Sure, why not?

Joseph Campbell, one of the most prominent explorers of mythology, is widely regarded as the Godfather of Hollywood. Not because Vito Corleone reports to him, but because where every good film gets its start, the story, he gets due credit. He gets a piece of the action every time a successful script follows his theory and returns an investment in both dollars and sense.

Joseph Campbell, known more for his monumental work in human psychology and the myths we create in order to make sense of life on this planet, see the Hero with a Thousand Faces, than for screenwriting, which to the best of my understanding he never dabbled, remains famous in the former regard for this amazingly true, astute and one hundred percent accurate theory suggesting that there are really only two fundamental story outlines:

Story One: The hero takes a journey.

Story Two: A stranger comes to town.

That’s it. Fade to black and roll the credits. Even in the modern morphing of genres and the amazingly short attention spans of contemporary audiences, his thesis remains valid. Simply for indulgence and as an exercise in cinematic gratitude (respect for those that have filmed before us) let’s categorize some familiar flicks into their two available categories. Upon completion of this indulgence I will offer a question that connects the three dots of today’s study: The hero on her journey, the stranger new to town and my current project. You have already guessed the question haven’t you? Good.

Examples of Story Line Uno: Jeez, where to start? TV: Kung-Fu, Have Gun Will Travel, Gilligan’s Island, Hogan’s Heroes, Man from UNCLE, Mission Impossible, Lassie (the hero as dog), The Fugitive, 24. Film: Star Wars, Alien, Lord of the Rings, Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump, Castaway, Band of Brothers, Grapes of Wrath, Barton Fink, ET, Five Easy Pieces, Princess Bride, Taxi Driver, Blade, The Shinning. You get the idea. There are a thousand others.

Examples of Story Line Dos: Pale Rider, Hunger Games, Sixth Sense, Quick and the Dead, Harry Potter, No Country for Old Men, Mary Poppins, Butch Cassidy and his Pal, Field of Dreams, Shrek, Finding Nemo, 3:10 to Yuma. And another thousand in addition to them.

My question, in case you forgot, is simply this: Can you have both at the same time and in the same story?

Sure, why not?