1. Check out Journey to the Sea and see my article on Campbell and the hero’s journey. I have more on the horizon, so you might want to add the mag to your RSS Feed.
2. The podcast doesn’t have a new episode yet, but it does now have a Twitter! Follow it at twitter.com/mythinginaction.
A few weeks ago, I went to a Brisingr booksigning party. Brisingr, for those who don’t know, is the third installment of the Inheritance cycle by Christopher Paolini. To launch the event, he did a little presentation during which he told a very interesting story. I hope he doesn’t mind my recounting it (a bit poorly) here. (And if he does, I hope he will come on my podcast and tell it for the record…): Early in Eragon’s life, before Paolini had made it very far in the major publishing world, he was playing an online video game and someone logged in under the nickname “Eragon.” Paolini engaged in battle with “Eragon,” and, if memory serves correctly, the words “You have been killed by Eragon” flashed across the top of Paolini’s screen at least twice, though I am remembering thrice.
What a fantastic opportunity for a young writer!
As often happens in our lives, a mythology will come and grab us in its Vulcan death grip and hold us fast until it’s through with us. During this time, we are molded and shaped by the hands of the myth. For example, look at the Harry Potter fan community. Many Potter fans are caught by the myth so strongly, they create music, fan fiction, dissertations, podcasts, etc., or, at least in my experience, they enroll in Hogwarts (Pacifica).
The idea of getting killed by one’s myth implies that the power of myth reaches beyond our control.
Thoughts?
(This was initially offered as a comment on the Batman post by my friend, Bill, but I found it so insightful that I decided it needed its own post. Bill attends the Austin RoundTable and has interests in all things Jungian, especially Marie-Louise Von Franz, and how they relate to myth. Thanks Bill!!)
One of the more impressive scenes in TDK was the Joker burning that huge pile of money. This act puts him into the category of archetypal evil because by burning the money he shows that he is not motivated by the same pay-off that the typical criminal is(I’m separating the greedy criminal types from those guilty of crimes of passion and the victimless crime of drug use- victimless, that is, until somebody whacked on alcohol, speed or whatever, injures another or themselves). I don’t remember a lot of the movie but I don’t think the Joker had a power or prestige motive necessarily either(correct me if I’m wrong).
The other less-than-savory characters, as well as the less-than-savory aspects of the more “common” people, in the movie and everyday life, are molded into their unique shadow-ego make-up by the process of selective retention of what they deem(consciously and unconsciously) to be desirable psychic characteristics and repression of the undesirable that Priscilla described above; and they can therefore be described in terms of the ego and personal(as opposed to the archetypal) shadow-more or less.
The Joker, on the other hand, seems to be a product of that purely archetypal layer of the psyche that is the dark side of the Godhead. In our dualistically split, Christian way of putting God as the champion of the good Satan as the perpetrator of evil, the Joker obviously represents the latter(when we get right down to it, Christianity is really polytheistic; or perhaps duo-theistic would be more accurate: God and Satan. Whereas in Hinduism, properly understood, the plethora of gods and goddesses are seen as various aspects of one god-Vishnu; thus making it technically a monotheism; though I may be taking too many liberties with the definitions of monotheism and polytheism; but I digress).
In her “Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales” Marie-louise von Franz says that in religions where both good and evil are seen as two sides of one god, an arch-criminal like the Joker would be somewhat respected: even as he was being executed. To commit the most heinous attrocities, with full knowledge of what one is doing, is beyond the power of ordinary humans. Only a person possessed could be capable of acting as cruelly as the Joker with complete disregard for the more human pay-off of ill-gotten wealth. When we call particularly twisted criminals “monsters” we only confirm that we feel that they are beyond human and possessed.
I remember a documentary about Jeffrey Dahmer. In it he said that he was glad he was stopped. He said that he was depressed before he killed, dismembered and then ate his victims but that he just couldn’t help himself. This guy was the incarnation of the darkest side of Kali; his ego, which did feel remorse, was no match for the devouring side of the Godhead which worked through him. Why him? I don’t recall any details from his past that would have made him like that. Had he had a twisted upbringing then there would also be an element of the personal shadow involved. And there seemed no motive of money, power, or prestige(would an Adlerian say that he wanted power over his victims maybe? If that is so, then surely there are less gruesome ways of doing it. Perhaps the power motive became contaminated with archetypal evil; but, no matter, the Jungian recognition of archetypal evil is the correct way of “understanding”(as if we’ll ever be able to “understand” archetypes) the atrocities of Dahmer). In short, there seems to be nothing that he experienced personally that could have caused him to turn out the way he did: he had become possessed by an archetypal, beyond human, content of the Unconscious. And it seems that it never became conscious to the point where he could fight it.
I remember the scene in the courtroom after Dahmer had been convicted and the mother or sister of one of his victims, in an understandably distraught outpouring, tried to excoriate Dahmer. She approached him while pouring out here grief and anger and had to be restrained. He stood there with his eyes downcast but otherwise unfazed. I say that she “tried” to excoriate Dahmer but she was way out of her league. I think she had as little conception of what she was dealing with as Dahmer had(at this point we could open that huge can of worms labeled “Freewill: Fact or Fiction” but we’ll save that for later; maybe as a “Question of the Day”). As much as we curse God and Fate in the attempt to be heard, it all falls on deaf ears. Dahmer had become a force of nature like Disease, Famine, War, Plague, etc.. The Joker’s motivations feel beyond revenge, greed and the like(although I vaguely remember the Joker saying that he had been maimed by his father or something like that).
Anyway, reading back over this response, it seems that I’m using the example of the Joker as a springboard to talk about the Archetypal level of Shadow because I don’t remember enough of the movie to talk about him in that context. So please forgive me if I misrepresent Him as he appears in TDK. So, to continue: it seems to me(after reading von Franz) that Evil(the Joker) as the Shadow is the Shadow only in the dualistic thinking of the Christian West where God’s goodness should be emulated by the ego and Evil repressed. In the East, what we call The Shadow, is the acknowledged flip-side of the One; and therefore the term is not applicable in the same way that we apply it in the dualistic worldview of the West.
At this point you’re wondering if there’s a point to all this. Uhhhhh… Well, How about this: the Joker is beyond human categories of good and evil but is a force to be resisted and subdued if possible in order to further the goal of the evolution of consciousness. It requires a leap of consciousness to co-opt the force that he represents. I could see this as looking squarely at cruel nature, like those who worship Kali, and realizing the opposites of the Godhead and thereby achieving transcendence. Perhaps this transcendance would be the “amor fati”(love of one’s fate) that Campbell often refers to; not only your individual fate, but also your fate as a human animal caught up in the unfathomable mysteries of Good and Evil, life and death, dark and light, etc.
The intro epigraph to Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight is a quote from Genesis that links the apple on the cover of the book with the fruit of knowledge that Bella’s journey is about to lead her to. But here’s another reading of the apple:
What if the apple were actually the Apple of discord of the goddess, Eris? I know, it’s not Meyer’s intention to read it thusly, but let’s do a small exercise in archetypal mythologizing here:
When Bella moves to Forks, she instantly stirs dischord in the small community. Everyone knows her, and everyone wants to get to know her - she’s essentially fresh meat in a stale little Washington state town. She is profoundly attracted to Edward Cullen, so they launch into a relationship. And Bella’s adventure just starts there:
- she sows discord between the Cullens and the small travelling band of vampires, because James decided he wanted a snack.
- she sows discord amongst her high school classmates by just being who she is.
- she sows discord between herself and the Quelutes by choosing Edward.
- she sows discord between herself and the Cullens by spending so much time with Jacob.
- she sows discord between Jacob and Edward by - essentially - leading them both on.
- she sows discord between the Cullens and the Volturi by being human.
- she sows discord between the Cullens and Victoria by having been the reason for the death of James.
I know these aren’t in order, and I’m offering them mostly as an alternative. Based on this, I expect Breaking Dawn to be an even further set of events the sow discord. I’m sure the saga will have some sort of happy ending, but only after a serious degree of chaos first.
As a reminder, the Apple of Discord was thrown into a party by the snubbed goddess Eris to be given to the most beautiful goddess. Athena, Aphrodite and, I think, Artemis fought over who was the most beautiful, but Paris of Troy gave it to Helen and started the Trojan War. Bella is the Apple of Discord. Jacob and Edward fight over her. And there will be some sort of epic war before to wrap up the werewolf/vampire versus the Volturi story line. We’ll know on Saturday.
(Eventhough I plan on attending a midnight release party, I have no intention to read the entire book right away. It’s not Harry Potter.)
43
I’m attending summer quarter this week and we had our first earthquake since I started at Pacifica. It was a 5.8 and centered about 50 miles east of Los Angeles. I’m located about 20 minutes south of Santa Barbara and we felt a relatively mild shaking. No one was worried, so I’m not either. It was kind of cool.
But the really mythical part was the conversation we were having when it occurred. We were discussing the need for imagination and practices that ensoul the world, and, also, the American practice of identifying the self with the car. It almost seemed as though the earth was agreeing with our conversation. The soul and psyche of each individual and culture is linked directly with Nature, with the soul of the world. Both will be equally unhealthy, but both can heal with mutual support. By identifying so strongly with material objects, we place a need on the Earth’s resources. The material objects block our inner soul work while also draining the Earth of what She has to offer. The archetypal argument suggests that if we tend to our inner soul and step away from materialism, identifying with the archetypes that link us with the numinous, then the world will also be restored.
41
Somehow, I made it my entire life without seeing a Batman movie. I used to watch the old 60s reruns of the show, with the cheesy “pows” and Robin’s silly exclamations. And I used to watch one of the animated series. But that all changed this weekend. Prompted by conversations with co-workers, the Hubs decided he wanted to see The Dark Knight while it was still in the theaters. So we rented Batman Begins and saw The Dark Knight in the theater. Not on the same day.
Christain Bale as Batman
I have always liked Batman, or The Batman as aficionados will remind me. I
But blah blah blah.
Batman is a creature of the night. His whole schtick is emulating a bat. So, he fights bad guys only at night. What does the night represent? The shadow side of the unconscious. It is the aspect of the psyche that holds all the psychological manifestations that we choose, consciously or unconsciously, not to incorporate into the ego as we go through identity formation. (How’s that for jargon?) I like to picture the psyche as a ball, or an egg. When we come into the world, our ball is complete, fully round, or oblong, and perfect. But, as we go through identity formation, the ball is broken into hemispheres, and thoughts, behaviors, ideas, dreams that try to surface in the hemisphere of light and are rejected get pushed into the dark hemisphere. I should post my thoughts on the Neil Gaiman/Dave McKean film, Mirrormask. That film explains what I’m talking about in a really entertaining fashion.
What’s awesome about Batman, like I said, is that his persona is a bat. The bat is usually a feared creature, because it’s a little ugly, makes funny noises, and only comes out at night. (Unless you live in Austin, an entire city bat-ophiliacs, having dedicated a shrine in the form of Congress St. Bridge to house Texas bat populations.) Bats associated with Halloween, vampires, and all sorts of goulish things that go bump in the night. So when Bruce Wayne becomes the Batman, he becomes a shadow creature that usually awakens fear. But he wants to do good in a city that is overrun with the bad. So he dons the mask of the shadow and plunges into the realm of the shadow to “fix” it. And what does he find? The Joker, the shadow run amok. There are other Bat-villains, but I did just see The Dark Knight. The Joker’s mission is to create chaos through fear. It’s not that he’s any smarter than other villains, or even smarter than Batman, but he poses quiet the adversary because the heroes have to sort through the rubble in the wake of Joker’s chaos in order to figure out where to go next.
At the end of Dark Knight, Batman and Gordon deliver a beautiful soliloquy about why Batman is the hero Gotham deserves, rather than the one Gotham needs. Most importantly, Batman is willing to accept whatever image of him the public chooses. If they need a scapegoat, he’ll be Gotham’s scapegoat; or if they need a masked hero, he will be the masked hero. When digging into the shadow, it’s important to react to the shadow’s whims. The shadow is likely to change face quickly, and it’s important to change along with it.
Shifting gears a little, now that I’ve seen the movie, it’s safe to read an article posted on The Hog’s Head, comparing The Joker with Voldemort.
I initially picked up this book, because the title sounded interesting and because iTunes offered it as a free audio book download. Since I’ve been studying alchemy lately, I figured the title couldn’t lead me anywhere but in a good direction. If that makes any sense.
So, in a nutshell, the story is about a shepherd who needs to go “find his personal legend” in the form of finding a treasure he dremt about. This personal quest leads him from his home in Spain to Tunisia, across the Sahara to Egypt, and more, but I don’t want to spoil the ending. Along his way, he meets people who help guide him closer to his goal, including a gypsy who interpreted his dream, the King who gives him the tools he needs to read good omens, the thief who robs him blind, the crystal shop owner to dreams of going to Mecca, the Englishman looking for the Alchemist, and the Alchemist.
I don’t know if Coelho did this intentionally or not, but his approach to alchemy is akin to the often-critiqued Jungian approach. The Alchemist teaches the shepherd, who has already learned to read the unspoken language of the world, how to utilize that skill for what is essentially personal alchemy. When asked why most alchemists didn’t “get it,” the Alchemist responds that they were too focused on turning lead into gold, rather than on what that process means to them as individuals. Essentially saying that the goal of alchemy isn’t the philosopher’s stone in and of itself, but, rather, the journey one undertakes to get to the philosopher’s stone. Furthermore, the Alchemist teaches the shepherd to rely on his experience, rather than teaching him what he needs to know from the get go. The “treasure” the shepherd is seeking is paralleled with the “treasure” he is unlocking within himself by undergoing the quest.
One of the critiques against Jung is that he internalizes alchemy. I think this book demonstrates that the internalization comes as a result of the experience, and that the two must work in conjunction to produce the philosopher’s stone, which I interpret (and Jung too) to represent the Self, capital S, which is the ultimate archetype, the archetype that links the psyche of the individual with the numinous psyche of the world, which leads me into a discussion of the semantics that Jung is often criticized for and which I will leave alone at this time.
The book isn’t one that took my breath away, but I still highly recommend it. It is not a primer into alchemy, so I do suggest a little dappling into the subject before reading the book to appreciate it on that level. Otherwise, it is a really good mythic story. A couple sources on alchemy that I have read are both source texts, but they deliver the subject in a way relevant to the Western reader are: Alchemy by Johannes Fabricius and Jung on Alchemy, but I forget the name of the editor just now.
As a result of attending Portus, I’ve been inspired to start listening to some new Harry Potter podcasts. I normally get all my Harry Potter entertainment from PotterCast, the official podcast of The Leaky Cauldron. I used to listen to Mugglecast, the podcast from Mugglenet, but I got kind of burned out by them. So it was refreshing to find some new podcasts, so here are my recommendations:
HP Prognostications: Of course, I’m picking up this show after the release of book 7, so there’s not necessarily a lot of prognosticating going on. But the hosts, Brad(?) and Penny still analyze and discuss themes of the books. I think what initially attracted me to the show is because I met them at Portus, and I thought they were very nice. Their podcast is not disappointing. It’s insightful and informative, and entertaining too.
The Hog’s Head Pubcast: This is the podcast of Travis Prinzi, who also presented at Portus. He falls in the category of “Harry Potter theorists who tickle my shadow.” I often have inner debates between myself and anyone who discusses Christian symbolism in Harry Potter, mostly because I don’t really see it, and I have yet to have an in-depth discussion with those who see that view. It’s hard to get enough fodder with which to agree from a 1 hour presentation. Perhaps I should e-mail Travis… anyway, what I like most about this podcast is that Travis discusses themes common to fantasy literature that I researched for my massive project (btw, I’m trying to figure out how to get said massive project published. I’d appreciate any leads/pointers/suggestions/etc.). I have kind of moved away from a central focus that ties Harry Potter with LOTR or Narnia, but I am refreshed by the reminders that Travis gives me. Plus, he has some awesome contests.
WZRD: This is a periodical hour long show focused on Wizard Rock. They play some songs, have interviews or information about Wizard Rock. In case you don’t know, Wizard Rock is a (dare-I-say) genre of indy music with songs inspired by the Harry Potter books. It’s like the new punk rock.
Let’s get my shadow criticism out of the way: I worry that the constant energy placed into Wizard Rock or other creative fan outlets are essentially archetypal recycling. Rather than using the energies inspire by Harry Potter to create something beautiful, they create within the paradigm of canon/fanon. Someone ask me, “So what?”
What I like about Wizard Rock is that it has the power to unite and it’s being used to promote the messages of Harry Potter of tolerance, love, peace, etc. Plus, some of it is kind of fun. I find it interesting how much of Wizard Rock sounds more like show tunes than straight up punk rock, though the range of style also spans some grunge, emo, screamo.
All of this has inspired me to launch my own podcast, called “Mything in Action.” It’s still in the planning stages, but it’s probably going to ressemble the love child of the Hog’s Head Pubcast and Insytworks. It’s still in the planning stages. If you think you might be interested in helping out, send an e-mail to mythinginaction at gmail dot com and we’ll chat.
30
I just got back from the HPEF conference, Portus 2008, held in Dallas, TX. It was a pretty fun experience. I took my niece, the same niece who introduced me to Harry Potter in the first place. I walked away from the conference with two very different feelings:
1. the fan community felt generally ambivalent. The magic that fueled the community seems to have relied upon the release of the newest installment of the series. Now that there aren’t any more books coming out, what next?
which leads to 2. those who were there for scholarship were serious scholars. Yeah, you can go to the conferences and play quidditch, dress up, attend the ball or some wizard rock performances, but at the end of the day, the conference revolves around the “formal programming,” whether those are presentations, roundtables, panel talks, or workshops. I wasn’t super excited by the overall selection of topics, but I figure that has something to do with the fact that there is no more speculation. but there is plenty of opportunity for analysis..
My presentation was “the seven jungian horcruxes” in which i offered a jungian interpretation/mode of interacting with HP. I think my presentation itself went well, but I was a total bundle of nerves. I’m still working out the kinks of public speaking, especially since I have become increasingly more introverted as I’ve gotten older. Public speaking is definitely one thing i fear the most (and I give myself props for still making the attempt).
The two most exciting things that happened were the friends I feel I have made - I always love meeting new people - and the experience of meeting Andrew, the founder of The Harry Potter Alliance sought me out because he missed my presentation and wanted to talk to me about it. Since he’s a bit of a celeb in the fandom, I was/am really excited about the meeting.
Jim Dale was a very special guest at the conference. He does the narration/voices for the American HP audio books. He gave a special presentation of his favorite passages to read from HP and a talk about how he was inspired to do some of the voices.
Overall, it was a good experience and very fun. I came home with a t-shirt, a hoodie, some buttons, pictures and a dark mark patch, some new earrings, and some books. One of the books i got was written by one of the presenters, and he personalized it for me. His name is edmund Kern and the book is The Wisdom of Harry Potter. I also got John Granger’s book about HP & alchemy, The Psychology of Harry Potter and From Homer to Harry (which is an exploration of mythology and stuff). I’m glad to be home, but I’m already eager for next year.
So, as already mentioned, I somehow spaced on the fact that I originally scheduled the next RoundTable for May 31st. It took the most recent JCF announcement to remind me. Since I have a conflict on this date, I have pushed this RoundTable back to June 7th. We will still have the scheduled RoundTable on June 28, but I am still working out the topic.
This month’s topic: Literary Alchemy
“Literary Alchemy” is a phrase coined - as far as I know - by John Granger, theologian and writer of hogwartsprofessor.com, to describe how one can induce personal transformation through literature, especially Harry Potter. This process of transformation resembles Campbell’s hero’s journey. We are going to explore alchemy, literature and unleashing personal myth through literature (movies, television shows, etc. count, too).
The meeting will be held at the Book People cafe starting at 4:30. I will be there wearing my black JCF t-shirt with the red circle logo on the front.
Book People
603 N Lamar
Austin, TX 78703
Please RSVP by the morning of June 7th.
I look forward to seeing everyone there.