Comments | wolf_nd_shadows: I need help preparring for an interview

wolf_nd_shadows

I need help preparring for an interview

Apr 12, 2010 22:22

I've been asked to be interviewed for an upcoming documentary, based of an article I wrote for last year's Green Word (the periodical for the Beneficient Order of the Greenman). Because the newsletter is usually small, I intentionally kept the article brief and the ideas generalized. to prepare, I not only need to hash out the ideas, but do so in a ( Read more... )

Comments 7

transversecity April 13 2010, 02:25:56 UTC

(From a devil's advocate point-of-view type of question--not that you were looking specifically for "opposing" questions)--

How can you compare the very real, historical, and critical "dream" of someone like Dr. Martin Luther King with the "imaginary" mythologies of pre-industrial peoples?

wolf_nd_shadows April 13 2010, 02:49:53 UTC

One of the most well known modern authorities on both mythology and the mythic hero is late Joseph Campbell. He often conceptualized the Hero's journey as first a journey to change the self, and then a journey to change the society around the hero. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther king Jr, a very real and historical hero, directly mirrored this mythical and archetypal hero who sought to challenge and change society for the better. Dr. King recognized that prejudice, though supported by society at the time, was a cancer slowly killing it. So like the Mythic hero, he challenged the powers that be, face frightening dangers, and persevered. And in the end, he created and shared a common dream that itself was reminiscent of the a return to the mythological golden age, a dream that inspired others to carry on his work even after he was taken from us.

transversecity April 20 2010, 05:37:27 UTC

Sharp, you.

temperlj April 13 2010, 14:22:21 UTC

I wish you best of luck and have no advice to offer :)

thegreyeminence April 14 2010, 02:53:18 UTC

You might be able to simply ask them what they expect you to cover. (I'm assuming this is not a hostile interview.)

thegreyeminence April 14 2010, 17:29:58 UTC

OK, a question:

Hasn't the ability to dream up new realities done at least as much harm as good? “Germany was ‘stabbed in the back’ by Jews”, “Negroes are happier as slaves”, “9/11 was an inside job”, “Kim Jong-il will save us from the Americans”. These myths make equally compelling stories, and they paint just as vivid a future (or present, or past).

wolf_nd_shadows April 14 2010, 18:37:44 UTC

First of all, this is where the distinction of the mythic comes into play. the stories alluded to aren't myths in the classic sense: they aren't mythic. They are only considered myths in a semantic sense, one that equates myth with any fictitious story; not the mythic sense. 9/11 conspiracy theories are in no way as near as compelling as the Illiad or the Odyssey. The slanders against the Jews lacked the vividness and universality of the exploits of Samson or David. The exploits of Kim Jong-Ill lack the power granted to Hercules, Perseus, or Theseus. The justifications of slavery lack the attractive Humanity of the stories of robin hood. they are stories, but they are not the Mythic stories that I have referred to ( ... )