"We're in a free fall into future. We don't know where we're going. Things are changing so fast. And always when you're going through a long tunnel, anxiety comes along. But all you have to do to transform your hell into a paradise is to turn your fall into a voluntary act. It's a very interesting shift of perspective . . . Joyfully participate in the sorrows of the world and everything changes." —Joseph Campbell

Through archival excerpts from his finest filmed lectures interwoven with exquisite images and evocative music from around the world, renowned mythologist Joseph Campbell takes us on a journey of transcendence and illumination, a trip through the mythological symbols and sagas left by our ancient forebears. What is revealed en route is "mankind's one great story," the grand drama played out by all cultures on all continents since time immemorial.

This saga "projected" on the screen of the universe is the mythic adventure that became Campbell's "Sukhavati," what he passionately embraced as his life's work, his place of bliss. Created by Maxine Harris and Sheldon Rocklin, with the enthusiastic support of the Joseph Campbell Foundation, this hypnotic and mesmerizing film is a deeply personal, almost spiritual, portrait of Campbell, told in his own words, in his twilight years, at the summit of his career and the apex of his intellectual powers. Through it, this great American thinker is still "joyfully participating in the sorrows of the world."

Reviews:

Sukhavati is like an extra-credit master class for anyone who was captivated by Bill Moyers' landmark series Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth. Produced, directed, and edited by Maxine Harris with the support of the Joseph Campbell Foundation (as part of a "Collected Works" series of DVDs), this simple, 78-minute program combines soothing imagery and music from around the world with relevant excerpts from some of Campbell's seminal lectures on mythology.

The title refers to Campbell's "place of bliss," or his life's calling: To fully grasp and teach mythology as a common trait of humanity--a way of interpreting life experience and philosophy through universal narratives that transcend ethnic and cultural differences. Specifically, these Campbell excerpts emphasize "Sukhavati" as a voluntary shifting of perspective that allows "joyful participation in the sorrows of the world." As Campbell observes, with illustrative examples taken from various mythologies from around the world, "we are in a free fall into the future," and our anxieties about the unknown can be eliminated if we embrace uncertainty and "transform hell into a paradise."

This acceptance of life's miseries is enhanced through Campbell's peerless ability to comparatively interpret mythologies related to cycles of life, death, and rebirth. While Campbell himself is shown only briefly in lecture clips, his words serve as voice-over narration to Harris's well-chosen images. The combination is awkward at times (it's not easy to follow Campbell's lecture when you're being lulled into a state of new-age relaxation), but the program succeeds in presenting the essence of Campbell's philosophical worldview. --Jeff Shannon (Amazon.com)

At long last, after the long, night-sea journey, the whole of Mythos is complete and available for the first time. Acorn Media has released Mythos III: The Shaping of the Western Tradition on DVD. 

Filmed over the last years of his life, Mythos captures Joseph Campbell's final series of public talks, his retelling of humankind's "one great story." With the release of this third volume, the entire series will be seen for the first time as Campbell delivered them, and as he intended them to be seen. Once again, the programs are hosted by Oscar^®-award winner Susan Sarandon.

In Mythos I: The Shaping of Our Mythic Tradition, Campbell began by looking at the world’s most ancient myths and symbols, from the evolution of human consciousness to the prehistoric hunting plains to the civilizations of the Fertile Crescent and the classical world.

In Mythos II: The Shaping of the Eastern Tradition, he went on to explore these basic elements as they have expressed themselves in the great religions and philosophies of Asia.

Now, in Mythos III: The Shaping of the Western Tradition , he moves on to exploring these same mythological motifs as they have expressed themselves in Western culture. Where the emphasis in the previous programs has been on the evolution of the human species and cultures, now Campbell focusses on the artists, writers and thinkers who have had such a huge impact on the culture of the modern West.

Over half of this series is made up of material that has never been released in any form.

"[Western myths] represented something that is typical to Europe and nowhere else, and that is respect for the individual and the individual path, the individual way." --Joseph Campbell

During the final years of his life, Joseph Campbell embarked on a speaking tour in which he drew together all that he had learned about what he called the "one great story" of humanity. These remarkable talks were filmed and are presented in Mythos in the order and manner in which Campbell himself intended, with enhanced images and in minimally edited form.

Now, in Mythos III: The Shaping of the Western Tradition, he explores these same mythological motifs as they have expressed themselves in Western culture. Where the emphasis in the previous volumes has been on the evolution of the humanity and its cultures, Campbell concludes this series by focusing on the art, literature, and philosophy that have influenced the development of the individual in the modern West.

Mythos III Lectures and Description:

Love as the Guide: The Arthurian Romances
The Path of the Heart: Parzival and the Grail Quest
Beyond Time & Space: The Romantic Philosophers
Between Pairs of Opposites: Thomas Mann and The Magic Mountain
Into the Well of Myth: The Joseph Novels and Modern Myth 

Presented and Hosted by Academy Award®-Winner SUSAN SARANDON

Request Mythos III as our Thank You gift when you donate $40 to JCF