Joseph Campbell And The Power Of Myth
Joseph Campbell argues that myths are stories whose fundamental function is to guide the human mind. His work calls us to be that hero who sets out in search of that talent that every individual can obtain and that will forever improve the world we live in.
Joseph Campbell was, without a doubt, one of the most remarkable mythologists of all time. His life changed when his father took him to the American Museum of Natural History as a child. It was there that he discovered Native American cultures. This aroused in him a curiosity that will accompany him until his death.
He studied mathematics and biology, but his main interest was culture and the human spirit. This is why he quickly obtained a degree in English literature and medieval literature. These are areas that brought him closer to what was his true passion: myths.
Campbell traveled to Europe to study languages, and while on the Old Continent he also encountered the works of Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung. The latter’s approach appeals to him in a particular way. Then he returned to the United States. He then spent 5 years reading. So he began to think about the idea that all myths, at all times, had a similar structure. It was the seed of great work.
Joseph Campbell and the power of myth
Campbell made long journeys, including one to India and another to Japan. After the latter, he came to the belief that American culture was very ignorant of different cultures and myths. This is why he undertook an information dissemination task on which he worked until the end of his days.
In 1988, the famous Power of Myth began to be recorded . It was originally a documentary. Each episode featured a conversation between Joseph Campbell and reporter Bill Moyers about the myth. We didn’t air the whole series until a year after Campbell died. On the basis of these interviews, the text of these broadcasts was published.
Joseph Campbell succeeds in reviving the mythology. Contrary to popular belief, myths are not fun stories to be told around a campfire. Rather, they are powerful stories that aim to guide the human mind. Joseph Campbell succeeded in proving that, in essence, all human myths were alike. He called this common model “monomyth” or “the hero’s journey”.
The Hero’s Journey
The Hero’s or Monomyth’s Journey sets the basic pattern followed by major myths and / or epic tales around the world and throughout all time. This structure is made up of 17 moments, which are part of three basic stages: the departure, the initiation and the return.
All of this is structured as follows:
– The outing: it consists of the call to adventure, the rejection of the call, supernatural help, the crossing of the first threshold and the belly of the whale.
– Initiation: initiation consists of different trials, the encounter with the goddess, the woman as temptress, reconciliation with the father, the apotheosis and the final gift.
– The comeback: it includes the refusal to return, the magical flight, the rescue from the outside, the crossing of the distant threshold, the master of two worlds and the freedom to live.
In short, Joseph Campbell argues that all myths have a similar basic plot. This is a hero who accepts the call to enter a strange world. There he has to face various trials and tasks, for which he sometimes receives supernatural help. Therefore, if he passes the great test, he receives a talent or a blessing. So he is faced with the dilemma of whether or not to return to the ordinary world. If he returns, he will face new trials and when he succeeds in passing them, he will use his talent to improve this world.
The effects of the power of myth
Finally, the work of Joseph Campbell has had a particular impact on the world of literature and cinema. Books like The Lord of the Rings , or movies like Star Wars follow step by step the structure of the journey of the hero, that is to say the monomyth.
However, the contribution of Campbell’s work goes much further. He saw in myths an “experience of meaning”. So to speak, an approach to storytelling that has given wisdom and meaning to human life. These are stories that invite introspection and that allow us to receive a deep message, encrypted by symbols. Stories that still fulfill their mission, namely that of expanding consciousness.
From his research, Campbell came up with a philosophy of life that many see summed up in one of his recurring phrases: “When you pursue your happiness, doors will open where you never thought you would find it and where there would be no happiness. wear for someone other than you ”.
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