Final Vogler Reading

Summary:

For the first potion of this reading, Vogler talked about how letters, words, and stories are magical. First, he mentioned how amazing the simple concept of writing is; that pen strokes can combine to create letters, then words, then sentences, and eventually whole stories which millions of people can understand. Not to mention, all of the various meanings that one word can carry and all of the intricacies that come with forming sentences (i.e., sentence structure, metaphors, etc.). From there, Vogler went on to talk about how his skeletal structure relates to real life: 1.) his structure is malleable enough that all sorts of life-stories can be told using it, 2.) every living human has at least one experience that can be tweaked to fit Vogler’s structure, and 3.) that stories are alive, in their own right, and deserve to be structured carefully. It is through such effort, to create a well-developed story, that an author can bring a tale to life; from reasonably small aspects, like word choice, to make-or-break aspects, like story development. When those stories come alive, they speak a kind of truth that the audience can identify with. Consequently, audience members become invested in the progression of the story and are emotionally affected by the final outcome; it is with that kind of spectator involvement that stories gain the power to heal and hurt.

Often times, the Hero starts out as superficial; wishing for things instead of being content with what they have, which often times serves as a catalyst for the journey. After all, the journey is meant to help the Hero grow as a person; to learn a moral or emotional lesson which will help them correct their superficial ways, flaws, personality, or their understanding of the world. Like the audience identifies with the truths of the story, they also identify with the characters that have traits universal to all people: common drives, desires, and weaknesses. It is due to that commonality that people go and watch movies; they want to experience danger without getting hurt, have their wishes come true, and experience other situations which will never happen to them. Although going to the movies is an easy way to have our wishes temporarily granted, the audience still has to endure all of the struggles and obstacles that the Hero has to overcome in order to achieve their wishes. When the audience struggles alongside the Hero, the story becomes more realistic and obtaining the wish, in the end, becomes more rewarding.

According to Vogler, there are several steps of human emotional development that can be applied to help further develop his skeletal structure, however, he chose to focus on three. The first, which has already been mentioned, was wishing. In that stage, both the Hero and the audience establish that they need change in their life. However, if they want results, they need to do more than just wish. The second step adds action to the equation; instead of sitting idly by, the Hero has to chase his dreams. It is the transition between wishing and the third step – willing. The third step is where the Hero takes responsibility for his/her actions. In this stage, the Hero has developed enough will power to seek change for themselves and no longer rely on others. It is in this stage, that Heroes show how much they have grown; they have learned lessons along their journey which have caused them to be less idealistic (wishing) and more resolute in the life goals.


Reaction:

I speak, read, and write every day, which has made the novelty of communication wear off; especially, in this age of cell phones and the internet. I liked the first part of this reading, because Vogler reminded me how incredible language truly is. It is nice to take a moment and appreciate it. However, I feel as though Vogler took it too far by saying that writing is magical. I also think that he was a little harsh on the concept of wishing. Yes, it is great to make your wishes reality, but with that comes maturity. I think that we all need some wishes and some will in our life; having a balance between the two helps keep life from getting too serious.


Questions:

1.) Is it possible for an individual, who relates with the Hero, to grow and learn as the Hero does?

2.) Do Disney movies show the three steps: wishing, doing, and willing?

3.) Do any characters, other than the Hero, go through those three stages?

4.) After reading all of The Writer's Journey, can you see ways in which Vogler's skeletal structure can be applied to other modes of communication than writing and movies? Can it help people become more persuasive speakers?