At Cabinet of Wonders, Emps has posted a great video series on the life and work of Joseph Campbell:
Joseph Campbell’s work on myth was some of the most influential ever done, not only for our understanding of the power and nature of such tales, but also because he broke the structure down to core elements, which could then be used as a template by writers and film makers – cropping up everywhere from Star Wars to The matrix (see The Writer’s Journey for both a how-to and an analysis of a number of films, including The Fully Monty – who knew?).
Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth is an epic 6 hour documentary, which explores this topic through long interviews with Campbell and others (conducted over 2 years at George Lucas’ ranch). It is not just one of best documentaries on this topic, but is truly a tour de force of the medium which you’d struggle to find these days.
I don’t think I have 6 free hours in the next year, but I’ll be trying to fit as much of this in as I can!
