From Star Wars to Guardians of the Galaxy, countless Hollywood blockbusters follow a storyline format that mythology professor Joseph Campbell classified in 1949. The monomyth, or “hero’s journey” as it is more commonly referred to, is a narrative structure that Campbell argued is found in just about every culture in the world. We encounter it in movies and books, legends and folklore, even in trending news and our own lives.
Though it’s been prevalent in stories since ancient times, the hero’s journey remains one of the most popular and best-loved storytelling formats. One reason is because the promise of change makes it rewarding for an audience to follow. Somehow, some way, we know that the hero in these stories will end up in a different place or state of mind from where they began and we can’t wait to see the result.
For brands that want to up their storytelling content, using the hero’s journey is a great place to start. Its structure is easy to follow and easy to modify to fit individual brand stories, but before going any further, here’s what the hero’s journey entails. In his thesis, Campbell named 12 steps in the narrative, depicted below: