Joseph Campbell

We are rewatching an old talk show series where Bill Moyers interviews Joseph Campbell.  Called The Power of Myth, it is not only a reminder of how empty many people's lives are, but how much more empty they have become since the series first ran in 1988.  If you think that the 80s were empty of meaning, look around you today.  Major religions have become much more polarized and misunderstood, not to mention misinterpreted.  There has always been more hate in religion than love, but it seems magnified today.  Too many people screaming at others about their mistakes instead of trying to understand.  It's obvious that people have never really got along except in their own little tight circles.  So expecting different colours of people, or people with different beliefs to get along and thrive is asking a bit too much, I fear.  Campbell compares society to a machine, one which can swallow up personal identity.  He says that we should live within the machine, but outside of it as well.  Eating, sleeping, working, and raising a family can easily dominate and completely control a person's life, even one who is determined to attempt living outside of it.  Searching for meaning in life is a rather daunting and difficult task even as a full time occupation.  What myths do we have to lead us to better places?  Well, we have the myth of capitalism and consumerism, as well as the myth of rise to the top, be the best you can be, be anything you want to be, and many other myths.  But are these the myths that are going to save the human spirit?  Add to this the loss of the night sky to light pollution, where a human can't even lay back and contemplate the universe any longer.  Who are our heroes today?  Where can they be found?  What could they teach us?  Why should we care?  Anyway, the Joseph Campbell series, being replayed on Wondrium, is probably the best thing TV ever produced and exhibited.  We haven't seen it in nearly 35 years,and it was high time we saw it again.

And a perfect movie for our times is the one just awarded 11 Oscar nominations. Everything Everywhere All at Once captures everything that is wrong today (without knowing that it does so).  Mindless entertainment, fast moving, primitive violence, and with lots of action.  If you want to find the polar opposite to the teachings of Buddha, then this film is for you.  I watched about 40 minutes of it several weeks ago before giving up.  Deb lasted a bit longer.  That this film is so popular and talked about seems to me just another huge crack in the structure of our societal downfall. 

In other viewing news, Deb has a film festival choice coming up this weekend.  We just watched two of her regular weekly choices.  The first was showing on Mubi, an amazing Japanese film from 1962.  Structured like a theatre piece, it is based on an 18th C bunraku play.  The visuals are totally stunning, with several sets achieving the beauty of Japanese scroll and screen paintings, before slowly coming alive with human actions.  The Mad Fox is a little weak in the story department, and it kinds of loses its way by the end, but nevertheless this is a major gem that likely no one has ever heard of or seen.  Highly recommended, especially for lovers of Japanese art and kabuki theatre.

 

Scene from The Mad Fox, now showing on Mubi. 

 

Deb's leaving choice for this week was a children's film from Australia called Storm Boy, from 1976.  A ten year old boy and his father live on the beach, apart from civilization.  The father fishes and sells his catch.  The boy wanders the marshes on foot and on his small raft.  He is befriended by an Aboriginal, also living off the land (played by Gulpilil).  When hunters shoot a pelican, three chicks are left behind.  The boy raises them, and one stays with him, very tame.  Based on a novel, the book covers some new ground for kids' stories.  But as usual, the beloved pet must always die (such a trope in kids' books and films), this time shot by mindless hunters.  Some wonderful beach photography, and the pelican trainer deserves an award.

Leaving Criterion Jan. 31st. 

 

Speaking of storms, we have a major winter one headed our way.  It is supposed to snow and blow all day tomorrow. We had about 2" of heavy, wet snow on Sunday morning, but that is almost gone now.  Today it is sunny and in the mid-30s F, a very nice January day.  But tomorrow, our county is in for 6-12 inches of heavy, wet snow.  The fluffy stuff is okay, but it needs to be colder.  When the temperature is only near 30 F, it falls like neutron star material.  It means a day of heavy shovelling, something I could do without. 

 

Mapman Mike