The Power of Myth

I don’t really know what to rate this! The interview format made it hard for me to fully grasp his framework and how his ideas fit together. I want to understand something more before I rate it. “God has no circumference” - what are we talking about??

Both men said a lot of things with confidence, but I wondered how true everything was. There were a lot of claims made that I sometimes needed more information on, like patriarchy “arising” instead of being there from the start. Again, the interview format didn’t help with this.

I do appreciate the idea that humans across cultures and times have a lot of common ground in their thematic concerns in story. I just don’t know if it goes as far as Campbell claims.

So much of what they said about Christianity felt like the deconstruction a lot of evangelicals are experiencing right now. They had critiques for how Christians have used Christianity, but they also gave me more respect for the myths. They put them in the context of other myths, and viewing the stories that way was helpful.

It was thought-provoking sometimes, but overall kind of forgettable because I just didn’t understand enough!

"The Power of Myth" by Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers is one of the most amazing books you will ever read or experience. Campbell, the late professor of Comparative Mythology at Sarah Lawrence University, wrote on ideas touching upon every facet of life and his ideas have inspired all types of artistic and creative expression. It would be impossible to write about every idea that Campbell discusses in this book but it suffices to say that his work touches upon many profound aspects of what it means to be alive.

The book is actually the transcript of a famous PBS television special with journalist Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell where they discuss what is mythology and what role does it have in modern life. It was one of the most highly rated programs of the 1980's and has continued to stimulate discussion. There are eight chapters, each which discuss a plethora of topics. For example, Chapter 1 examines the role of myth in modern life, Chapter 3 discusses the concept of sacrifice and bliss, Chapter 5 (perhaps the most interesting chapter) looks at the hero and heroic myth, and Chapter 7 discusses love and marriage. He discusses a wide range of ideas and symbols

One of Campbell's deepest ideas is the concept that mythology makes up the ideas of being alive, the business of living. Mythology is the stuff that makes up our interactions with each other and society at large. It transcends religion and society towards something deeper and higher, that great mystery. Mythology and mythological concepts are a reflection of our internal landscape- our human psyche. The commonality between all mythologies is a reflection of the fact that mythology reflects our human experiences, of being born, growing, and dying. It speaks not to tradition but to experiences and to the experience of living which is at once suffering and bliss. One of my favorite quotes is from when he is describing the challenge of modern life as reflected in the film series "Star Wars," which was one of his favorite examples of modern, contemporary myth. He writes "Is the system going to flatten you out and deny you your humanity, or are you going to make use of the system to the attainment of human purposes? How to you relate to a system so that you are not compulsively serving it?...The thing to do with learn to live your period of history as a human being."

The book really has something for everyone and even though I did not find every idea of this book interesting, one will find something that speaks to them. Campbell is probably the first instance I've seen of someone who is spiritual as opposed to religious. He had a profound sense of himself and his relationship to the world. This book seems to be an excellent synthesis of his ideas and you get a real sense of his beliefs and influences. It also has given me many, many different places to look for new ideas and inspiration. At times, I wonder if it might be better to read the illustrated version of this book as opposed to this non-illustrated version. But given this books ideas, it should be essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what it means to be human.