Newly re-mastered, Mythos I is the first of a multi-part documentary which consists of a series of lectures given by Joseph Campbell during his final years. These lectures are a remarkable summation of a remarkable life and are presented in the order and the manner in which Campbell intended. They are a basic recording of him lecturing in a room with students present. It is narrated by Susan Sarandon. Volume One was first released in 1987.
Joseph Campbell was born in New York State in 1904 and became fascinated with Native American mythology and myth in general. He graduated with a degree in literature in 1925 from Columbia University, and a M.A. in Medieval literature in 1927. He was influenced by writer James Joyce, the psychiatric works of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, as well as Hindu philosophy and mythology.
What made Campbell's work so important was that unlike many in the field who concentrated on a single culture and the myths that arose from that culture, he looked across multiple cultures and saw the similarities that existed. In his series of books "The Masks of God," he tried to summarize the main spiritual threads that are common throughout the world.
Mythos I is about myths and mythologies. Simply put a mythology is a set of stories and ideas that try to make sense of the world and our place in it. These are big ideas, ideas that make you think. While the topics contained in this series may not be for everyone, neither is it exclusive toward the academic. No special knowledge is required to learn from and understand the information contained within. In fact, his lectures are very approachable for anyone with a willingness to learn.
Instead of studying the differences that existed between cultures, Campbell found the similarities between the world's religions. From there he shows that there are underlying themes that connect us all. According to Campbell "the material of myth is the material of our life, the material of our body, and the material of our environment. A living, vital mythology deals with these."
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
I thoroughly enjoy every video series I have seen Campbell in. It's amazing how simple he makes it all seem. "The Power of Myth" with Bill Moyers ranks at the top.
2 - T. Michael Testi
El Bicho,
While I have not seen that many video series of Campbell, I have enjoyed his audio and books for years.
I put him into the same class as I do Richard Feynman; a person who transcends their subject and can make the most technical subject understandable to anyone. I wish I would have had these types of instructors when I was at school.
T.