Annotation # 7

Vogler, Christopher. The Writers Journey. Third. CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 1998. Pgs. 135 -145 "Crossing The First Threshold", "Test, Allies and Enemies"

 

            In this stage of Volger’s book he talks about the extensive Approach to The Innermost Cave, which deals with various challenges and obstacles that the hero faces before his final test.

            Approaching the innermost cave is a time period that involves many events before the “bigger ordeal”. This is also a time for a love scene to occur in films and books. Vogler speaks about how the Wizard of Oz had almost every one of the steps taken in the Innermost Cave so used it in order to lead the way and explain what occurs during this crucial time period. Because I have not seen that movie in quite some time, I thought of The Dark Knight instead while reading through this section.

While approaching the innermost cave the hero faces complications, relies on his allies and mentor, realizes the significance of his reward and journey along with many other complications that show that the hero is human and is having difficulty facing obstacles even before facing his true test. There were many sections that reminded me of what Batman had to go through during the Dark Knight. I felt that the most significant point in the “approach to the innermost cave” stage in the Dark Knight was when Alfred tells Batman that “Some men aren’t looking for anything logical, like money. They can’t be bough, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with, some men just want to watch the world burn.” At this point Batman is “cutting into the opponents mind” by realizing that the Joker is crazy and will never stop because he has no logic behind what he is doing and has no reason to suddenly stop. Batman now realized that “the stakes are high” because if he doesn’t stop the joker everyone will get hurt. He is also facing what seems like an “impossible test”, like the gigantic head had displayed in The Wizard of Oz. Thanks to him mentor, Batman realizes he can never stop saving Gotham because the Joker will never stop killing people. Therefore, he faces his destiny because there is “no exit” for the hero and he must eventually face his biggest challenge, facing the Joker.

The next stage of the journey deals with finally facing the villain, the Ordeal. In this stage Vogler displays a mountain, which shows the “crisis” the hero must face. This is created differently depending on the movie with some crisis’s being delayed or extended. The “tension” however must still keep the audience tension, or else this section can be too lengthy and drag on.

The Ordeal is the chance for the hero to fail and then get reborn again, because there is always excitement and energy added to a film or book when the hero first does not succeed but continues trying. As Vogler puts it, “sometimes things have to get better before they can get worse.” Vogler also explained human emotions as “basketballs”, and the audience gets a tremendously pleased feeling after feeling really low about the hero and his failures. After the basketball hits the ground it flies right back up again, which adds more human emotions to the character and empathy by the audience who know that he is struggling like everyone else.

Of course, the hero must get back up again and continue. This is when the hero faces his greatest fear; this can be losing the love of his life (John losing Clair in Wedding Crashers) or facing his worst enemy (Harry fighting Voldermort in Harry Potter). Eventually he faces the villain and defeats him.

 

Reaction:

These sections for me were more difficult and complicated for me to read than others. For one, the Wizard of Oz references were quite irritating and got my side tract on the main idea. Vogler kept discussing the “male energy” in the movie and how it affects the female hero as well as what everything “symbolized” in the movie. I wanted to read about and think about my hero, not have a lesson on what The Wizard of Oz is about if you look into it symbolically. Also because I have no seen the Wizard of Oz it just got me confused. There were so many steps during this section that I just got lost and them and although I tried to focus on what I thought was important they all just somehow meshed together into one.

The ordeal section was easier for me to read, however they were a few sections such as Ariadne’s Thread that I didn’t feel was so significant that it had to be there.

 

Questions:

 

1.     Can you think of a movie that had a “delayed crisis?”

2.     Where is the “other special world” in The Dark Knight?

3.     In love stories, what is their “shamantic territory”?