I am very excited these days, because for the longest time, they have been building a huge movie theater near my apartment. It looks like it is almost finished, and pretty soon I'll be able to walk over in less than five minutes to enjoy the latest blockbuster. There's not much I enjoy more than watching a great movie.
There is something magical that happens when the lights dim and the curtains open up. Something powerfully amazing that happens when the story unfolds on the screen right before our eyes. It's as if we are transported to another world, and another time. We can momentarily forget our normal everyday problems with the movie starts.
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.
This structure has been documented many times, probably most notable in Joseph Campbell's "The Power Of Myth." In this book he illustrated how many myths from many different cultures share some of the basic structural elements. It is great evidence that humans are much more similar than different.
Whether you are studying ancient mythology, or simply spending an afternoon at your local movie theater, never underestimate the power of the movie to entertain and give you guidance on some of life's most difficult challenges.
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