vogler Annotated Bibliography 11/2/08

Vogler, Christopher. “Resurrection and Return with the Elixir” The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structures For Writers 3rd Ed. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007. 197-228.

Summary
In these sections Vogler enters the third act of the Hero’s Journey. First he discusses the Resurrection stage of the journey that opens the third act. The dramatic purpose of this stage is to fulfill the audience’s need for another death/rebirth moment of climax that is needed at that point in the story, while the last stage dealt with the need for a crisis. The Hero needs to undergo a transformation before he returns to the Ordinary World, making that change visible to the audience and make it visible to the audience without just telling them that it happened is the writer’s dilemma during this stage. A new personality or physical “cleansing of death” from the Hero’s body are some of the ways to demonstrate the change. Vogler talks about the curious need for two ordeals, or a crisis and climax. The demonstration of the Hero acquiring knowledge and bringing it back to the Ordinary World is in itself a feat. Often there is a “showdown” inserted here, a final battle with death in which the Hero will exhaust all of his abilities and resources to survive. Very often the Hero’s survives the showdown except in the case of the tragic heroes, which Vogler addresses on pages 200-201. Sometimes there is a “quiet climax” where a “crest of emotion” tells the audience that the conflicts are resolved. There can also be a “rolling climax” where multiple problems are resolved with attention paid to each of them, but the audience needs to recognize a moment of “emotional breakthrough” according to Vogler. He also tells us that Catharsis is the final culmination of the character arc, the gradual of the characters change throughout the story has Catharsis as the climax.

In the next chapter Vogler discusses the Return with the Elixir stage of the journey. The main function of this stage is to implement the change in the daily life and use the lessons learned to heal the wounds of the Hero. There are two approaches to this stage, the circular and the open-ended; the circular tends to have a sense of closure and the open-ended leaves unanswered questions or conflicts. Another difference between the Return and the other stages that are similar to it is that the Return must finish your story so that it satisfies or provokes your audience as you intend. The Return can also be a good time to throw in a surprise, as the audience won’t be expecting it. Vogler goes on to describe how authors can conclude the story and some of the pitfalls that may be encountered. Heroes are often sadder but wiser or sadder but not wiser when reflecting on the elixir as a representation of the cumulative journey or lesson that must untimely be shared. Too many endings, abrupt endings, or unfocused endings are often found to contain pitfalls. Vogler also mentions that epilogues are needed to wrap up the story when there is a story that doesn’t allow for a traditional wrap up in the Return.

Reaction
In this reading Vogler pays attention to the role of the discussed stages as a part of the overall journey as opposed to his usual discussion of stages as individual entities. He uses a good variety of film examples and wraps it up with the Wizard of Oz, which while it is repetitious, also shows the whole journey very well.
Questions
1. Can you think of any films that don’t have a second crisis in the Resurrection stage?
2. Are there any examples of movies in a series that has a circular ending despite having a sequel?
3. Can you think of a stand alone story with an open-ended ending?