Hollywood discovered something that Christianity knew all along

Summary:

In his screenwriting courses, which were developed without a Christian view, John Truby explains that the most popular films are of the "mythical epic" type, in which the hero saves his people while finding his vocation. This hero is "born to do something": his or her destiny is fulfilled through a long and difficult journey visited by multiple opponents, moments that Truby calls "visits to hell", "moments of darkness", and "visit to death" (from which the hero usually narrowly escapes), and a final battle from which he or she emerges victorious: the hero then returns home with a personal, public or cosmic revelation, giving them a new vision of the world that they share with society.

The myth is based on the idea of a personal journey, the great narrative creation that allows for the character's evolution and transformation and is itself a metaphor: in the course of their journey, the hero will confront a whole series of opponents and trials, before the great final battle.

According to John Truby's The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller, the 7 major stages of a screenplay are as follows:

• Weakness and need (or problem/crisis): "The problem is the crisis the character finds himself in from page one. The existence of a past that gives impetus to the story" (in the case of Christ, the entire Old Testament and the prophecies announce the coming of a Messiah to save men from sin).
• Desire: "Desire is what the character wants in the story, his particular goal". It is what sets the hero in motion (God's love for mankind manifested in Jesus).
• Opponent: "The opponent is the character who most wants to keep the hero from achieving his desire." In epics and myths, the hero has several opponents (in this case, all powerful worldly and spiritual leaders of Jesus' time, and Satan).
• Plan: "The plan is the set of guidelines or strategies the character will use to overcome the opponent and reach the goal."  (to teach and confront the world and go up to Jerusalem for the ultimate witness and sacrifice if necessary).
• Battle: "Throughout the middle of the story, the character and opponent engage in a punch-counterpunch confrontation as each tries to win the goal." The battle is usually instigated by the main opponent (Christ's Passion).
• Self revelation: "It is the most active, the most difficult, and most courageous act the character performs in the entire story." It is the most important stage, because this is where the hero changes (Christ becomes the Redeemer).
• New equilibrium: "Everything returns to normal... The character has moved to a higher or lower level as a result of going through his crucible. A fundamental and permanent change has occurred in the character." This occurs after the victory (the world is saved).

John Truby also identifed 22 structural stages in the script that he recommends and considers necessary for the story to have greater force:

1. Existence of a self-revelation, need, and desire on the part of the protagonist (knowledge of his identity as Son of God Saviour).
2. Existence of a ghost and story world, i.e. a context and a world preceding the story, the universe of the story, the background, the back-story (Creation, Fall, God's Plan of Salvation, whole of the Old Testament and prophecies).
3. A weakness and need of the protagonist, which helps to launch the story (Christ the God Man, a simple, vulnerable man, guided only by love).
4. Inciting event: the action that breaks the hero’s “story world” (The Incarnation; or after Joseph's death, Jesus leaves Nazareth as the "Son of David", of the house and lineage of David).) 
5. Desire: what drives the story (Jesus' love for us and his desire to save us)
6. Ally or allies: the hero's friends, who will help him achieve his goal, those he can talk to. And the introduction of the secondary plot(s ): used to compare the way in which the hero and one or more other characters approach an identical situation (the apostles, their reactions and their destinies).
7. Opponent and/or mystery: the hero/adversary relationship is the most important in the story. Everything in the plot stems from this. The adversary wants to prevent the hero from achieving his goal by having his own objectives and values. He must be strong and mysterious: this makes him more dangerous, increases the strength of the plot and attracts the audience. The hero will thus have two tasks: to unmask the adversary and to defeat him (in the case of Christ, Satan is his real adversary; some of the Jews, Romans or powerful people Jesus meets are secondary adversaries).
8. The fake-ally opponent: this is a useful and interesting character for the plot, because he appears to be an ally, but is actually working for the adversary. The exposure of his double game comes as a huge shock (Judas the traitor, and, to a lesser extent, some of Jesus' close relatives who think he's a madman).
9. First revelation and decision: changed desire and motive: at some point, the hero learns something new that leads him to change (or propel) his desire and motivation. This revelation gives power to the middle of the script; it's generally what's missing to boost interest in the middle of the film (death of John the Baptist, the precursor).
10. The hero'splan: this is the strategy, the method the hero devises to solve his problems. But it won't work, mainly because the adversary is too strong. This initial failure forces the hero to make adjustments (preaching and demonstrations of power/miracles to try and convince).
11. The opponent's plan and main counter-attack. The hero has a plan for victory, but so does his opponent. At this point in the story, it is the adversary who will have the upper hand: the more his plan is developed, the stronger the plot will be (the plot to condemn Jesus and finding or fabricating charges for accusation).
12. The drive: the guideline of the story, the actual steps that the protagonist takes within the plan. This is the most important stage, a series of scenes during which the hero has the upper hand. There needs to be development, not repetition (Jesus focuses on the formation of the twelve apostles and the first seventy-two disciples).
13. The attack by false ally, who says to the hero: "I want to help you, but your methods are no good" with a moral argument. The hero says "no", the false ally says "yes" (the false advice of Judas and Jesus' close relatives).
14. Apparent defeat: at one point, the hero must have the impression that all is definitively lost, but just afterwards, a new revelation gives him hope that he can still win. A hero who has to climb back up the slope from the bottom is much more powerful and convincing than if he were to follow a steady, predictible upward curve to victory. A devastating element is needed: at a certain point, the hero must be almost completely destroyed, and not know whether he will survive. A single apparent defeat is needed: only after hitting rock bottom do you climb back up (incomprehension of the disciples).
15. The second revelation: just after the apparent defeat, a new revelation is essential: it will enable the hero to understand that he is not yet defeated. His goal and desire will then change and give rise to a new motivation that will relaunch him (Peter's confession in Caesarea, but the persistent failure of those close to him to understand the true visions of Christ).
16. The revelation to the audience, but not to the hero, in dramatic irony (hidden from the protagonist but known to the audience). The change of strategy is a crucial stage for the scriptwriter, to create a connection with the audience. A certain distance must be established between the hero and the audience, who is then in a superior position, already knowing the personal revelation that is coming for the hero. If the audience is too closely identified with the hero, the latter will not be able to receive this revelation for himself. The greater the revelation, the greater the intrigue. This is also where the audience discovers that the false ally is an enemy (the demons know who Jesus is, as do the readers of the Gospel).
17. The third revelation and decision: the hero obtains one last piece of information that is essential if he is to emerge victorious. This leads him once again to change and deepen his desire and motivation. He realises that the false friend is in fact an enemy. He learns what the audience already knows (Judas confirms his betrayal; Jesus "hardens his face" [Lk 9:51] - according to the literal translation - as he resolutely sets off for Jerusalem).
18. Gate, gauntlet, visit to death: at this point in the film, the pressure on the hero is at its highest. His space is shrinking. He passes through a narrow doorway, under the scourge of death: the proximity of death pushes the hero to enter the decisive battle to save himself, his friends, his people, his nation and the world (as the Passover of 30 A.D. approaches, it is " the hour of darkness " and the noose is tightening around Christ).
19. The final battle between the hero and the opponent: this is where all the characters, the plot and the physical space converge, in the narrowest possible space. There have to be walls around the battle, which has to be confined. This is where the author's vision becomes fully apparent to the audience. Of course, the confrontation must be difficult, the hero must suffer and make a "visit to death" but in the end he prevails in a form of "resurrection" (evil and hatred are unleashed against Christ who is innocent. He suffers his Passion, is killed but then gloriously rises back to life).
20. Self-revelation: after the victory, the hero sees himself in truth for the first time. This is a personal, psychological and moral revelation, which teaches him how to deal with others. Three key criteria are: this revelation must be sudden; it must be a wrenching experience; and the audience must experience the emotions, recognize the wisdom being expressed, be moved by it and identify with it (Christ "learned obedience" through the suffering of his Passion and became the Redeemer of humanity).
21. Moral decision: once the hero has experienced this personal revelation, he makes a moral decision. This must be an action that proves the reality and strength of the personal revelation and that has an impact on his group, his nation or the world (Christ forgives everyone: those close to him who have denied him and his enemies who have persecuted him, as well as all the people of all times who are loved by him without yet being worthy of God).
22. New equilibrium: everything returns to normal, but the hero is on a higher (or lower) level thanks to his personal revelation, in a new world (the Redemption leads to "a new Earth and new Heavens" Rev 21:1: the world is saved and Heaven is opened).

As you can see, it is fairly easy to recognize the story of Jesus in almost all of these points.

In recent decades, other famous script doctors such as Syd Field (Screenplay: the Foundations of Screenwriting, 1979), Robert McKee (Story Seminars from 1983 onwards), the Frenchman Yves Lavandier (Dramaturgie, 1994), Christopher Vogler (The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers, 2007, based on Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey published in 1949) and Blake Snyder (Basic Rules for Writing a Screenplay published in 2005) have all explained the 'must-haves' for good stories, with a few differences (the number of stages, and nuances). At the end of the day, we always find the same basic ingredients, with the exposition phase, the triggering incident, the various twists, "the moment when all is lost", " the dark night of the soul ", the "climax" of the battle and the final victory, followed by the "resurrection" of the hero and the resolution of the secondary plots.

Only then is the story stronger and the hero more admirable, moving and worthy. This is how Hollywood gradually rediscovered in the twentieth century the unsurpassed model of Christ's messianic journey, to which all the great films refer, either openly (Georges Lucas makes no secret of it in Star Wars) or implicitly, illustrating the words of the Gospel that affirms: "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends"(Jn 15:13).

Beyond reasons to believe:

• Good movies are hard to find these days. Let us know if you can recommend some! 

Going further:

Internet article: The anatomy of John Truby's screenplay: what you need to remember.

More information:

• Karin Gutman's blog entry "A Conversation with John Truby" 
• Video interview with John Truby on YouTube in 2013: Anatomy of Story.
• The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller by John Truby, 2008