Joseph Campbell on Religion, Redemption, and Star Wars

[KelseyMM2]

I find it really interesting how much Joseph Campbell’s monomyth influenced Star Wars! I had never thought of Luke’s journey as being so similar to other hero’s. I just saw Finding Joe, which talked about this concept and how it relates to a bunch of other films too! youth. be/QTVKmZZN39I

[TaylorReynolds221]

Joseph Campbell on Religion, Redemption, and Star Wars

Star Wars is an amazing film. It is the perfect example of the hero's journey. It is actually used as an example in the film Finding Joe. It is an amazing, inspiring documentary on Joseph Campbell. You guys should check it out! findingjoethemoviedotcom/

[HuckleberrySlim]

so death is the ultimate redemption

[jeschinstad]

This seems to me, an abuse of Campbell. I just hope most of the listeners will look into what he was trying to say. If starwars can help him, then sure... Go ahead. I would at any time consider an hour of listening to Campbell much more interesting than any minute of Starwars.

[mbrowshan]

Excellent video....if only the world could realize the truth of Campbell's teachings....

[MachielKlerk]

Dear Campbell friends,

We wanted to let you know about a soulful lecture on 'Joseph Campbell and the Relevance of Myth in Our Lives' by the respected Dennis Slattery, which was recently recorded at our Jung Society event.

Please accept our gift of this free lecture by visiting the website JungPlatform and share it with anyone who you think might benefit from watching.

Machiel Klerk

Jung Society of Utah

[evestar100]

Read LOVE WINS by Rob Bell

[Ematched]

@freeze32007 Did you really say Christianity comes the closest to fulfilling you criteria? You mean like the universe created in six days only six thousand years ago? If that's the closest it gets, there is clearly no cause to believe any religion to be valid. That is an epic fail, Christian.

[ChicaWolverina]

Stop making the bumper segments like that and the levels for the interview so low!

[Nebontha]

My mom almost got rid of the book The Power of Myth with Bill Moyers, I'm so glad I took it and read it...amazing read

[kingtourism]

I don't see it as 'redemption' ... more as a metamorphisis into what you were meant to be without the protective cloak and the ego's interference. True sight into your connection with all that is.

[dannyrybeck]

Joseph Campbell freed my mind, he was put here to do just that for those that found him and his work, I call him an angel

[freeze32007]

all religions cannot be true because the contradict each other. there can be multiple true religions or they can all be false, but they cannot logically be all true. as for which one is true, a true religion should be:

logical, falsifiable , historically accurate, scientifically accurate, and theologically sound.

only one religion meets all these criteria and that is Christianity. some come close but only one hits all. it took me almost 30 years to figure this out, but praise God i did.

[zeviousman]

joseph campbell isn't in this montage. it's Lucas And Moyer.

[DigitalCinema100]

Along with Carl Jung, Campbell was easily the most important teacher of the 20th century. Such wisdom! We need more like him! 

[becmaxify]

Does anyone know what the music at the beginning is? Thanks

[DigitalCinema100]

Joseph Campbell would have loved the movie Beheading Buddha, has anyone seen it?

[Andr4s]

"from my point of view the jedi are evil!" hahaha

[mbrowshan]

Myths of Light is another excellent read by Campbell.

[DYNODRUM]

Since all of Man , and His Religions [which are all constructed by Man, alone] are seeking some form of redemptive qualities, or a Redeemer ,Then maybe when we lay down our Weapons and destructive goals ,[ which are also man's egoistic findings ], then maybe we will see this .but man is a weak parasite and still does not use the 'Gift of Language' itself -properly,as a cry for redemption among his peers.

[fecobz]

if one religion has it all right, why are there so many of them? but they all rely on one center God... religions are for men, religion is not God, is a way for us men to try to understand the gretaness of God, however we got lost on the way.

[dayna57]

I have loved this book since I first read it in 1994. Making a concious choice to just be good is to me, found spirituality. I wanted people of all cultures and races to love and stop hurting each other. I once pointed out to a Christian the many similarities between Buddhism and the Christian faith and I thought they were going to burn me at the stake. They turned on their heels and would no longer speak to me. Totally missing my point. On my must read list, "Hero with a Thousand Faces"

[Tonithenightowl]

@dayna57 lol I had to laugh at the burning of the stake comment but I have dealt with fundamentalists and it fits. They have confused doctrine and ritual for love and compassion. The bible says God is love. Those of love are of God. Those that love, help and comfort. Those that only know doctrine are like clanging cymbols. You can have all the knowledge in the world but if you have no love you have nothing. One does not need to be a Christian to experience this. The kingdom of God is within.

[rccola8282]

absoulutely amazing. lovin this stuff. Reading Hero with a Thousand Faces right now.....brilliant.

[glenjamin72]

I want so much to share the work of Joseph Campbell with everyone on You Tube. It's a shame His interviews with Bill Moyers keep getting pulled off. The world could use a lot more JC....(and I don't mean the one from the cross)

[TheTTBT]

There is an important connection between Kubrick (and many of America's greatest directors for that matter), James Joyce, Freud, Jung, Marshall McLuhan and Joseph Campbell. The faster technology gets, the more importat the epiphanies in their work will become.

[nailedwit]

This background music that you added, Matt1briggs, is really irritating. Completely unnecessary. It's as if the interview was held in a supermarket. Lose the music. It's ridiculous.

[kevinnimotion]

@kathlynnmo here's part of william james' answer to your first question:

"No two of us have identical difficulties, nor should we be expected to work out identical solutions. Each, from his peculiar angle of observation, takes in a certain sphere of fact and trouble, which each must deal with in a unique manner. One of us must soften himself, another must harden himself; one must yield a point, another must stand firm,—in order the better to defend the position assigned him."

[mightyafrowhitey]

@kevinnimotion that's so awesome that you quoted james, one of the most underrated geniuses of his time.

[TheHachmom]

I often wonder what Campbell would have thought of the Harry Potter books...they follow the hero mythos in so many way....and i think he would have liked the emphasis on choice as determining ones charecter and destiny

[VivLC]

Part 2: And then God does the rest. Salvation cannot be earned that's why it's a gift. Christ paid the cost of salvation for us all so we don't have to.

[FluffyFeralMarmot]

@VivLC in your mythology that's the way it works. in other paths "salvation" is viewed differently

[VivLC]

redsaint182: Part 1: When I used the the word "gift" it was with the idea that there is nothing we can "do" in order to earn salvation. We don't have to say certain prayers at certain times of the day, or perform certain ceremonies or rituals, or even work hard to be a good person. We don't have to "do" anything, except ask, like you said. So yes we DO have to ask God into our hearts and that's an inward action of our minds and hearts as opposed to an outwardly action like I described earlier.

[mightyafrowhitey]

@VivLC so I can just go raping and murduring whoever I like, and as long as I ask christ into my life I can live forever, worshiping and praising him? wait a minute, why would I wanna do that anyway???

[VivLC]

@mightyafrowhitey I don't think you understood what I was saying. I was talking about eternity and salvation, not our responsibilities on how we live our lives while we are on this planet.

Believe me, if one truly turns towards God and seeks Him with his heart,soul and mind, I don't think that person would be committing those heinous you described.

[mightyafrowhitey]

@VivLC here's the question though. I'm an agnostic, and I don't do those things, not for fear of punishments of of displeasing god, but simply because I have no desire whatsoever to inflict suffering on a fellow human being. so where does MY morality come from?

[VivLC]

@mightyafrowhitey Just because you don't acknowledge God doesn't mean that He doesn't acknowledge you and isn't pursuing you, or to go even further ...it doesn't mean that He didn't create you.

[totilla2]

@mightyafrowhitey From God.

[pikiwiki]

not the cleverest thing to put white text on a gray background

[dimitraeus202]

This guy went beyond genius.

His hero's journey was the uncovering of the hero's journey itself, which again shows the iterative truth contained within its seed.

[tomversations]

@dimitraeus202 great observation!

[TheNoGoodnick]

@dimitraeus202 They give a rather good explanation of Joseph Campbell's model of the Hero's Journey in the documentary Finding Joe. It really goes into explaining the model in a great deal of detail. findi ngjoethemovi e.c om

[serpentineflame]

'the infantile dream state of the mass man is so unrealistic, he never thinks to ask who is paying for this paradise.'

[corrocot1]

How am i supposed to read white writing on a bright background?

[VivLC]

There is only one TRUE God, all others are false gods. Campbell misses out on something that sets Christianity apart from all others is that redemption/salvation is a GIFT! Freely given from God to anyone who asks. It's not about us earning redemption because we ALL fall short. But God loves us so much that He gave up His only Son to die on the cross for ALL people so that we can freely receive salvation and have relationship with the God of the Universe, the Alpha and the Omega.

[serpentineflame]

What does it mean when a gnat insults a lion?

[JimSBand]

Gosh, when will guys like you just shut up!!??

[redsaint182]

@VivLC

If we have to ask for the gift, then aren't we earning redemption by asking? Isn't that putting some of the salvation on our part? If we want to be "saved" we have to ask or accept? That is a work on our part, yes?

[xJoSephhhhh]

Joseph Campbell was a Mythologist, not an Anthropologist.

[fntime]

@xJoSephhhhh Joseph Campbell was an explorer

of truth. He was a 'generalist' who could easily

discuss quantum physics, Nietzche along with

his work with 'myths'. The man was what

'teachers' are supposed to be, BUT, aren't!

[christinesarahjones]

song is by Dntel " Life is full of possibilities"

[Kierkegaardincarnate]

If youre not with me, then youre against me!!!!

[fntime]

Is there only one God?

[fringefries]

God is a word representing the highest expression for that which transcends all categories of thought. Unfortunately it is the best we can do as finite creatures and shows the limits of mans capability to express that which resists definition. There is mythology and polytheism which would confirm the existance of many Gods for those who have not wrestled with non duality. No there is not one God because to use the number one in the sentence is to limit that which is non-limited.

[mightyafrowhitey]

@fringefries while I agree with what you say in theory, "god" is such a loaded term. I prefer not to use it. but sure, it's just a name and has nothing to do with what the thing actually is. I myself am agnostic, which just means I don't believe in a supernatural deity. but I agree there are some things which are beyond finite human comprehension. call it what you like.

[mightyafrowhitey]

@fntime what does that question even mean?

[fntime]

@mightyafrowhitey The question means, is there more than

one God, are there 'helper' Gods.

Do you believe in a God who has a 'personal' interest

in man?

Do you have a personal interest in the cells that

make up your body. Do you ever commemorate

the death of many millions of cells that have served

you! Why only one God? Where is your source?

[coolioto]

I keep expecting Haden Christenson to say "leave Britney alone"!

[Kierkegaardincarnate]

yeah he wasnt the best tragic hero. but oh well

[scroll2b]

Exceptionally well done. You really did your homework. Thank you.

[ih8gluten]

This stuff is so deep!!

[magicpencil43]

what's this song? i love it!

[grasshopa]

That "one mythology" thing, there's a lecture where he is talking about kundalini yoga: He says, take this watch on my wrist , draw a circle around it, pretend you don't know what it does. The mystery of this watch is the same as the mystery of your being

"Anything can be dissociated from it's concept context and regarded in the dimension of it's mystery". Then he pauses and says "...and there is only one mystery" :):):)

[younwhosarmy]

He was very enlightened.. : )

[jasonnwest]

the reason that there is more than one religion is because there's more than one society- campbell says that every society creates a system that works for itself. An tropical agricultural system isn't going to have the same concepts as an Eskimo hunting culture, for example. Check out his books, I think you'd really love them!

[VivLC]

@jasonnwest The people of Canada's north don't appreciate being called "Eskimos". They're Inuit.

[dylan42207]

@jasonnwest So, did Campbell himself believe in a god or the universal conciousness or was he just explaining the different systems? Also, did Campbell have an explaination as to why each societal religion was deemed the one truth by its people?

[jasonnwest]

@dylan42207 Are you writing a report for school or something ;) I don't know if Campbell believed in a god; I've wondered about that myself. I think so. I think he saw every religion as a mask for God, and "God" not meaning a certain deity, but as a word that symbolizes something too great to be completely conceived of by the mind of man. As for why each one religion was decided to be the truth, I think he'd say it was because it explained that culture's relationship to the universe.

[leahkuhl]

Great concept. Good job!

[matt1briggs]

Yes, I think the essential theme is that we have the ability to make the decision to be either fundamentally good or evil. I don't know if Lucas would claim that people are inherently good, but he would certainly claim that everyone has the chance of being redeemed, should they become evil at some point. So, I would say that Star Wars is definitely about the struggle between good and evil, and what that looks like individually for us all.

[jasonnwest]

Campbell's interpretation of Star Wars that is Man vs Machine/Technology- looking at somebody like Luke, who looks within for guidance (the Force), vs. a Darth Vader, who is part machine and basically dead as a human being.