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concept
also: Philosophy & Psychology

The Hero's Journey

Joseph Campbell's universal storytelling template: call, refusal, mentor, threshold, trials, return.

Origin

Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949) argued that myths worldwide share a single narrative structure. George Lucas used it explicitly when writing Star Wars; Hollywood has used it constantly since.

Modern usage

Standard vocabulary in screenwriting, game design, branding, and self-help.

Tags

storytelling
structure