Man Strives For Greatness, but there are Consequences™: How to break the Toxic Ambition loop on Film

"Man Strives For Greatness, but there are Consequences" – the format is so synonymous with the Hero’s Journey that we forget there are other ways to fulfil its criteria.

For instance, Edgar Wright often makes "Man didn’t ask for consequences, but there are Consequences" movies. Nia DaCosta just made a "Woman strives for something she cannot quantify, and everyone else must deal with the consequences" in Hedda (with Ibsen’s help). Even Mission Impossible doesn’t follow this formula — "Man strives to save the world, but there are consequences."