On DVD: JOSEPH CAMPBELL AND THE POWER OF MYTH

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, February 5: JOSEPH CAMPBELL AND THE POWER OF MYTH WITH BILL MOYERS: 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

The seminal six-part series pairing comparative mythology scholar and author Joseph Campbell and noted public television journalist Bill Moyers was originally broadcast on PBS in the summer of 1988. A companion book was released at the same time, expanding on the conversations from the documentary series.

The program, which has proven to be among PBS’ most popular, introduced Campbell and his simple but profound mantra, “Follow your bliss,” to millions. College students at Sarah Lawrence – where Campbell was on faculty – and on campuses around the US were already familiar with his writing, especially through his influential The Hero with a Thousand Faces, which popularized the concept of the hero’s journey and was a mainstay of comparative religion and mythology courses. In Moyers’ series, Campbell emerged as an open, kindly, octogenarian sage, a friendly grandfatherly figure whose every utterance was entrancing – demonstrating not only the titular power of myth but that of storytelling in general. As a high school freshman, my speech and debate coach, Barbara Weiss, had us watch the series as we prepared for the upcoming season. While she found value in what Campbell and Moyers were discussing, it was clear, given the nature of the extracurricular activity she oversaw, that Weiss especially wanted us to be entranced by how Campbell expressed himself, by the way that he could launch into fascinating example after fascinating example at the slightest nudge by Moyers. The program left its mark on me then, confirmed as I rewatched it on the occasion of Athena’s re-issue of the series, which includes all six one-hour episodes, new introductions by Moyers, the initial two-part 1981 BILL MOYERS JOURNAL interview between the men that inspired the series, and an interview with George Lucas on Campbell’s influence on his modern-day mythmaking in STAR WARS. There’s a natural rapport to the conversation that Campbell and Moyers have in the main series, an ease in the way they move from discussions of the hero archetype to the purposes served by myths, from considerations of various myths across different yet surprisingly similar historical cultures to the influence of myths in the modern day. Recorded just before Campbell’s death, Moyers’ interviews captured the elder’s wisdom and disseminated it beyond the halls of academia to the benefit of all who create and absorb stories.