Here are some of Joseph Campbell’s Video Series you should watch to get a better understanding of the “Power of Myth.” These talks include excerpts from Joseph Campbell’s all-important and best-known work The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Below are some videos explaining Joseph Campbell’s work. If you are a screenwriter, this is a must-watch.

In these discussions, Joseph Campbell presents his ideas about comparative mythology and the ongoing role of myth in human society. The series was broadcast on PBS a year after his death. The interviews in the first five episodes were filmed at Skywalker Ranch in California, with the sixth interview conducted at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, during the final two summers of Joseph Campbell’s life. During his interviews with Bill Moyers, Joseph Campbell discusses the way in which Lucas used The Hero’s Journey in the Star Wars films (IV, V, and VI) to re-invent the mythology for the contemporary viewer.

This EPIC1988 documentary, The Power of Myth, was filmed at George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch. In this interview, made in 1999, Bill Moyers discusses with George Lucas how Joseph Campbell and his concept of the Monomyth also known as ‘The Hero’s Journey’ and other concepts from Mythology and Religion shaped the Star Wars saga.

They will show you how you can create a mythology in your stories and screenplays. The linkage between Star Wars and Joseph Campbell was further reinforced when updated reprints of Joesph Campbell’s book used the image of Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker on the cover.īelow I have compiled a group of videos detailing the creation of not only the mythology of Star Wars but of STORY itself. “…that Star Wars was shaped, in part, by ideas described in The Hero with a Thousand Faces ( FREE AUDIO BOOK VERSIONS HERE)and other works of Campbell’s.” George Lucas stated, following the release of the first Star Wars film in 1977, His philosophy is often summarized by his phrase: “ Follow your bliss,” advice we all need to take to heart. His work covers many aspects of the human experience. When George Lucas was in USC film school he was fascinated with the work of a Joseph Campbell, an American mythologist, writer, and lecturer, best known for his work in comparative mythology and the all-important ‘ Hero’s Journey‘. Sure the visual effects were and are amazing but it comes down to is STORY, something lacking in today’s cinematic landscape.

Star wars the power of myth