Og

The history channel recently had a special on titled:

"Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed" as part of the 30th anniversary celebration of star wars. It had commentary by all sorts of professors of mythology and psychology as well as popular figures like dan rather and stephen colbert and nanci pelosi and newt genghrich.

But the entire story basically talked about the importance of the myth and hero journey that star wars represents and how it's important to our life. It talks about how star wars changed everything and it does it in a framework that attributes it all to the work of joseph campbell. The entire thing is basically narrated by the guy who runs the joseph campbell archives.

It was somewhat old hat to me given my experience with the topics, but was cool to see that for the 30th anniversary, the history channel unraveled part of campbell's contribution to the mythos of man in today's world (as it has been able to be expressed by artists in popular culture).

If you can get a chance to see this special on the history channel, I'd recommend it. Want a new bible/religion? Want a myth that's relevant to life today? Turn on a hard rock radio station, and get a DVD collection. Campbell's work has infused the elementary ideas of mythology into popular culture and I'd wager to say that campbell's work has saved humanity's soul as it moves into this new age of globalization.

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You & I, no distinction. - Tat Tvam Asi
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SithLord

I too have marveled at the depth that can be seen when you really take a good look at the story of Star Wars.

Never gets dull for me.

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jaej

The only problem I have with them is the second trilogy. The story in of itself is amazing, but those movies were probably the worst film-making I have ever laid eyes on. It's tragic.

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Og

agreed. The prequels are dead to me. They are absolute crap.

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Vi veri veniversum vivus vici. (By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe)
The self is not a fixed entity but a dynamic process of relationships
You & I, no distinction. - Tat Tvam Asi
Become Who You Are

Armel P

I don't like Star Wars. I think the equivalent of a feedback loop has blown those movies way out of proportion.

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jaej

OMG!!!

I downloaded it after I saw this thread and all I can say is....WOW

And what happened to peter jackson? He's so skinny and his cave man beard is gone.

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aporetic1

I never got into Star Wars. I am however a big Star Trek fan. A Trekker, but not a Trekkie. I've been to a Convention, but I did not dress as a Klingon.
Live Long and Prosper.

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The An-Jel

Yeah I agree dump the last three. If I remember the rumors of Anakin Skywalker back in the day... him and Obi fought and he fell in an acid vat rather than lava pit.

I didn't see the Star Wars 30th Aniversary... got a link jaej?

Loved Star Trek too aporetic1.

It's awesome how political these types of movies get when all the people in power grovel like animals. Star Wars and Star Trek addressed basic human views.

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Piglet

Only the sith speak in absolutes.
6 of the wisest words ever spoken in moviedom.
['Only the ignorant speak in absolutes
A human truism if profound impact]
When this was spoken by obi ? n episde2?
Star wars became real, more real in some ways than the dull beauracracies of our dull reality.

Piglet.

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Og

There was some good to them. I may have to go back and rewatch the prequels. It's been a while.

As for star trek, I think that "The Next Generation" is one of the greatest shows ever to land on television. That show was a modern myth. The crew was a pantheon of gods and their enemies were human demons.

Troi was female. Her femininity and emotion were such that they reflected in her dress, her job, and her ability to even sense emotions physically.

Riker was male. He was tall and had the beard and had a relationship with the female.

Warf was a warrior poet embodying honor and duty. Data was logic and computation (the tin man on which our hearts are reflected). Geordi was a representation of how technology effects our lives even to the point that he saw the world through technology (his visor).

The captain was the renaissance man. He was the prism and when white light was cast against him, the spectrum of the human psyche cast out behind him as his crew.

They fought enemies that represented various conflicts that man faces today. It really was identical to the greek gods. Story after story of the human psyche and the trials it faces. Amazingly well done. And amazingly grounded in psychology and myth and archetypes (rodenberry was a genius akin to lucas).

__________________
Vi veri veniversum vivus vici. (By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe)
The self is not a fixed entity but a dynamic process of relationships
You & I, no distinction. - Tat Tvam Asi
Become Who You Are