage".
6. PSYCHOLOGICAL - Lets the audience integrate their psyche onto the story, helping us conquer our own shadows, and give up our own ego-centric wants to fulfill our needs.

Aristotle said "Stories are about change". That's also true of society.

"Stories carry in their DNA a blueprint for society" - John Yorke 

Stories change us, and in turn helps us change society. And that change comes from when we face opposition. New ideas come from posing an idea, or thesis, with it's antithesis.

Take Toy Story for example. Woody is our thesis; an old school, self aware, rational cowboy doll. The introduction of Buzz Lightyear, Woody's antithesis, shows Woody how to deal with a modern, deluded and rash spaceman action figure. Their dynamic is the catalyst for Woody's change, showing him how to achieve balance in their setting with the two of them.

(The first scene of Buzz Lightyear and Woody meeting shows their conflicting ideals and personalities bounce off each other, creating conflict - credit: Pixar Animation Studios)

THE HERO'S JOURNEY vs THE PLOT OF REVELATION

The Hero's Journey is a transformative structure; someone changes, and there's either happy or tragic resolution. 

However, there also exists the Plot of Revelation. This structure focuses more on establishing the characters and settings, where events take a back seat. It's character oriented, and things stay essentially the same.

The two both have a focus on characters, but there's a narrative theme or question.

There's also the topic of character's wants vs needs. For example, the hero wanting to be in a relationship with the attractive cheerleader over the typical girl-next-door could lead to a less fulfilling, more shallow relationship.

(Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" music video perfectly captures the example given above - credit: Big Machine Records)

CATALYST HERO

Catalyst heroes mostly appear in franchises or TV shows, where they should remain largely the same across all their appearances. They should get a few moments of change here and there, but still remain recognisable.

(This fan edit of the Marvel Cinematic Universe character Tony Stark / Iron Man shows us some of the key changes the character experienced. He's a catalyst hero, appearing in 7 films so far with major changes only coming from 2 or 3 of them - credit: TopScreen, Marvel Studios)

THE 7 BASIC PLOTS
Christopher Booker outlined 7 basic plots that can be seen in whatever medium stories are told.

1. OVERCOMING THE MONSTER - Defeating an antagonistic force threatening the protagonist, and/or their home; e.g. Moana
2. RAGS TO RICHES - A poor protagonist gains power & wealth, loses it, then gets it back; e.g. Cinderella
3. THE QUEST - Protagonists & co. go to get an object / go somewhere, with obstacles and dangers; e.g. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
4. VOYAGE & RETURN - A protagonist goes to a strange land, and overcomes a threat, returning with experience and newfound knowledge; e.g. The Wizard of Oz
5. COMEDY - Light & humourous, with a happy or cheerful ending. Triumph over adverse circumstance with a successful or happy conclusion; e.g. Toy Story
6. TRAGEDY - The protagonist is actually the villain, and their death is deserved and expected; e.g. The Dark Knight
7. REBIRTH - The protagonist is a villain, but this time, they live and redeem themselves; e.g. Venom

NON-CONVENTIONAL NARRATIVES

"Traditional animation tends to imply that it is a film that tells a story in moving drawings... and contains what has always been called 'personality animation'"      - Pilling

There are rarely used story structures which narratives can utilise. Some include:

• ABSTRACTION - Laying out only the necessary details, mostly in terms of visuals. Simple shapes and colours replace largely detailed sets and models.
• SPECIFIC NON-CONTINUITY - Rejects "logical & linear continuity". This format can have illogical, irrational and sometimes multiple continuities.
• INTERPRETIVE FORM - Leaves questions and gaps so that the audience can fill them in, leading to a more subjective experience over an objective one. Delivers a feeling or sensation over anything else.
• EVOLUTION OF MATERIALITY - Involves the medium itself into the story / film. Colours, shapes and textures "evoke certain moods & ideas".
• MULTIPLE STYLES - Combines various different styles and techniques to best express the artist's "vision"
• PRESENCE OF THE ARTIST - A personal, subjective film that exists for the individual's vision
• DYNAMICS OF MUSICALITY - A form used to "resist dialogue", and is essentially visual music.
• PROTO-NARRATIVE (or RIFFING) - In line with early animations adapted from comic strips, riffing relies on using gags and jokes over a story.

And that was about it for this session! There wasn't too much that spoke to me in terms of the films or questions I have in mind, apart from one aspect of the non-conventional narratives; specifically, the evolution of materiality. I want to explore how animation can be integrated into the narrative, and seeing an unconventional structure with that very idea could be useful to look into!