Graduation Year

2016

Date of Submission

11-2015

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Literature

Reader 1

James Morrison

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Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Rights Information

© 2015 Christus Ahmanson

Abstract

The following is an original screenplay about Maturity set in the mode of a Summer Romance. It is structured like the classic Joseph Campbell Monomyth. However, it offers a commentary on the unchanging nature of people by utilizing non-linear storytelling and inverting the typical hero’s journey narrative by having the protagonist end up, more or less, where he began. Key moments and story beats are taken from classic hero’s journeys and refashioned to fit the scale and time periods. Collin Williams does not cross the threshold into a magical new land but instead into the fantastical realm of Rock and Roll, he does not vanquish his foe by the sword, and he does not save a beautiful maiden, but the story is structured so that these events are adapted into their more logical real world parallels. All the while he is tempted by his love interest Liz and belittled by the “too cool for school” Billy James. Characters are molded from universal archetypes including the sage, jester, warrior, and king. Each has an arc that illuminates how these one dimensional approaches to life come into conflict with maturity. The screenplay takes advantage of the multi-tiered method of storytelling unique to cinema through heavy and deliberate inclusion of specific sounds and music. Repeated visual motifs and symbols also feature prominently with references to other revered journeys of self discovery and lifestyle philosophies.

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