Vogler Annotated Bib 10: The Journey Back

Vogler, Christopher. “EPILOGUE: Looking Back on the Journey.” The Writer’s
Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. Third Edition. Studio City, CA. Michael
Weise Productions. 2007.

In this portion of Vogler’s book, he describes Looking Back on the Journey. This section is used to illustrate the stages of the Hero’s Journey. Vogler makes sense of the journey and describes the Hero’s Journey in relation to four films: Titanic, The Lion King, Pulp Fiction and The Full Monty. He also mentions the Star Wars Saga and it’s relation to the Hero’s Journey. Prior to explaining the Hero’s Journey in terms of these films, Vogler gives a few “warnings and guidelines.” He has bolded text that he thinks is of the utmost importance. First, The Hero’s Journey model is a guideline. Vogler explains that there is no absolute formula in writing a story about a hero and his or her journey. The ultimate goal is to touch “universal human emotions.” This is especially true in the film Pulp Fiction. Pulp Fiction is not in the typical sequential order. Thus proving that the model is actually more of a guideline. Second, The needs of the story dictate its structure. The writer’s values and beliefs along with the theme of the story, characters, etc will “determine the shape and design of the plot.” Third, Any element of the Hero’s Journey can appear at any point in a story. Vogler points out that it is sometimes necessary to repeat elements of the journey. Stories may have one main plot but many subplots and those subplots need to be catered to individually. Such an example is Titanic. The main plot of the story is rooted in the actual ship, The Titanic, sinking. This is an actual historic event. There are many subplots that include many of the characters. These subplots are what makes the movie. They touch upon universal human emotions. The characters of the story are of all different ages and socioeconomic status. Thus appealing to a variety of audiences. In all of these films, Vogler identifies the Ordinary World, the Call to Adventure, the Refusal of the Call, the Meeting with the Mentor, the Crossing the First Threshold, Tests, Allies and Enemies, the Approach to the Inmost Cave, The Ordeal, the Reward, The Road Back, The Resurrection and the Return with the Elixir.
This reading was by far the lengthiest assignment I’ve been given in The Writer’s Journey and interestingly enough, I don’t have nearly as much to say about it as I have about the other shorter assignments. It was definitely interesting to read Vogler’s analysis of the four films. I have seen Titanic, The Lion King and Pulp Fiction and as I read what Vogler says I can see the film happening in my mind and I can picture the characters that he describes and the archetypes that they fulfill. I have not seen The Full Monty or any of the Star Wars films. It was easier to read about the films that I have seen. Even though I haven’t seen Star Wars, I am familiar with the story line and can easily follow what Vogler says. I found it interesting that Vogler has been asked to evaluate and make suggestions for well-known films such as The Lion King. When I think of people making a film, I think of them just writing a script. Vogler brought to my attention that the people who write the screenplays put an enormous amount of thought into their work. They try to follow the Hero’s Journey and the stages of that journey.

Questions
1. Is Titanic the top grossing film in history?
2. Why did Vogler choose the films he did?
3. What does Vogler think about Walt Disney and his approach to filmmaking?