Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth 1




Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth 2

Joseph Campbell - Sukhavati - Place of Bliss

In Sukhavati: Place of Bliss - A Mythic Journey with Joseph Campbell, Joseph Campbell travels the world to track the mythological symbols lefts to us by the ancients. Primal mythological signs and images evoke strong emotions and serve as a sort of public dream, according to Campbell. Campbell reasons that dreams are private myths. In the program, he suggests that each person must find a dream and follow it through -- he goes on to explain that each dream will lead the dreamer to the myth world in which they spiritually dwell. In an attempt to show people that the human soul has always walked the same path in search of true bliss, Campbell gazes through the mist of the Bronze age, explores Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity, and investigates the mysteries of the ruins of Ajanta in India, Delphi in Greece, and Stonehenge in England.

The Power of Myth - Episode 2: The Message of the Myth

Creation myths, transcending duality, pairs of opposites, God vs. Nature, sin, morality, participation in sorrow, the Gospel of Thomas, Old Time Religion, computers, religion as “software,” the story of Indra: “What a great boy am I!,” participation in society

The Hero with a Thousand Faces

Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces, a scholar who achieved legendary status as an explicator of myths, is reverently profiled in this documentary that encompasses his long life and career. During his childhood in New York City, Campbell was taken to see "Buffalo Bill" Cody's Wild West Show at Madison Square Garden. Young Campbell was fascinated by the Native Americans in Cody's performing troupe and eventually became obsessed with mythology. As he came to realize that myths worldwide had the same underpinnings, he also discovered his life's work. This documentary mentions Campbell's affinity for the writings of James Joyce and Carl Jung, and there is ample footage of Campbell, casual in flannel shirts, giving lectures salted with references to Buddhism, Christianity, classical mythology, St. Augustine, and the rituals of plains Indians. In later life, Campbell is seen being honored at a banquet at which George Lucas rises to give him credit for helping to inspire the writing of Star Wars. After Campbell's death in 1987, heated controversies arose about his work, but this documentary is an overwhelmingly positive look at his writings, lectures, and personality. --Robert J. McNamara