Recently, there has been a new movie theater built near my house. They have been working on it for quite a while. And I've been looking forward to it's completion with great expectation. There aren't many things I enjoy as much as a good movie. Because this new theater is only a five minute walk from my apartment, I can watch movies whenever I want.
There is something magical that happens when the lights dim and the curtains open up. Something powerfully amazing that happens when the story unfolds on the screen right before our eyes. It's as if we are transported to another world, and another time. We can momentarily forget our normal everyday problems with the movie starts.
Before they could make movies, people would sit around and tell each other stories. Usually each tribe, or village, had it's resident story teller, who was gifted in the art of taking people into a temporary fantasy land with only his or her words. The power of simple stories to help people overcome the stresses of ordinary life is phenomenal.
And one of the fascinating things when you look at the structure of stories is how similar they are. If you compare all the different stories, movies and books, you'll find a similar structure not only in the story itself, but in the development of the characters as well. The main character usually starts out as an ordinary guy or girl, then must go on some incredible journey, and develop friends along the way. Together with this new group of friends, the hero, or heroine, must defeat a common enemy.
If you study stories and mythology from around the world, you'll find this structure fairly consistent with all the stories told by all cultures around the world. Joseph Campbell, in his book "The Hero's Journey" documented this quite extensively.
Whether you are studying the ancient mythology of some far off and ancient tribe, or watching the latest blockbuster in your neighborhood movie theater, you are taking part in something that has been part of human history since the very beginning of time.
There is something magical that happens when the lights dim and the curtains open up. Something powerfully amazing that happens when the story unfolds on the screen right before our eyes. It's as if we are transported to another world, and another time. We can momentarily forget our normal everyday problems with the movie starts.
Before they could make movies, people would sit around and tell each other stories. Usually each tribe, or village, had it's resident story teller, who was gifted in the art of taking people into a temporary fantasy land with only his or her words. The power of simple stories to help people overcome the stresses of ordinary life is phenomenal.
And one of the fascinating things when you look at the structure of stories is how similar they are. If you compare all the different stories, movies and books, you'll find a similar structure not only in the story itself, but in the development of the characters as well. The main character usually starts out as an ordinary guy or girl, then must go on some incredible journey, and develop friends along the way. Together with this new group of friends, the hero, or heroine, must defeat a common enemy.
If you study stories and mythology from around the world, you'll find this structure fairly consistent with all the stories told by all cultures around the world. Joseph Campbell, in his book "The Hero's Journey" documented this quite extensively.
Whether you are studying the ancient mythology of some far off and ancient tribe, or watching the latest blockbuster in your neighborhood movie theater, you are taking part in something that has been part of human history since the very beginning of time.
No comments:
Post a Comment