As a high school freshman, my speech and debate coach, Barbara Weiss, had us watch the series as we prepared for the upcoming season. In Moyers’ series, Campbell emerged as an open, kindly, octogenarian sage, a friendly grandfatherly figure whose every utterance was entrancing – demonstrating not only the titular power of myth but that of storytelling in general. College students at Sarah Lawrence – where Campbell was on faculty – and on campuses around the US were already familiar with his writing, especially through his influential The Hero with a Thousand Faces, which popularized the concept of the hero’s journey and was a mainstay of comparative religion and mythology courses. The program, which has proven to be among PBS’ most popular, introduced Campbell and his simple but profound mantra, “Follow your bliss,” to millions. A companion book was released at the same time, expanding on the conversations from the documentary series. The seminal six-part series pairing comparative mythology scholar and author Joseph Campbell and noted public television journalist Bill Moyers was originally broadcast on PBS in the summer of 1988. Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, February 5: JOSEPH CAMPBELL AND THE POWER OF MYTH WITH BILL MOYERS: 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
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