The Power of Myth
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"The Power of Myth" was a six part mini-series first broadcast on PBS in 1988 as Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth (with Bill Moyers). The companion book for the series, The Power of Myth, (Joseph Campbell, Bill Moyers, and editor, Betty Sue Flowers) was also published in 1988. In the "Editor's Note" to The Power of Myth, Flowers also credits Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, "the Doubleday editor, whose interest in the ideas of Joseph Campbell was the prime mover in the publication of this book." The interviews were filmed at George Lucas's Skywalker Ranch during the final two summers of Campbell's life (the series was broadcast on television a year after his death).
Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth is composed of six interviews (each an hour long) between Moyers and Campbell. In these discussions, Campbell presents his ideas about comparative mythology and the ongoing role of myth in human society. These talks include excerpts from Campbell's seminal work The Hero with a Thousand Faces.
In the first episode of the series, The Hero's Adventure, Moyers and Campbell discuss George Lucas's claim that Campbell's work directly influenced the creation of the Star Wars films. Moyers and Lucas filmed an interview 12 years later in 1999, modeled after The Power of Myth. It was called the Mythology of Star Wars with George Lucas & Bill Moyers and further discussed the impact of Campbell's work on Lucas' films [1].
Episodes
- Episode 1: The Hero's Adventure (first aired 6/21/1988 on PBS)
- Episode 2: The Message of the Myth (first aired 6/22/1988 on PBS)
- Episode 3: The First Storytellers (first aired 6/23/1988 on PBS)
- Episode 4: Sacrifice and Bliss (first aired 6/24/1988 on PBS)
- Episode 5: Love and the Goddess (first aired 6/25/1988 on PBS)
- Episode 6: Masks of Eternity (first aired 6/26/1988 on PBS)
References
Book:
- Moyers, Bill and Joseph Campbell. The Power of Myth. Betty Sue Flowers (ed.). New York: Doubleday, 1988.
DVD:
- Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth with Bill Moyers (Bonus Interview with George Lucas on Mythology from The Mythology of Star Wars). Mystic Fire Video, 2001.