Vogler Annotation p.231-291

Vogler, Christopher. “The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers." Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 1998 p. 231-291.

Summary:
Vogler's Epilogue: Looking Back on the Journey is a chapter that covers the purpose and success of the story, and gives more examples of movies that use the journey in different ways. The final and best measure of a story's excellence is with the audience. This is determined by the popularity and "lasting effect" (232). Vogler then discusses the stages for writing a story and using the outline through the previous chapters. This is much like a pre-made design for a powerpoint. The writer must choose design templates and types of outline. Looking a Titanic and its success Vogler goes over the ideas that its success is because it was extensive over different people and archetypes. This let the viewer to relate to people on the screen, feel their emotions, and have questions arise. Titanic is an excellent example for the hero's journey. However, suddenly in the end there is a twist of a less than happy ending. Because of this one would tend to believe a movie such as this would do poorly in theaters. However, this was proven wrong. It may have been successful because of its epic story that many people recognize. TItanic's success was very much a gamble for the producers.
The gamble made for suspense before its release and sure success. The Lion King is talked about as well in this section of Vogler's work. Vogler goes over how the movie is based off Hamlet. The Lion King uses Simba as the Hero who goes through Vogler's Hero's Journey. Vogler spent much of this section critiquing The Lion King. Vogler particularily did not feel happy with the relations to religion and church such as with the Baptism of Simba.

Reaction:
I found this section pretty interesting. I especially liked how The Lion King related to Hamlet. This is something I never would have picked up on when I was younger, and possibly not ever. This is a very interesting way of looking at the movie and very creative for Disney. This may be why the first Lion King was so much more of a success than any of the other sequels to the movie. I also found it very interesting about the archetypes and many different kinds of people being a reason for the Titanic to be such a success. Despite the unusual and depressing ending, the movie was a huge success. This was partially due to the fact that so many different kinds of people were portrayed and with different archetypes which made the movie relatable to a large audience.

Questions:
1. If there were no Upper or lower cast in the Titanic, would the movie have been a flop in the media?
2. Do you think the connection between the Lion King and Hamlet was done on purpose, or just similar plotlines that are common that would make them seem connected when on accident?
3. What do you think of Vogler's harsh critique of the Lion King?