BERÄTTELSENS
UTVECKLING
1. DEN VANLIGA VÄRLDEN
2. ROPET PÅ ÄVENTYR
3. VÄGRAN ATT DELTA I ÄVENTYRET
4. MÖTET MED EN MENTOR
5. FÖRSTA TRÖSKELN
6. PRÖVNINGAR, VÄNNER OCH FIENDER
7. INGÅNGEN TILL DEN INNERSTA GROTTAN
8. DEN STÖRSTA UTMANINGEN
9. BELÖNING
10. VÄGEN TILLBAKA
11. ÅTERUPPTÅNDELSE
12. KOMMA TILLBAKA MED ELIXIRETPERSONFUNKTIONER:
HUVUDPERSON/HJÄLTE
MENTOR
FIENDER
SKUGGOR
FORMSKIFTARE
TRICKSARE, CLOWNER
BUDBÄRARE
VÄNNER
VÄKTARE VID TRÖSKLARNA
SYMBOLISKA SAKER
SYMBOLISKA DJUR
STEG TRE: VÄGRAN ATT DELTA I ÄVENTYRET
'You're not cut out for this, Joan, and you know it.'
From Romancing The Stone, a screenplay by Diane Thomas
Problemet för hjälten blir nu hur hon eller han ska svara på Ropet på Äventyret. Om du tänker dig in i huvudpersonens situation inser du att det är svårt och motbjudande att kasta sig in i förändringen. Det krävs av dig att säga ja till något stort och okänt, till ett äventyr som visserligen blir spännande men också farligt och livshotande i värsta fall. Annars blir det inget äventyr. Du står på en rädslotröskel och det är begripligt att du tvekar och till och med vägrar dras in i förändringen.
Fråga: Hur reagerar huvudpersonen i den roman eller film du analyserar på Ropet på Äventyret?
REFUSAL OF THE CALL
"Gather your gear, fellow Seeker Think ahead to possible dangers, and reflect on past disasters."
AVOIDANCE
lt's natural for heroes to first react by trying to dodge the adventure. Even Christ, in the Garden of Gethsemane on the eve of the Crucifixion, prayed 'Let this cup pass from me' He was simply checking to see if there was any way of avoiding the ordeal. Is this trip really nccessary?
Even the most heroic of movie heroes will sometimes hesitate, express reluctance, or flatly refuse the Call. Rambo, Rocky, and innumerable John Wayne characters turn away from the offered adventure at first.
Q: Is your hero turning away?
A common grounds for Refusal is past experience. Heroes claim to be veterans of past adventures which have taught them the folly of such escapades. You won't catch them getting into the same kind of trouble again. The protest continues until the hero's Refusal is overcome, either by some stronger motivation (such as the death or kidnapping of a friend or relative) which raises the stakes, or by the heros inborn taste for adventure or sense of honor.
Q: How is your hero's refusal overcome?
Detectives and lovers may refuse the Call at first, referring to experiences which have made them sadder but wiser. There is charm in seeing a heros reluctance overcome, and the stiffer the Refusal, the more an audience enjoys seeing it worn down.
EXCUSES
Heroes most commonly Refuse the Call by stating a laundry list of weak excuses. In a transparent attempt to delay racing their inevitable fate, they say they would undertake the adventure, if not for a pressing series of engagements. These are temporary roadblocks, usually overcome by the urgency of the quest.
Q: Does your hero have excuses for not heeding the Call?
CONFLICTING CALLS
Heroes may have to choose between conflicting Calls from different levels of adventure. The Refusal of the Gall is a time to articulate the heros difficult choices.
Q: Are there many conflicting Calls on you hero?
POSITIVE REFUSALS
Refusal of the Call is usually a negative moment in the herds progress, a dangerous moment in which the adventure might 90 astray or never get off the ground at all. However, there are some special cases in which refusing the Gall is a wise and positive move on the part of the hero. When the Call is a temptation to evil or a summons to disaster, the hero is smart to say no. The Three Little Pigs wisely refused to open the door to the Big Bad Wolf's powerful arguments. In Death Becomes Her, Bruce Willis' character reccives several powerful Calls to drink a magic potion of immortality. Despite an alluring sales pitch by Isabella Rosselini, he Refuses the Gall and saves his own soul.
Q: Is there any positive refulsal to Adventure by your hero?
ARTIST AS HERO
Another special case in which Refusal of the Call can be positive is that of the artist as hero. Writers poets, painters, and musicians face difficult, contradictory Calls. They must fully immerse themselves in the world to find the material for art. To answer a higher Call to express ourselves, artists may have to refuse the Call of what Joseph Campbell terms "the blandishments of the world'
When you are getting ready to undertake a great adventure, the Ordinary World knows somehow and clings to you. It sings its sweetest most insistent song, like the Sirens trying to draw Odysseus and his crew onto the rocks. Countless distractions tempt you off track as you begin to work. Odysseus had to stop up the cars of his men with wax se they wouldn't be lured onto the rocks by the Sirens' bewitching song.
However Odysseus first had his men tie him to the mast, so he could hear the Sirens but would be unable to steer the ship into danger. Artists sometimes ride through life like Odysseus lashed to the mast, with all senses deeply experiencing the song of life, but also voluntarily bound to the ship of their art. They are refusing the powerful Call of the world, in order to follow thewider Call of artistic expression.Q: Is your hero an artist refusing the Call if the world?
WILLING HEROES
While many heroes express fear, reluctance, or refusal at this stage, others don't hesitate or voice any fear. They are willing heroes who have accepted or even sought out the Call to Adventure. Propp calls them "seekers" as opposed to "victimized heroes". However the fear and doubt represented by The Refusal of the Call will find expression even in the storics of willing heroes. Other characters will express the fear, warning the hero and the audience of what may happen on the road ahead.
Q: Is your hero a Willing Hero?
A willing hero like John Dunbar from Dances With Wolves may be past the fear of personal death. He has already sought out death in the first sequence of the movie as he rides suicidally in front of Rebel rifles and is miraculously spared. He seeks out the adventure of the West willingly, whithout refusal or reluctance. Though there is no
Refusal by the hero himself, the danger of the adventure is acknowledged and dramatized through other characters: the army officer who gives Dunbar his "orders" and the wagon driver who escorts Dunbar to his deserted post.
THRESHOLD GUARDIANS
Heroes who overcome their fear and commit to an adventure may still be tested by powerful figures who raise the banner of fear and doubt, questioning the herds very worthiness to be in the game. They are Threshold Guardians, blocking the heroes before the adventure has even begun.
In Romancing the Stone, Joan Wilder accepts the Call and is totally committed to the adventure for the sake of her sister in Golombia. However the moment of fear, the way station of Refusal, is still elaborately acknowledged in a scene with her agent, who wears the fearful mask of a Threshold Guardian. A tough, cynical woman, she forcefully underlines the dangers and tries to talk Joan out of going. Like a witch pronouncing a curse, she declares that Joan is not up to the task of being a hero. Joan even agrees with her, but is now motivated by the danger to her sister. She is committed to the adventure. Though Joan herself does not Refuse the Call, the fear, doubt, and danger have still been made clear to the audience.
Q: Is there any threshold guardian warning you hero to undertake the Journey?
Joans agent demonstrates how a character may switch masks to show aspects of more than one archetype. She appears at first to be a Mentor and friend to Joan, an ally in her profession and her dealings with men. But this Mentor turns into a fierce Threshold Guardian, blocking the way into the adventure with stern warnings. She's like an overprotective parent, not allowing the daughter to learn through her own mistakes. Her function at this point is to test the heros commitment to the adventure. This character serves another important function. She poses a dramatic question for the audience. Is Joan truly heroic enough to face and survive the adventure? This doubt is more interesting than knowing that the hero will rise to every occasion. Such questions create emotional suspense for the audience who watch the heros progress with uncertainty hanging in the back of their minds. Refusal of the Gall often serves to raise such doubts.
Q: Did you have doubts about your hero? From what came these doubts?
lt's not unusual for a Mentor to change masks and perform the function of a Threshold Guardian. Some Mentors guide the hero deeper into the adventure; others block the herds path on an adventure society might not approve of - an illicit, unwise, or dangerous path. Such a Mentor/Threshold Guardian becomes a powerful embodiment of society or culture, warning the hero not to go outside the accepted bounds.
In Beverly Hills Cop, Eddie Murphys Detroit police boss stands in his way, orders him off the case, and draws a line which Murphy is not supposed to cross. Of course Murphy does cross the line, immediately.
Refusal may be a subtle moment, perhaps just a word or two of hesitation between reeciving and accepting a Call. (Often several stages of the journey may be combined in a single scene. Folklorists call this "conflation".)
Refusal may be a single step near the beginning of thejourney, or it may be encountered at every step of the way, depending on the nature of the hero.
Refusal of the Gall can be an opportunity to redirect the focus of the adventure. An adventure taken on a lark or to escape some unpleasant consequence may be nudged into a deeper adventure of the spirit.
A hero hesitates at the threshold to experience the fear, to let the audience know the formidability of the challenges ahead. But eventually fear is overcome or set aside, orten with the help of wise, protective forces or magical gifts, representing the energy of the next stage, Meeting with the Mentor.
Q: What type of Refusal does your hero perform?
4. MEETING WITH A MENTOR
5. FIRST THRESHOLD
6. TESTS, ALLIES, ENEMIES
7. APPROACH TO THE INMOST CAVE
8. SUPREME ORDEAI.
9. REWARD (SEIZING THE SWORD)
10. THE ROAD BACK
11. RESURRECTION
12. RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR
CAST:
HERO
MENTOR
SHADOWS
SHAPESHIFTER
TRICKSTER, CLOWN
HERALD
ALLIES
THRESHOLD GUARDIANS
SYMBOLIC THINGS
SYMBOLIC ANIMALS
