The Hero's Journey
I have just finished reading The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, by Christopher Vogler, which gives a fascinating breakdown of the elements of effective storytelling. Although the book is geared towards screenwriters, novelists, and storytellers, I would say it should be required reading for any trial attorney as well. The single most important thing that we can do for our clients is to be effective in telling their story, whether it is to the prosecutor, the judge, or especially to the jury, and this book gives some powerful insight into what makes for an effective presentation.
The basic premise is that "all stories consist of a few common structural elements found universally in myths, fairy tales, dreams, and movies. They are known collectively as the Hero's Journey." The author draws on the work of mythologist Joseph Campbell (The Hero of a Thousand Faces) and psychologist Carl Jung, finding that repeating characters or energies called archetypes appear throughout our dreams and throughout the myths and stories of cultures across the world, that these patterns spring from a collective unconscious of the human race, and that when used effectively they can tap into human emotion in a profound way.
Vogler's focus is on the movie industry, and he illustrates his framework with various films of every genre, from Hitchcock to Disney to Star Wars. Over the ages, every story that is told is in essence variations of the same story, told over and again. Although all of the details in this book cannot be incorporated into every client's case, I think that understanding this framework will be invaluable in helping to convey each client's story to the jury.
Apart from the usefulness in trial practice, this topic is fascinating. Although my reading list grows longer every day, I intend to come back to this and follow up with Joseph Campbell's book and Carl Jung's ideas.
