Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth

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Summary: joseph campbell and the power of myth
Review: In the video special The Power of Myth, Bill Moyer interviews the infamous Joseph Campbell on his insights into mythology and its deeper meanings. In this video, Campbell finds many connections between certain cultures regarding their mythology, that would have otherwise never been connected. He shows that many myths are the same throughout the world, and do not change over time. This he says, leads him to believe that all people are the same on a basic level. Since myth is based on life, he concludes that life itself is very much the same for everyone throughout the world. Although this is a very broad statement, it is very interesting and one of his better points.
One of the most intriguing aspects of Campbell's works is the fact that in traditional religions we tend to become trapped. We don't tend to have any actual discoveries, and insights into the deeper meaning of things. Campbell's ideas break down these walls. He offers new ways of viewing religions individually, and how they are connected to other religions.
Another point that interested me in Campbell's words, is the fact that women are blamed for all the misfortunes of life. They are seen as the burden of man, and the reason for his suffering. Perhaps this started with Eve eating the forbidden fruit, which brought hardship and death to humans, but as Campbell points out, it is not only in the Christian faith that women are viewed this way. Quite a point to ponder.
Overall, I would say that The Power of Myth is something worth taking the time to watch. It offers a break from the ordinary, and sort of refreshes your views on things, starting with basic human life, all the way up to religion. Joseph Campbell is the leader in mythology to date, and his views should be recognized.

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Summary: Educational with a Twist
Review: A few days ago in my tenth grade world literature class, my teacher played The Power of Myth: The Hero's Adventure for the class. We had been studying Greek mythology and placing the traditional hero's quest in many stories and myths that we had read. In this video, Joseph Campbell, who was one of the world's leading experts on mythology of all types, discusses the hero's journey with reporter Bill Moyers. The discussion is especially interesting because it takes place on the famous Skywalker Ranch, the home of George Lucas. Moyers and Campbell return to the subject of Star Wars again and again in this interview to help explain the hero's quest in a well-known present-day setting.
Although I found the contents of this video both stimulating and educational, I found that watching two people having a discussion about basically the same topic for over an hour was a bit tiring. The point in the conversation that turned to the world that we live in was the most influential and meaningful to me. Joseph Campbell tells that the intellectual and spiritual worlds are two very different ones. This is an opinion that I both share and think many more people should share. Although I agree with that sentiment, when Campbell goes on to say that we are living in an economic, unspiritual world, I was very unsettled. I agree that many people are very unspiritual in our world today, but this vast generalization is in my opinion an error within the video.
The subject matter within this video is extremely interesting to me, especially when Campbell tells of the reoccurring plots in many cultures' mythology. I enjoyed this video because of its intellectual manner, but I found that a book related to this topic, Ishmael, by Daniel B. Quinn was even more moving, thought provoking, and entertaining than this film. The fact that this book provides basically the same ideas in a story rather than an interview was why I enjoyed the book more than the movie, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a thoughtful, inspiring novel.

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Summary: The Hero's Adventure
Review: Joseph Campbell's point of view in his movie "The Hero's Adventure" was a very new and interesting view to me. His idea that everybody has some base in ancient mythology is unique, and I am able to agree with that somewhat. The idea that everyone "crosses the threshold" is something I can see happening on a day-to-day basis. Everyone has some kind of problems, and their problems could be considered their threshold, or ultimately, their "supreme test."
It was also very interesting how almost all of the myths or stories with "heroes" in them, were alike in several different ways. In all of the stories, the "hero" had some kind of challenge to face, a magical weapon of some sort, a journey, and someone to help them along their journey, such as a mentor. This may have something to do with the "collective unconscious."
I somewhat enjoyed the movie about the Hero's Quest, but at times the film seemed very dry. The stories he told though were very intriguing. I liked the way he made me realize that the character of Luke Skywalker in the movie "Star Wars", was the most basic example of a hero in mythology. His challenge was just basically defending himself and saving others, his weapon was his light saber, his journey was the one he took to defeat the "dark side", and his mentor was Obi Wan Kanobi.
Overall, Campbell's movie was a good documentary. It included many interesting facts about a man's view in our everyday society.

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Summary: A Heroe's Journey
Review: The movie, The Hero's Journey, was one of the worst movies I have ever seen. In my opinion, it was boring, and Joseph Cambel talked about stuff I had never heard of before. The manor in which he talked was enough to make you fall asleep.
Joseph Cambel is an old aged man who has trouble articulating and putting enthusiasm into his words. This make is hard to understand him, and it made it uninteresting. His outlook on mythology is long and complicated. In on part h was talking about an Indian myth that I had never heard of. He starts talking about how water represents the unconscience, but he never told me why it represented the unconscience.
Joseph Cambel is a smart, knowledgeable, and I don't doubt that he knew what he was talking about. He tries to explain things in lamons terms but most of the stuff went right over my head. So if you like something that you can't understand, and fall asleep watching, than this is the movie for you.

My name is Chad Taylor and I'm 15 years old.

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Summary: Opens the World of Myth
Review: I saw this video in 10th grade english. Even though I am young I can still understand what Joseph Campbell is saying because he puts it in very simple terms. He is a genius but is still able to put his thoughts into words that make sense to me. That is what I like the best about this video.

Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth is a very descriptive vision of the smartest man ever in the mythology world. He speaks of the most significant parts of myth and his beliefs on the world and many other facts of life through myth. Bill Moyer brings out the best parts of Campbells mind in his questions.

Campbell talks about the collective unconscious throughout this interview. It amazes me that people from all over the world can have the same ideas without even communicating with one another. The idea of floods wiping out entire peoples and snakes being signs of evil being the same all over the world is pretty cool. Collective unconscious is my favorite subject to listen to Campbell talk about because it shows that all people are connected in some ways.

Overall this DVD is o.k. I am not a big mythology major but Joseph Campbell helps me to understand the deepest parts of the subject even though he is on a much higher level than I am. It is not an action adventure though and is slow in some parts.

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Summary: Lessons in detatched search for the Ultimate Truth
Review: Since the first time I saw this marvellous program many years ago on PBS, I've never ceased to be amazed at the depth of spiritual insight which Joseph Campbell possessed. Though some of his assertions and conclusions I may not explicitly share, the fundamental core of his "philosophy" is unimpeachable for anyone who is detatched from "names and forms," and is willing to go past their tradition's metaphors to attempt an unfettered appreciation of the "Unknowable Essence." This video/DVD series is an utterly delightful exploration of the myths of various cultures -- an exploration whose aim is to uncover the meanings of those metaphors, an exploration which can enable seekers of truth and enlightenment to discover the key to the metaphors with which they have been nurtured on their own spiritual path, and enable each to realize that the Source of their tradition's metaphors is also the Source of those of other cultures.

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Summary: Essential purchase for anyone with a critical mind
Review: In this remarkable series of tapes Joseph Campbell artfully summarizes his lifelong study of comparative religion and spirituality. His insightful descriptions of religious archetypes, his engaging style and his choices of illustrative stories and examples will create a foundation for hours of thought for anyone involved in psychology, religion, philosophy and other fields. I strongly recommend it even if it seems that watching 6 hours of interviews on comparative religion would put you into a deep sleep. You won't want to miss a second.

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Summary: Changed my perception of myself and the world
Review: THE POWER OF MYTH is one of my favorite programs. In this six-part series of interviews with Bill Moyer, Joseph Campbell comes across as an incredibly gentle and insightful man with an extraordinary way of demonstrating how the different cultures of the world have much in common. He notes that many themes and myths can be found in varying forms throughout the world and throughout time. (I think it is important to know that by "myth" Joseph Campbell means "sacred teaching," not "untrue belief or superstition." Myths themselves may not be true, but they demonstrate principles that are true.)

The aspect of THE POWER OF MYTH that has had the most profound impact on me is the discussion on women and nature. Bill Moyers comments that in many myths it is woman who is blamed for the difficulties in life. Campbell explains that this is because woman represents life, and life, in the Judaic and Christian view, is something that is wrong ... unless one has been baptized or circumcised. Campbell elaborates to say that the Judaic and Christian view is based on the insights into the duality of life - "good and bad," "right and wrong," "life and death," "sin and atonement" - and that when you have a culture based on insights into duality, you get a mythology that tends to be ethical. "The whole thing started with a sin," Campbell says to Moyers, referring to Eve's mistake in the Garden of Eden. Man, of course, does not enter this world of dualities, with all its potential for pain, but by woman, hence the blame often heaped on womankind.

Campbell seems to indicate that in the Western worldview life is seen as a battle against nature (with which woman is inevitably linked), and that, surprisingly, Eastern cultures do not generally hold this view. Or at least they do not believe this as strongly as we do in the West. In the East, nature is not generally seen as something that must be fought against.

I love THE POWER OF MYTH, and I love Joseph Campbell!

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Summary: Perspective is bliss
Review: I bought this item after reading the book, simply because I wanted to hear and see Joseph Campbell quote all of these pearls of wisdom. I feel like this purchase really enhanced my experience from the book.

Moyers delivers a wonderful narration and directs Campbell to disclose not only the extraordinary wealth and depth of knowledge that he possessed, but also summarize the really important stuff - how (in Campbell's view) should we view life? How should we view myth? What sort of approach should we take towards our religion? Our Faith?

I think the most important thing I was taught here was that the whole world pondered and still ponders over these questions, and answer them sometimes very similarly, and sometimes very differently. This gave me so much perspective in regards to my own set of beliefs and made me feel like I belong to an entire world that asks the very basic questions, over and over again.

If you are interested in myth, and are not afraid to open your mind to different points of view, do yourself a favor and sit down to watch this charming, sweet and admirable man talking about the most profound and fundamental topics ever discussed in such perfect balance between seriousness and humor.

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Summary: Opened my mind to a new way of experiencing the world
Review: Last summer, in my 2nd year of college, I took a required Introductory Mythology course. Towards the end of the course, the teacher played some Joseph Campbell video segments to demonstrate some examples regarding our discussion in class. I was literally blown away by the scope and the depth of such a brilliant man as Mr. Campbell. It took several times of watching the entire series on my own time before I really began to understand the meaning of his work.

I would even go as far to say that Joseph Campbell's views have changed my world views entirely and expanded my horizons significantly. I think Bill Moyers said it best in the series when he said that Campbell's work had liberated his religon from the "cultural prisons to which it had been sentenced".

I was never a spiritual person because I have never been an advocate of organized religon. I believe that Campbell's work has helped me develop and affirm my own inner spirituality and allowed me to see the world in a positive way.

All too often, we are pessimistic in our world views that the world is a "terrible place", but Campbell reminds us to affirm rather than deplore our existance and we will in a sense break free from the nightmare of history.

Overall, Campbells words are very powerful for anyone looking for a fresh optimistic view of the world and their own lives. In many ways, it has helped me to see more of the beauty in my own world and affirm a positive and meaningful existance.