‘The Power of Myth’, by Joseph Campbell

A colleague recently mentioned that he was interested in Joseph Campbell, especially his research on the development of myths, legends and rituals throughout the ages. This triggered my interest in rereading Campbell’s classic, The Power of Myth, which he first published in 1988. The book is a record of a conversation Campbell had with Bill Moyers, the former US TV personality and journalist.

The essence of the conversation is about the universality and evolution of myth in the history of our societies up to the present moment. In studying myths and rituals across various societies, Campbell pointed out some of their similarities, and concluded that it was from here we became aware of some eternal truths of life.  But what are these myths and rituals that Campbell and Moyers were talking about, and what relevance do they have for us today? Myths are the body of legends and stories that belong to our different societies.  Occasions such as wedding ceremonies, funerals, baptisms, Bar Mitzvah, church services, college graduations, Super Bowl, and Heineken Cup (Rugby) are all examples of the various types of rituals that take place during our normal lives. Campbell talked about the funeral of John F. Kennedy as a national ritual given to a dead president. This includes the religious rituals as well. Kennedy’s funeral mass at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington is an example of religious ritual, even though the majority of citizens participating were not members of his church.

Campbell’s thesis is that as the world becomes more globalised and people travel and work in countries other than their own, we are in need of new myths and even rituals to fill the ever developing void left when people move on from their local mythology and rituals. It is these myths and rituals that give our societies some meaning and contribute to stability. Indeed, one could say that stability requires its myths and rituals. Campbell mentions how the gradual disappearance of classical Roman and Greek mythology from our schools’ syllabuses is exacerbating this decline even further.

But we can ask how useful are these myths and rituals to us today? Campbell tells us they provide us with a cultural framework by which we can define ourselves, to know who we are. This cultural framework is helpful for our young people, in so far as it provides them with a blueprint for life. What our modern society needs are some new myths, legends, stories and rituals that we can all identify with in our more cosmopolitan world. Without such identification we could end up like a rudderless ship in the ocean, not knowing who we are, or where we are going. Isn’t that something that our leaders, whether in business or politics, should be concerned with?

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