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Summary: Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth
Review: As I started out my sophomore year in high school, I had the class honors 10th grade English 230. I learned, soon after school started, that in this class we would be studying mythology. I was very excited as I learned of this information.
Around the 4th week of school, my class watched the first movie of a series, called "The Power of Myth." It was about the life of Joseph Campbell, whom was an expert on mythology. In the video, Bill Moyers interviewed Campbell. Although the video was informative, it was a little dry and not very entertaining. Listening to Campbell and his beliefs was interesting, but otherwise not very enjoyable.
I liked the viewpoints Campbell had on hero's and the examples he gave of such people. He used examples through time and compared them to today. Campbell described the hero's life: the unusual birth, long initiating journey, victory over a battle, mysterious death, and maybe even rebirth. Even though I liked the information given, it took a lot to settle down, pay attention, and watch the video. Overall, I didn't like the video.
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Summary: My opinion of Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth
Review: I am a sophomore in high school. Recently, during my English class we watched The Power of Myth: The Hero's Adventure Volume 1. I found this biography of Joseph Campbell and his beliefs very intriguing. Although things of this nature normally do not attract me, this video was able to hold my attention. I found it very interesting especially when he talked about a hero having a thousand faces. As the video progressed, I understood more and more what he meant by this. He made me see that anyone can be a hero. Anyone person who achieves something out of the ordinary is a hero. It was also very clever of him to say that a newborn baby is a hero from the start. He said a baby was a hero because they undergo a very large transformation from the womb of the mother to a living, breathing mortal. The more you think about it, this actually makes complete sense. When someone has to give up their infantile characteristics early and start behaving in a more mature state they too are a hero. Such as when a young child has to take on responsibilities normally of and elder, for instance when an older sibling who is also young themselves raise their younger brother and sister. They become heroic figures without even realizing it. I think what I liked most about this moves is that Joseph Campbell was able to speak in laymen terms that any common man or woman could understand even though his is a man of such great brilliance. I would most definitely recommend this video.
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Summary: This Man Knows His Mythology
Review: I'm a sophomore in high school, and I was required to watch this video as part of a mythology study in my literature class. I've never been all that interested in mythology, but this video contributed to my interest in the concepts behind the mythology being greatly increased. Joseph Campbell doesn't see mythology in the light that most people do. Most people will see it as an ancient reference point for pretentious idiots. However, Campbell makes mythology very alive. He uses his incredibly vast library of knowledge on the mythologies of the Greeks, Japanese, Native Americans, and countless others to relate it all back to life today.One of the things that Campbell said that appealed most to me was his statement about listening to the inner voice. He talks about how one should live as he or she wants to without worrying about what anyone else thinks. He calls that being a "maverick," and Campbell refers to himself as a maverick. He talks about how he lived exactly as he wanted to live, and he gives examples of how the myths support this. He talks about how the myths, in attempting to explain nature, give us many clues as to the cause of many psychological states in our present-day society. He discusses the role of women in ancient myths, and how it influences many of today's views and customs. Women are the cradles of life in the natural world, and since natural life is a time of tribulation in most religions, this creates the negative view of women in mythology. He talks of how everyone is a hero on some level, but how not all take this and truly live. Campbell talks of how we must "die to ourselves" as children, for instance, and be reborn as something new. This is one sense in which we are all heroes. He also speaks on how a simple median for anyone to see almost all of the basic archetypes and conditions of mythology would be to watch the Star Wars series. Personally, I would rather read Campbell's books, but that's only because I don't like Star Wars. In conclusion, Campbell takes mythology, which, in many people's eyes, formerly including me, is a dead subject, and he transforms it into something alive with incredible bearing and necessity in today's world. I would recommend that anyone watch this video, and afterword, if you want, I guess you could watch STar Wars.
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Summary: My review for Campbell
Review: Joseph Campbell was a man who sent the majority of his life researching about myths. He researched everything from their origin to how they've changed over time. He spent a great deal of time connecting these myths with things we are familiar with today. In the series he created, "The Power of Myth", I watched volume one, "The Hero's Adventure." In this movie he was having a great discussion with Bill Moyers about mythology and what he has discovered
In the movie, he refers to Star Wars many times, especially in comparing Darth Vader to the "dark side". He continues to return to this Star Wars analogy throughout the movie. He goes into great depth about what he has learned and how it has affected many things as well as providing some far out examples that I would've never imagined myself. He continued to give a great amount of information supporting his beliefs, and giving very detailed examples. However, I have to say that I found my interest level declining as the movie went on. The more I watched, the more I caught myself as my mind began to drift off. I found it hard to keep my interest focused simply on two men talking about mythology, mainly because mythology is not something that keeps my interest very well in the first place
This movie did provide a large amount of information and very detailed examples. It also gave some analogies and was very educational and informative. I think I would have enjoyed this movie much more if I were more like Joseph Campbell, meaning if I were more interested in going in depth with mythology. It's obvious that he has spent most of his life researching this topic and I do respect him for that. He is a very intelligent man and despite the fact that I did not entirely enjoy this movie, I still have to say that it was packed with tons of information
I would not suggest to anyone that this movie be changed or modified for it is fine the way it is. It gets his point across just the way he wants it, so it should not be changed. The only reason I couldn't quite keep my mind from wandering off subject was because I don't have that perfect understanding of mythology so I couldn't quite comprehend everything being said
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Summary: A Review of the thoughts of Joseph Campbell
Review: I am a sophomore in high school and in class we watched the Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth movie during class. I figured this was going to be just another boring biography that I would not enjoy, but it turned out to be just the opposite. Joseph Campbell talked about many different interesting topics but one of the main topics was those such as heroes. He mentioned the five parts of a hero's journey, which included: a call to adventure (when the hero embarks upon a journey), crossing the threshold (can only pass threshold by confronting death in some way), the test (passing through difficult experiences or temptations), the reward, and the return. An example of this was when he compared Jesus and Buddha. He mentioned that all heroes encounter temptation and then has to overcome these temptations, which could be referred to as "the test". He showed how this implied to both Jesus and Buddha. Satan tempted Jesus by offering him all the kingdoms of the world if he would worship him but I find this ironic that he was tempting Jesus who was the only son of God with something that he already possessed. Buddha went searching for enlightenment which was a temptation because this led him to denying himself of the many pleasures of life.
Another topic that he talked about was one that I found the most interesting. He discussed the relation between women and nature. Bill Moyers stated that in many myths all of the difficulties that came in life were generally blamed on women. An example of a difficulty was when the first sin was committed. Eve committed this sin, which led to blaming everything bad that happened in life on women. This greatly affected me and led me to think about how that is still happening today.
I think Joseph Campbell is a very intelligent man and proves this through all of his in-depth thoughts during the interview. I found that some of the things he talked about were very complex and hard to understand. I think this movie would be better for older students studying mythology because they would have a better understanding of what he was talking about and would probably grasp his complex thoughts and analogies.
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Summary: An Exercise in Over Articulation
Review: In my sophomore English class, we watched the video in this series that detailed the hero's journey. The Power Myth series consists of a total of six movies. They feature Bill Moyer interviewing Joseph Campbell. Joseph Campbell is the world's premiere expert on myths; therefore, most of the questions revolve around myths and how they fit into modern culture.
I felt this movie was mostly boring at the beginning. It begins very slowly. There are few pictures and endless discussion that can ensnare the mind to the point where the brain can no longer process the vast amount of information dispensed by Dr. Campbell. The Star Wars comparison and the pictures that come with this topic bring on a needed break. The examples given throughout the video are excellent. The examples show how myth permeates our culture and every other culture on earth. Dr. Campbell gives examples of heroes within most of the major cultures.
As I have said, the video is boring at the beginning. It picks up around one-fourth of the way through it. The information content was excellent. Every conceivable vantage point on the topic was covered. The information was also well articulated. It was spoken in a fashion that made it easy to understand. There is too much talking though. The superfluous talking makes it hard to pick up on the main points that are expressed.
Overall, I did not like the movie. I felt it was uninteresting and lacked the pictures necessary to keep the audience involved. Although this movie presents a wealth of knowledge, it is presented in a format that makes it unwanted and mainly indecipherable after the first few minutes of the movie. Also the fact that I have no great interest in the subject would have a bearing on this review. The thing I really liked the most about this movie was its reference to and use of Star Wars clips. The clips add a lot of needed excitement to the movie, but they make it nearly impossible to concentrate on what Dr. Campbell is saying. I recommend this movie to anyone who has an interest in myths and wishes to learn from the very best in that field.
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Summary: Here Ms. Booth!!!
Review: I thought that this movie was very educational and good for scholars of all ages. It was not very interesting to me, but that is beside the point. In this movie, there is a nerdy guy with big glasses talking to old but wise Joseph Campbell. He speaks many words of wisdom, and he is extremely knowledgeable in the ways of mythology.
My favorite part in the movie is when he is talking about the Indian girl who marries the magician. He can turn into a snake, and she finds this out and tries to run away. Then, an old hermit man said she should get the bag of hearts from a bag under her husband's bed. She takes the bag and runs away. Joseph describes this story very well, and I'm sure many watchers were intrigued with his style of storytelling.
He also described the path of a hero and what a hero has to do to be considered a hero. He must do a large deed, which involves saving someone or something, and then he dies at the end. In the story of Heracles, also known as Hercules, he has to complete a certain number of tasks before he is considered worthy again. At the end of his life, Hera, who hates him, sends him a tunic, which is poisoned and sticks to his skin. When he tries to take it off, it rips all of his flesh off, and he kills himself.
Even though Joseph Campbell is 80+ years old, he is very wise and his brain still functions well. My English teacher Ms. Booth said that most people with brilliant minds such as him could not speak easily like us normal humans; people such as Albert Einstein and others who were geniuses, but couldn't have a normal conversation. Mr. Campbell can though. I actually found him quite easy to understand, and he doesn't stutter much.
All in all, the video was interesting, and fit in well with what I am doing in class right now, and I would say that anybody who needs a good educational movie for their class should get this. I would rank this movie an 8/10 on the educational scale. Jeremiah Johnson
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Summary: HELPED ME UNDERSTAND!!!
Review: I am a sophomore in high school and I am studying Mythology in my English class. We watched the Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth movie in class. This movie was very informative and elucidated mythology and the attributes that a hero must possess. The basis of this movie was the interviews with Joseph Campbell. Bill Moyer did the interviews in 1985 and 1986. In these interviews, Joseph Campbell reinforced the fact that a hero must make a sacrifice in order to be a hero. He used the slaying of a dragon as an example; his example was that if someone slays a dragon even though you may disagree with dragon slaying you should still respect the person who slays the dragon because that person is a hero. A hero is a person who makes sacrifices. In watching this movie I have come to the realization that one way or another everyone is a hero. Everyone makes sacrifices just to get through a day. He referred to the dragon several times; he said that the dragon represented greed. The dragon in relation to human nature is "binding of oneself to ones own ego," said Campbell. To release one's inner dragon Campbell suggests that you find your bliss. This bliss is the place that everyone wants to find during his or her journey through life. Unless people find their center then tension will occur. Campbell also explained several things that a hero must endure to be a hero. One of these this is temptation. As an example, Campbell explained how several religious symbols were heroes. In the Buddhist religion Buddha would be the hero, he withstood many temptations while searching for enlightenment. Christianity was the other example and Jesus was the hero. He also resisted many temptations without compliance. This movie has taught me to look for a hero not only in myths but in everyday life also. I would recommend this movie to students who already have a basic understanding of Mythology. It may be a bit complex and incomprehensible for younger viewers with less essential knowledge of Mythology.
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Summary: Opening my eyes to the world of mythology.
Review: Joseph Campbell enlightens my eyes to the world of mythology in this series of DVDs. With a strong definition of mythology and the great knowledge that Campbell empowers, helps me learn about the world that lies before us. In these videos, Campbell enriches my knowledge on mythology and gives an explanation with great detail about various themes in the subject. The great comparisons Campbell makes between mythology and our regular lives, reflect how enriching and resourceful mythology can be.
Learning that our backgrounds have various similarities has increased my spirituality. The spirituality that Campbell offers is a way to discover the true meaning of your own life. Knowing that our life isn't just the simple ritual that we make it every day makes me feel the power to change it from the usual customary day. He's views on life are different from the ones that ordinary people have. The knowledge he has helps him see more of life than what we see. Transmitting this information to us empowers us to have the power that mythology offers through history. Knowing that life is more than what we make it and having the knowledge of mythology can help anybody make the best of life. Increasing your spiritual, and maybe even your emotional level will change your perspective of human beings.
The connections you will encounter in the videos will seem meaningless at first but after you realize that mythology is a great subject of matter that hides the mystery of our life, you will want to know more about it. Mythology is a great subject that can teach you various lessons. As Campbell offers it, it can be an enriching and extraordinary experience that you will find helpful in various forms throughout any subject of life. The Power of Myth gives you the power to make a change in your life and in the way of your beliefs. Enriching your knowledge not also helps you but gives you the opportunity to share this knowledge with others that will also want to know what The Power of Myth is.
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Summary: This was a great movie.
Review: We had to watch this movie in my English class recently and it really helped me understand myths and why we have them. Joseph Campbell explained every thing really simple so anyone could understand it. To talk about things like that so even people in my grade can comprehend means he knows what he is talking about. He also seemed to be a very nice, humble person and that is a good quality to have. It really helped me to learn about archetypes when he talked about movies. "Star Wars" had many archetypes and seeing them really helped me to understand them. It is weird to see how many stories now a day take pieces of myths and put them into their stories. Without myths a lot of stories would have as good of a story. The Iroqoi myth was pretty cool; it had a lot of the archetypes. The old man in the mask could be the mentor and the seven snake brothers could be the creatures of nightmare because snake people scare everyone.
There were parts of the interview where Joseph Campbell lost me completely. The main part he lost me on was the part about the water symbolizing the unconscious. I understood the Iroqoi myth about the seven brothers that were magicians until the woman crossed the creek and Joseph Campbell talked about the unconscious and I was just let in the dust. That is the only part of the whole movie I did not understand.
This was a very interesting movie and I would like to see the rest of the series. This one was great and really helped me in my English class. Some people said it changed their life, but I would not take it that far. I'll admit it helped and it was good movie, but I don't think it changed my life.
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