Category Archives: mythology

Mythologies as poetry

“There are now no more horizons. And with the disillusion of horizons we have experienced and are experiencing collisions, terrific collisions, not only of people but also of their mythologies. It is as when dividing panels are withdrawn from between chambers of very hot and very cold airs: there is a rush of these forces together…. That is just what we are experiencing; and we are riding it to a new age, a new birth, a totally new condition of mankind – to which no one anywhere alive today can say that he has the key, the answer, the prophecy, to its dawn.

Mythologies, in other words, mythologies and religions are great poems and, when recognized as such, point infallibly through things and events to the ubiquity of a “presence” or “eternity” that is whole and entire in each. In this function all mythologies, all great poetries, and all mystic traditions are in accord; and where any such inspiriting vision remains effective in a civilization, everything and every creature within its range is alive. The first condition, therefore, that any mythology must fulfill if it is to render life to modern lives is that of cleansing the doors of perception to the wonder, at once terrible and fascinating, of ourselves and of the universe of which we are the ears and eyes and the mind.”

-Joseph Campbell

From Myths to Live By pg. 263

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Are All Movie Heroes the Same Person? – Pacific Standard: The Science of Society

Are All Movie Heroes the Same Person? – Pacific Standard: The Science of Society.

Perhaps you’ve heard they’re making another Star Wars film. Perhaps you’ve read up on the backgrounds of the new cast members and heard that the Oscar-winning Lupita Nyong’o will also be joining the crew on their adventures in a galaxy far, far away. Maybe you delivered a furtive fist pump upon seeing the leaked production photos, which show actual physical buildings and creatures on set in Abu Dhabi, as opposed to studio rooms adorned with green screens. Whether you’re a fan of the nearly 40-year-old franchise or not, the hype surrounding its next installment—scheduled for release in December 2015—is pretty hard to ignore.

While several factors deserve credit for Star Wars’ ongoing popularity—the ballet-like lightsaber duels, the roguish charm of Harrison Ford’s Han Solo, the massive amounts of toy merchandising—it’s quite possible that the space opera’s greatest strength lies in its reliance upon the work of American mythologist Joseph Campbell.

Read the rest at: http://www.psmag.com/navigation/books-and-culture/movie-heroes-person-joseph-campbell-monomyth-83796/#.U6SbO7MNr_o.facebook

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Filed under Joseph Campbell, mythology