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.
Something about being swept away by a the story of a movie is a thrilling yet humbling experience for many. The ancient Greeks new the power of catharsis, and spoke about it at length in many of their discourses. Movies, plays, and stories have been an integral part of human history as long as humans have been around.
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.
No matter if you are studying ancient mythology, or spending the afternoon in your local movie house, watching movies, or being engaged in a moving story is much more that mere entertainment. Telling and enjoying stories is what makes us human, and what makes it easy for us to deal the stresses and anxieties of everyday life. - 40729
Something about being swept away by a the story of a movie is a thrilling yet humbling experience for many. The ancient Greeks new the power of catharsis, and spoke about it at length in many of their discourses. Movies, plays, and stories have been an integral part of human history as long as humans have been around.
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.
No matter if you are studying ancient mythology, or spending the afternoon in your local movie house, watching movies, or being engaged in a moving story is much more that mere entertainment. Telling and enjoying stories is what makes us human, and what makes it easy for us to deal the stresses and anxieties of everyday life. - 40729
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