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Apr. 30th, 2023 06:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kradeelavread a few books going to, and coming from the beach this weekend ~ I think one was Art & Fear (won't do a review of that one out of laziness but will probably post a quote or two), and I forget the others. that said, this review's focused on "The Power of Myth" by Joseph Campbell, free to read on archive.org!
i was prepared to dislike this book thinking it was some kind of self help pop culture flavored book much like Save the Cat since I've vaguely heard Campbell's name being adjacent to storytelling building block-y quips like ~*the archetypical heroes's journey*~ but was VERY pleasantly surprised that the tone was way, way different and a hell of a lot more insightful. meaningful in the refreshing sense I get from genuine buddhist gurus.
- the structure of this whole thing is basically an extensive interview between bill moyers and campbell at skywalker ranch. both of them are super in tune with each other. campbell is the star given he's cooked up this overarching 'ur-mythology' thesis that they're talking about, but moyers sounds really cool as a dude too. he apparently did some in-depth documentaries way back in the 1980's on PBS and interviews where he sat interesting creatives and activists down and had them talk and talk but in a high quality way that i just don't get from podcasts. definitely checking out those documentaries as well.
- campbell is both more traditional and more radical than you think it's going to be, especially for a old pre-ww2 white guy whose family was farmers in iowa. he's going to say some things that make you wince -- not necessarily in the 'accidentally offensive to today's standards' sense, but more, challenging some pretty deeply held religious assumptions across the board and being casually heretical even in a way that took me, an ex-fundamentalist, off guard. it's a book about testing the flavors of very different ideas, mythologies, and experiences, and mixing them all up.
- this book is VERY piscean. i say that tongue in cheek given astrology's fake but i still enjoy leaning into my whole '8th house morbid occult - pisces-sun decay/regeneration/end of a cycle/dreams/ego-death-y' sort of vibe way, but holy hell, talk about like, ego death as a whole encompassing religious-mythological theory about world cultures. except cool and life giving but still sublime in the terrifying way. it's kind of hard to define what is his actual theory, but as mentioned above (and like jung with the collective unconscious in dreams) he traces the idea that each culture has myths and stories that have a weird amount of repetition despite being on the other side of the planet, thousands of years later. thematic shit like virgin births, death/reincarnation of heroes as a cycle, the mother goddess, etc. he then continues that tracing and says, hey, science and technology has advanced so far that it's shattered any kind of cultural mythology's relevance, and we need to make our own personal mythology, whether it be as individuals as artists, and/or society as a whole.
- i wasn't aware of 'follow your bliss' as being a well-known line but apparently campbell popularized this when he was a professor and students were asking about how to truly experience life. there was a genuinely hilarious quote tucked in the book when campbell teasingly mentioned to the reader that he was asked that so many times by students he should have said 'follow your blisters' instead looool.
- campbell puts a huge emphasis on reading absolutely everything and anything that calls to you as a way to start figuring out purpose and a calling. it *sounds* like a pretty basic 'no shit sherlock' message but i was really moved by his open-ended 'yes, and-' unjudgemental encouragement towards all walks of life. one of those academics that is the unicorn in the sense he's sharp, he's timeless in a way that doesn't feel dusty or removed/reserved or boring half a century later, and he's empathetic. he gives a shit. i would have liked to listen to one of his lectures.
- apparently george lucas of star wars fame rewrote empire strikes back and return of the jedi to fit with campbell's flavor of archetypical storytelling, when he thought to himself "this dude's onto something". If the name skywalker ranch vaguely rung a bell in the mention above, that's how they were able to record this whole interview.
- this one's pretty solidly ending up in my list of books everyone should read-slash-favorites much like david bowie's 100 favorite books list. in fact i think that the link is where i found this from? all in all, unequivocally a keeper and one i'll likely make a point in rereading in the next five years, since it's the kind of book you'll get different messages out of when pondering different stories. going to scoop up a few other of campbell's works too.
* save the cat as a book was useful for me back in early college when I was writing baby krad's first comic script that would eventually morph into iron crown - in terms of actually forcing me to have some structure and writing out the story on index cards and all. howeverrrr it has a intense slimy 'self help workshop' kind of taint associated with the whole thing and I can't recommend it without reservations.
i was prepared to dislike this book thinking it was some kind of self help pop culture flavored book much like Save the Cat since I've vaguely heard Campbell's name being adjacent to storytelling building block-y quips like ~*the archetypical heroes's journey*~ but was VERY pleasantly surprised that the tone was way, way different and a hell of a lot more insightful. meaningful in the refreshing sense I get from genuine buddhist gurus.
- the structure of this whole thing is basically an extensive interview between bill moyers and campbell at skywalker ranch. both of them are super in tune with each other. campbell is the star given he's cooked up this overarching 'ur-mythology' thesis that they're talking about, but moyers sounds really cool as a dude too. he apparently did some in-depth documentaries way back in the 1980's on PBS and interviews where he sat interesting creatives and activists down and had them talk and talk but in a high quality way that i just don't get from podcasts. definitely checking out those documentaries as well.
- campbell is both more traditional and more radical than you think it's going to be, especially for a old pre-ww2 white guy whose family was farmers in iowa. he's going to say some things that make you wince -- not necessarily in the 'accidentally offensive to today's standards' sense, but more, challenging some pretty deeply held religious assumptions across the board and being casually heretical even in a way that took me, an ex-fundamentalist, off guard. it's a book about testing the flavors of very different ideas, mythologies, and experiences, and mixing them all up.
- this book is VERY piscean. i say that tongue in cheek given astrology's fake but i still enjoy leaning into my whole '8th house morbid occult - pisces-sun decay/regeneration/end of a cycle/dreams/ego-death-y' sort of vibe way, but holy hell, talk about like, ego death as a whole encompassing religious-mythological theory about world cultures. except cool and life giving but still sublime in the terrifying way. it's kind of hard to define what is his actual theory, but as mentioned above (and like jung with the collective unconscious in dreams) he traces the idea that each culture has myths and stories that have a weird amount of repetition despite being on the other side of the planet, thousands of years later. thematic shit like virgin births, death/reincarnation of heroes as a cycle, the mother goddess, etc. he then continues that tracing and says, hey, science and technology has advanced so far that it's shattered any kind of cultural mythology's relevance, and we need to make our own personal mythology, whether it be as individuals as artists, and/or society as a whole.
- i wasn't aware of 'follow your bliss' as being a well-known line but apparently campbell popularized this when he was a professor and students were asking about how to truly experience life. there was a genuinely hilarious quote tucked in the book when campbell teasingly mentioned to the reader that he was asked that so many times by students he should have said 'follow your blisters' instead looool.
- campbell puts a huge emphasis on reading absolutely everything and anything that calls to you as a way to start figuring out purpose and a calling. it *sounds* like a pretty basic 'no shit sherlock' message but i was really moved by his open-ended 'yes, and-' unjudgemental encouragement towards all walks of life. one of those academics that is the unicorn in the sense he's sharp, he's timeless in a way that doesn't feel dusty or removed/reserved or boring half a century later, and he's empathetic. he gives a shit. i would have liked to listen to one of his lectures.
- apparently george lucas of star wars fame rewrote empire strikes back and return of the jedi to fit with campbell's flavor of archetypical storytelling, when he thought to himself "this dude's onto something". If the name skywalker ranch vaguely rung a bell in the mention above, that's how they were able to record this whole interview.
- this one's pretty solidly ending up in my list of books everyone should read-slash-favorites much like david bowie's 100 favorite books list. in fact i think that the link is where i found this from? all in all, unequivocally a keeper and one i'll likely make a point in rereading in the next five years, since it's the kind of book you'll get different messages out of when pondering different stories. going to scoop up a few other of campbell's works too.
* save the cat as a book was useful for me back in early college when I was writing baby krad's first comic script that would eventually morph into iron crown - in terms of actually forcing me to have some structure and writing out the story on index cards and all. howeverrrr it has a intense slimy 'self help workshop' kind of taint associated with the whole thing and I can't recommend it without reservations.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-05-01 03:31 am (UTC)Campbell's stuff sounds interesting too. I seen several critics be quick to write him off as an old white guy too invested in explaining other cultures' mythology and trying to fit it in one model, but the ppl I see truly engage with his work imo always seem to have a much more spiritually grounded view of art. Idk if that makes any sense, but rather than like simplify all stories, it seems like this sort of things helps ppl identify common elements to create narratives that might fall outside traditional structures by giving them a solid base they an refer to
Might be projecting what I want from him, after all I definitely need to give him my own readthrough, but this is additional motivation to actually get on with it lmao
(no subject)
Date: 2023-05-01 07:49 pm (UTC)'spiritually grounded' is totally a vibe off of his work here, so it gladdens me that you see that in his students as well. :) there's def some merit to the criticism, but these days there's such a wealth of other texts out there to hear from more specific scholars laser-focused into their cultures, so it's almost the best of both worlds.
you'd like it, imo, and can't wait to hear your own thoughts! :D
(no subject)
Date: 2023-05-01 02:09 pm (UTC)Good to know about "Save the Cat" -- I was recently eyeing that and wondering which way it tilted.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-05-01 07:47 pm (UTC)And oh yeah, don't even bother with Save the Cat; imo you're way, way beyond the technical-writing skill point that it talks to, it'd be like kindergardener stuff for ya.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-05-02 12:07 pm (UTC)