Topic outline
General
Welcome to Media Lit/Film StudiesThis unit begins your Hero's Journey through film analysis. Each lesson is designed to introduce you to the 3 act structure of film and the hero's journey many of our favorite characters in the movies take right before our eyes.
This unit will be interactive so be prepared to do some reading, viewing, listening and creating.
Let the journey begin!
Hero's Journey Film Analysis Unit is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.Topic 1
Introduction to the Hero's Journey
Task 1 is to watch the Christopher Vogler video introducing the Hero's Journey.
Task 2 is to read both articles linked here.
Task 3 is to add your two cents to the forum discussion link in this lesson.
You will use this video and these articles as the foundation for the work you do in this unit. You will refer back to them often.Topic 2
Mapping the Journey
In this lesson you will create a 2 mind maps. Mind map 1 should show the hero's journey and the 3 act structure of the story. Mind map 2 should show the different archetypes found in the hero's journey. You will find the information you need to complete these mind maps in the articles your read for lesson 1.
Check out the links for free web based mind mapping applications to help you with this activity. Watch the tutorials each site provides to introduce the mind mapping tool and decide which one fits your style best. Each web application allows you to save your mind map as a pdf, jpeg, xls or other file type for sharing. Please save your mind map as a pdf to upload for grading.Topic 3
A Visual Review of the Hero's Journey and the 3 Act Structure
Watch this short video, Hero's Journey/Monomyth with Christopher Vogler discussing the Hero's Journey and illustrating his points with clips from films.
Then watch the second short video showing the 3 act structure of a film.Topic 4
A Visual Review of Archetypes
This video uses the film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children to demonstrate the 7 character archetypes. Take a few moments to watch this video.Topic 5
Film Analysis
In this lesson you will watch a video about analyzing films.
You will read about how to analyze a film.
You will look at several examples of good film analysis.Topic 6
Your Turn!
You need to choose a film from the film list to watch. You will need to watch this film at least once, but 2 or three screenings would be most beneficial.
If you do not own, or cannot rent the film or do not have access to Netflix you should check out http://www.crackle.com. This site allows you to watch movies etc for free. The catch is there are several short commercials inserted in the film to cover the cost of offering the service.
Additional sources for films:
http://www.hulu.com
http://www.videosurf.com/videos/Fancast
http://www.archive.org/index.php
Topic 7
Document the Hero's Journey
Use the Hero's Journey Graphic Organizer to document the hero's journey in the film you chose to watch. Watch the film again if you need to document the sequence accurately.Topic 8
Document the Character Archetypes
Fill out the Character Archetypes graphic organizer. Watch the film again if you need to and pause the film as needed to accurately record the characters and the archetype they fit.Topic 9
Choose Your Path
It is time for you to choose how you will analyze your film and start writing! Do a little research on your film. Visit imdb.com, look for reviews from others.
* Plan your thesis statement.
* Construct your support
* Outline your paper.
One last look at hero's journey! Watch the video titled Hero's Notes outlining the steps of the hero's journey.Topic 10
The End of this Journey
It is time for you to start writing! Be sure you follow MLA Guidelines. Cite all sources used in the paper. You do not need a cover page. Be sure your header includes your last name, first name, course name in MLA format.