Virgin stories are about awakening to your true potential, despite the wishes or beliefs of the world around you. Here is my list of favorite 21st Century Virgin movies. Interestingly, their writers have intuitively followed the structure of the Virgin’s journey (I’m guessing they haven’t all read my book The Virgin’s Promise).
Notice how the driving force is to follow an impulse for something the protagonist feels a passion for. It is all about a quest for connection to self. The driver is not a wrong that has to be righted, a quest for resources to protect the survival of the village, a campaign to stop evil before it attacks the village, or any other external crisis. Sometimes, or even often, the outcome of a Virgin journey makes the world a better place, but that is not the goal. Billy Elliot did not set out to be the first male lead in Swan Lake. He just needed to dance to feel whole. This is a major distinction between Virgin and Hero stories.
Top 21 Virgin Movies Of The 21st Century
In chronological order, here is my list. Look for one of the key features of a Virgin journey, which is what I call a Secret World. This is where the protagonist admits to herself that she wants something or has a talent and she creates the space (consciously or unconsciously) to grow into that potential, even though people don’t think it is doable.
1. Erin Brockovich (2000)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2GvrAQMNoU
2. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
3. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
4. Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
5. Slum Dog Millionaire (2008)
6. 27 Dresses (2008)
7. Precious (2009)
8. Avatar (2009)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRdxXPV9GNQ
9. Black Swan (2010)
10. King’s Speech (2010)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzI4D6dyp_o
11. The Fighter (2010)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71l-kIhJ5j8
12. An Education (2010)
13. How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
14. Moneyball (2011)
15. Another Earth (2011)
16. The Help (2011)
17. Silver Lining Playbook (2012)
18. Brave (2012)
19. Frozen (2013)
20. Her (2013)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzV6mXIOVl4
21. The Way Way Back (2013)
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Do you want to learn how to write your own Virgin story? Kim Hudson is at Raindance London giving her acclaimed master class: The Virgin story: To Be Or Not To Be
Kim Hudson is a narrative theorist and a pioneer in storytelling from the feminine perspective. She’s the originator of the ‘Virgin’ story structure. While a film student in Vancouver, Kim was told that all story from all time was based on one story, the Hero’s Journey, one universal story.
Kim instantly recognized the power of the Hero’s journey and began a lifelong journey to adapt and innovate the Hero’s journey into a revolutionary paradigm to enhance the storytelling and screenwriting journey from the feminine perspective.
For the next two decades she was thrown into her own quest to bring this new journey to life. Exploring mythology, psychology (Jung), story structure and hundreds of movies, Kim recognized a second story structure. She described it in her ground-breaking book, The Virgin’s Promise: Writing Stories of Creative, Spiritual and Sexual Awakening.
Kim has an unusual background. She is trained in geological exploration and is a specialist in treaty negotiation with indigenous people. She is currently a Fellow with Simon Fraser University Centre for Dialogue and Director of the Two Ways of Knowing project. She presents her unique story class internationally. She currently lives in the Yukon, Canada with her daughters and dog.
