Week 04 Story Lab - Crash Course Myth videos
I chose this as my first reading lab for one reason - the Hero's Journey. The origination of my project's focus is the tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table - one of the most well-known myths in the Western world, and one of the most major Hero's Journey stories, second maybe to the works of Homer. However, my project is not on any such hero, but on the tale's final villain, Mordred. The final video in the playlist covers this topic extensively, which was quite helpful. Many of the steps I had never heard before, more just the major steps and the big three phases. I'll be looking to mimic or even mock the Journey in the work, shooting for more of a "Villain's Journey" or "Anti-Hero's Journey."
The videos in total were incredibly interesting. I had never considered several of the constructs and histories surrounding mythology. In my own readings, I had learned some of the ancient "Scholia" on Homer, but I had never heard of many of the writings from people such as Plato and Euhemerus. The way that ancient scholars can look upon their own myths and legends with not just interest, but critical thought and consideration for reason is incredible, not to say that ancient people were cavemen, but that they could form these ideas with little more than reason from the basic science and observations around them.
The overall debate on the definition of a "myth" was also something curious to me. In my originally meager scholarly readings into mythology, I had never encountered the arguments between scholars and scientists over the meaning of the term, between demanding it cover only creation stories, exclude fables and folktales, include great heroes. and more. Even I've used in a different sense, such as "The Myth of Dark Orí" when referring to a particularly weird story about my cat. It's something to ponder on for the next few days - where does the line of my personal definition lie?
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| A chart of all seventeen stages of the Hero's Journey |
The videos in total were incredibly interesting. I had never considered several of the constructs and histories surrounding mythology. In my own readings, I had learned some of the ancient "Scholia" on Homer, but I had never heard of many of the writings from people such as Plato and Euhemerus. The way that ancient scholars can look upon their own myths and legends with not just interest, but critical thought and consideration for reason is incredible, not to say that ancient people were cavemen, but that they could form these ideas with little more than reason from the basic science and observations around them.
The overall debate on the definition of a "myth" was also something curious to me. In my originally meager scholarly readings into mythology, I had never encountered the arguments between scholars and scientists over the meaning of the term, between demanding it cover only creation stories, exclude fables and folktales, include great heroes. and more. Even I've used in a different sense, such as "The Myth of Dark Orí" when referring to a particularly weird story about my cat. It's something to ponder on for the next few days - where does the line of my personal definition lie?
Hey, Gage!
ReplyDeleteThe Hero's Journey is definitely a staple of the mythology world -- and almost all storytelling! The classic examples are Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Knights of Camelot, etc. but if you're a Dan Harmon fan (Community, Rick and Morty, etc.) he's a huge proponent of the "story circle" -- basically his watered-down version of Campbell's monomyth. Check it out if you have time!
Hi Gage!
ReplyDeleteI recently watched this video as well but for an extra credit reading assignment! I think the concept of mapping out the archetypal hero's journey is super interesting, and I love the graphic you included with your blog post. The debate over the definition of 'myth' was also something I hadn't really thought about before watching the videos, so I'm glad I'm not alone!