Monday, April 10, 2023

Joseph Campbell: The Power of Myth interview- Ancient and modern mythology and religions compared


This is "The Hero's Journey," the first hour of The Power of Myth series.  The whole interview series is six hours of journalist Bill Moyers interviewing comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell.  The interviews took place at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch in Northern California, in 1982.  Campbell was a professor and wrote many books about mythology and the religions of the world, throughout history.  Campbell was best known for for a book called The Hero's Adventure, which popularized the concept of The Hero's Journey.  

I discovered Joseph Campbell, I think from Roy of Hollywood's show on KPFK radio, in the early 1990's.  In the last post, I finally wrote publicly about why I think a relatively small group of people has dramtically warped Christianity in the United States in recent decades, to the detriment of all of us.  In my own search to try and figure out what makes sense from spiritual and religious traditions, this series of interviews was a huge help to help make sense of religous teachings of the ages.  Maybe it will help you figure out some of your own philosophical questions as well.  George Lucas was heavily influenced by Campbell's work when writing the original Star Wars trilogy (now episodes 4, 5, and 6).  

This is the first hour of the series, and while this comes from over 40 years ago, the themes they talk about are timeless.  I hope this post will help many of you find your bliss, and then follow your bliss, as Joseph Campbell often told people ot do.  








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