All About Joseph Campbell

I don't want to give a long, in-depth history and life story of Joseph Campbell. He was an interesting, unique man, and I do want to discuss him today. But here are some links you should check out before continuing with this post is the name "Joseph Campbell" doesn't ring a bell:

1. Joseph Campbell - Wikipedia (whoever says Wikipedia isn't your friend is wrong)
2. Goodreads for Joseph Campbell
3. Joseph Campbell Foundation
4. Joseph Campbell Foundation - YouTube

Honestly, Joseph Campbell and his life amaze me to no end. In this post, I want to talk about his professional life. Many of his theories touched so many aspects of our lives, even in ways we aren't necessarily aware of. (It's too bad I can't do an actual interview with him . . . I'll just have to settle for The Power of Myth with Bill Moyers.)

The first, and probably most important, theory is that of the hero's journey, which Campbell put forward in his work The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Essentially, it's the basic formula for all the journeys that heroes go on in folklore and mythology.

Here are two links that can help with a better understanding of the hero's journey:

1. KU Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction
2. Hero's Journey 101: Definition and Step-by-Step Guide (With Checklist!)

There is a piece of cinema that took Joseph Campbell's theory of the hero's journey piece by piece and replicated it in its world and movies. The director was heavily influenced by Campbell and his work, which led to its influence in the world. Ever heard of George Lucas and Star Wars? You have? Yup, George Lucas used the hero's journey exactly for creating the Star Wars mythos. And you can definitely see it once you're familiar with the basics of the hero's journey.

I first learned of Joseph Campbell's work through the first episode of the show Myths & Monsters (you should be able to watch it on Netflix). I immediately got to looking for - and then buying - some of his bools.

I honestly think that these simple connections between myths - how many heroes across cultures and times - have to go through similar journeys that were summed up in Campbell's theory. It most likely wasn't intentional, especially in early history when connection to other cultures was extremely limited. However, These connections came from a human need to idealistic figures. The figures - showing themselves as heroes in one form or another - would show humankind what to do and what not to do, and they gave us the ideals for what humans should and shouldn't be.  As a result of this common, basic human need, many of the hero stories ended up being similar to those of other cultures when you get down to the basics of the story.