Archetypes are universal patterns of human behavior that we all consciously or unconsciously recognize. There is enormous power when a story taps into archetypal characters or situations because they enable the audience to identify with the story on the deepest possible levels. In particular, mythic stories have survived only because they are constantly revealing to every new generation the patterning of human life. This course will teach filmmakers how to identify these archetypal patterns in their own scripts so that they can be more richly and eloquently developed. In addition to lectures and discussions on the mythic archetypes, film clips will be used to illustrate how these models have empowered modern screenwriting. Writers will also be given personal and interactive exercises to help inspire new insights that will greatly improve the quality of all aspects of their writing technique.

The range of topics that will be covered are:

• The archetypal patterns found in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and Virgil's Aeneid, which are used to develop heroic epics, action/adventures, and coming-of-age stories. (We will also cover the stories of Heracles, Jason, and Perseus.)
  
  
• The emerging consciousness developed through myths that have a feminine heroic component, such as: Eros and Psyche, Inanna, and Antigone.
  
  
• The stories of deities that are expressed in themes such as: war (Ares & Athena); love and beauty (Aphrodite, Eros); nature and virginity (Artemis); the dynamics of family (Zeus & Hera, Demeter & Persephone, Medea); technology (Apollo); the trickster, con-artist (Hermes); art (the muses); the underworld (Hades, Poseidon), etc.
  
  
• And spiritual themes, especially those developed in Dante's Commedia and Aeschylus' play Prometheus Bound.
  
  

Incorporating the principles of story development taught in the first INSIDE STORY workshop, this seminar focuses on assisting writers in accessing and utilizing their own internal, creative vision to make stronger and more powerful story choices. Identifying and knowing how to utilize mythic archetypes in a story is a formidable tool that no writer, director, or producer should be without.