Following the Symbol of Hope

Initially, the hero and the villain live in two completely different worlds. To bring the hero and villain together, the hero has an unfulfilled dream and has no idea how to achieve that goal. What links the hero to the villain and gives the hero a path to the goal is something form the villain called the Symbol of Hope.

This Symbol of Hope appears in the middle of Act I and comes directly, but unintentionally, from the villain. In “Star Wars,” Darth Vader tries tor retrieve the token Death Star plans but Princess Leia hides them in R2D2. When Luke gets R2D2, he sees the hologram of Princess Leia and that’s his Symbol of Hope.

Without Darth Vader, this Symbol of Hope would never have intruded into Luke’s life. Now Luke follows this Symbol of Hope when R2D2 escapes, which leads Luke directly to his mentor, Obi-wan. Luke chases this Symbol of Hope to go to Princess Leia’s planet in Act IIa.

After Luke gets captured by the Death Star, he has to protect this Symbol of Hope (Princess Leia) by rescuing her from prison and bringing her back to the Millennium Falcon in Act IIb.

Finally Luke must defeat the villain to save the Symbol of Hope in Act III. So the basic structure looks like this:

  • Act I – The villain introduces a Symbol of Hope into the hero’s life
  • Act IIa – The hero follows the Symbol of Hope into a new world
  • Act IIb – The hero has to save the Symbol of Hope
  • Act III – The hero must defeat the villain to protect the Symbol of Hope

The Symbol of Hope is crucial because it links the hero to the villain and gives the hero a path to achieving his or her initial dream. More importantly, this Symbol of Hope structures the actions of the hero in all four Acts.

In “Room,” the hero has been trapped in a garden shed that the villain has turned into a prison. Her Symbol of Hope occurs when a rat sneaks into her prison. Suddenly this rat makes her realize if a rat can get in, then there must be a way for her to get out. Her mentor is her own seven-year old son. Act I is about finding a Symbol of Hope from the villain and following that Symbol of Hope to a mentor.

In Act IIa, the hero derives a plan to escape. The rat represents her true Symbol of Hope, which is freedom.

In Act IIb, the hero has been rescued from her prison and now her challenge is to deal with the guilt of keeping a seven year old son in captivity with her all seven years. The hero’s big challenge is to preserve her freedom.

Finally in Act III, the hero must go back to her prison to defeat the bad memories of her past and truly be free. Her Symbol of Hope is freedom that she must protect. After Act II ends, the hero has finally proven to herself (and the audience) that she’s truly going to stay free.

When structuring your own screenplay, make sure you have a Symbol of Hope to guide your hero’s actions in each Act.

  • Act I – The villain introduces the Symbol of Hope into the hero’s life and the hero follows this Symbol of Hope to find a mentor
  • Act IIa – The hero follows the Symbol of Hope into a new world
  • Act IIb – The hero must protect the Symbol of Hope
  • Act III – The hero must defeat the villain to keep the Symbol of Hope safe

The Symbol of Hope is a crucial element of screenwriting. It links the hero to the villain and gives the hero a purpose in each Act. Sometimes the symbol of Hope is an object (the plant in “WALL-E”) and sometimes the Symbol of Hope is a person (Princess Leia in “Star Wars”). Sometimes the Symbol of Hope is an abstract idea such as the rat that represents freedom in “Room.”

Analyze your favorite movies and you’ll see that in Act I, the villain inadvertently introduces a Symbol of Hope into the hero’s life and this Symbol of Hope leads the hero to a mentor. Follow this Symbol of Hope and you’ll see that it defines the structure of each Act as well.

 

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