The Power of Myth: Creating Star Wars’ Mythos with Joseph Campbell
Joseph Campbell & George Lucas: Creating Star Wars’ Mythology
The Power of Myth is very powerful. With the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi the interest in Star Wars is at an all time high. Whether you love or hate Star Wars you have to admit that creator George Lucas tapped into something primal when he came up with the saga that will define him.
With the gluttony of no story visual effects studio films, Star Wars has stood the test of time, but why? What is it about Star Wars that touches so many people around the world.
Sure the visual effects were and are amazing but it comes down to is STORY, something lacking in today’s cinematic landscape.
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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‘.
His work covers many aspects of the human experience. His philosophy is often summarized by his phrase: “Follow your bliss,” advice we all need to take to heart. George Lucas stated, following the release of the first Star Wars film in 1977,
“…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.”
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.
Below I have compiled a group of videos detailing the creation of not only the mythology of Star Wars but of STORY itself. They will show you how you can create a mythology in your stories and screenplays. Enjoy and May the Force Be with You.
The Mythology of STAR WARS
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.
The Power of Myth
This EPIC 1988 documentary, The Power of Myth, was filmed at George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch. 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.
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.
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The series was broadcast on PBS a year after his death. In these discussions, Joseph Campbell presents his ideas about comparative mythology and the ongoing role of myth in human society.
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. Watch it here: The Power of Myth
Here are some of Joseph Campbell’s Video Series you should watch to get a better understanding of the “Power of Myth.”
- The Power of Myth
- Joseph Campbell: The Hero’s Journey
- Joseph Campbell: Sukhavati
- Joseph Campbell: Mythos – The Complete Series
- Joseph Campbell – Mythos, Vol. 1: The Shaping of Our Mythic Tradition
- Mythos II: The Shaping of Our Mythic Tradition
- Joseph Campbell: Mythos III
Star Wars: The Making of the Myth
Anthony Daniels hosts a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Star Wars.
Joseph Campbell–On Becoming an Adult
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It’s interesting how they didn’t use Campbell’s ideas in Ep. VII and therefore totally destroyed the sense of epicness in the story, yet the banner of this article presents Ep. VII as an example of Lucas-Campbell stuff.
[…] Related: Rogue One – The Power of Myth: Creating Star Wars’ Mythos with Joseph Campbell […]
You might enjoy the analysis of Star Wars at http://dramatica.com/analysis/star-wars where Heroes Journeys represent just a small subset of the possible story forms. Dramatica takes a bit of work to get into but is massively rewarding as the only theory of story that works from the author’s perspective.