“Finding Joe”

This is a nice find, a 2011 documentary by filmmaker Patrick Takaya Solomon. Some of you may find the movie too New Age-y, but if you can get past that, this homage to Joseph Campbell [whose 109th birthday it was this week] and exploration of the Hero’s Journey may very well speak to you… both as a writer and a truth-seeker.

The film features several writers including Academy Award winning screenwriter and producer Akiva Goldsman, writer-director Catherine Hardwicke, actress-screenwriter Rashida Jones, and playwright Lynne Kaufman.

If you feel like the Hero’s Journey is some sort of formula for crafting a story’s structure, you are missing the point entirely. It is about a way of looking, a way of understanding, a way of living. And through that, it can become a way of writing.

Moreover this being Easter weekend, no matter what your religion (or not), themes of death and resurrection run throughout almost all stories, metaphorically speaking, and that is a key dynamic in the Hero’s Journey, therefore it’s a timely opportunity to consider these powerful narrative dynamics.

So I encourage you to watch the video. Feed your creative understanding. Edify your soul.