Moralists make much of immorality in movies. They are disgusted by scenes of sex and the viewing of violence. The prude is horrified by all that is lewd and nude and crude and rude. In his horror at the horror what the moralist may miss is the deeper morality of most movies. In The Ethics of [...]
One of the most influential forces in American cinema of the second half of the twentieth century is a man who was not a film maker at all. The self styled ‘mythologist’ Joseph Campbell, became a mentor for the new breed of film makers of the 1970s. John Boorman and Francis Copolla have acknowledged their debt [...]
Symbolism and the Language of Liturgy In his conversations with the journalist Bill Moyers, the mythologist Joseph Campbell commented on the power of lived symbolism in communal life. When the judge comes out in a black robe, sits behind a high desk and calls the court to order with a gavel he is no longer an [...]