 Short Stories: April 23, 2014 Issue [#6272] |
  Short Stories
This week: The Shapeshifter Edited by: Shannon  
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We've all heard of Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Christopher Vogler adapted the Hero's Journey into The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. Vogler said, "The archetypes [the Hero, the Mentor, the Threshold Guardian, the Herald, the Shapeshifter, the Shadow, the Ally, and the Trickster] can be thought of as masks, worn by the characters temporarily as they are needed to advance a story" (24).
With the help of Vogler's The Writer's Journey, today I'd like to discuss The Shapeshifter.
Welcome to the Short Stories Newsletter. I am Shannon and I'm your editor this week. |
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I don't know about you, but when I think of the Shapeshifter archetype, my mind automatically veers toward things like werewolves and characters like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but most Shapeshifters are more subtle than that.
"Shapeshifters change appearance or mood, and are difficult for the hero and the audience to pin down. They may mislead the hero or keep her guessing, and their loyalty or sincerity is often in question" (59).
When the Shapeshifter is a negative figure who is destructive to the Hero, oftentimes he, the Hero, isn't aware of the Shapeshifter's duplicitous nature until it's far too late. Case in point, 2003's The Shape of Things starring Paul Rudd and Rachel Weisz. Adam (Rudd) is an overweight, insecure introvert who meets a gorgeous woman named Evelyn (Weisz) and is stunned when she takes a liking to him. They begin dating, but as their relationship progresses, Evelyn encourages Adam to change things about himself--everything from the way he dresses to convincing him to undergo rhinoplasty. Smitten with Evelyn's affection, Adam does everything she asks and gets defensive when his long-time friends start to question her motives. I won't give anything away--no spoilers here!--but I found the ending of this film deeply disturbing, and it has stuck with me for 11 years. The final scenes left me livid and appalled, and it's an excellent example of what a subtle shapeshifting archetype looks like.
"The Shapeshifter archetype serves the dramatic function of bringing doubt and suspense into a story" (61).
Any character can be a Shapeshifter, and not all Shapeshifters are bad guys (or gals). A character might temporarily don the Shapeshifter mask in order to help the Hero (Kim Basinger's character, Lynn Bracken, in 1997's L.A. Confidential comes to mind). The Hero himself may shapeshift to gain entry (Jim Carrey as Ace Venture: Pet Detective in the film's hilarious opening HDS deliveryman scene), escape a dangerous situation (Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs infamous escape scene), or obtain information (Michael T. Weiss as Jarod in the 1996-2000 TV series The Pretender.)
In a nutshell, Shapeshifters pretend to be something and someone they're not as a means to an end. Sometimes the end justifies the means, other times not so much. As writers, we get to choose whether the end--the ultimate goal--benefits the Shapeshifter, the Hero, or the Hero's enemies.
What kind of Shapeshifter do you prefer? Is your story's Shapeshifter scandalous and unworthy of the reader's trust, or is she reliable and honest? Do his actions help or hinder your Hero? Is she friend or foe?
Thank you for reading, and please join me on May 21 when we discuss the next archetype, The Shadow.
Works Cited:
 Vogler, Christopher. The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. Studio City: Michael Wiese Productions, 1998. Print.
For other newsletters in this series, see the links below:
Part 1--"I Need a Hero"
Part 2--"M is for Mentor"
Part 3--"The Threshold Guardian"
Part 4--"The Herald"
Part 5--"The Shapeshifter"
Part 6--"The Shadow"
Part 7--"The Ally"
Part 8--"The Trickster" |
I hope you enjoy this week's featured selections. Please do the authors the courtesy of reviewing the ones you read. Thank you, and have a great week!
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The following is in response to "The Herald" :
ChrisDaltro-Chasing Moonbeams  writes, "Dear Dear Shannon, Thank you, again, for featuring one of my short stories in your amazing Newsletter - Short Stories: The Herald. I was very proud; it is one of my favorite stories (but you should read The medium, one day). Love and thank you." You are most welcome, Christina. As always, it was my pleasure, and I'll most definitely check out "The Medium.". 
Quick-Quill  writes, "Another wonderful NL. I have to look through my books as I think I bought this book at one time. I have some books that I haven't read yet and this might be one I bought before a move. I think your point about the Herald could be a story starter. Like Soup starters a base is given, then add what you have in the cupboards to fill in the flavors and staple. Once you have a herald like 9/11 you can have a book like Incredibly Loud and Extremely Close. I loved the movie over the book. What story can you come up with given a Herald?" Exactly! I thought the same thing as I wrote the NL. Thank you for reading and commenting. 
billwilcox writes, "Wowza, good stuff!" Thanks! 
brom21 writes, "So basically the herald is the one who brings someone or something to light in a grandiose manner, correct? Could a herald be lower key but just as affective and significant, maybe like the way Morpheus slowly hints about Neo’s true calling and the reality of the matrix world? He seems to be very subtle but he totally blows the lid off the true state of things. Anyway, just for thinking. Thanks for the article." Yes! Thank you for mentioning The Matrix. It's a good one. 
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