WAAAY back in college, I study Joseph Campbell and his Power of Myth, in a class that covered both theology and philosophy credits! It made a big impact on me, but like alot of college classes, what is great in theory, sometimes gets lost in hustle and bustle of real life. So when I was contacted about promoting and reviewing the latest film, Finding Joe, by director Patrick Takaya Solomon, I was happy to oblige!
The primary thing about Joseph Campbell is that his words are so simple, but have so MUCH depth in their meaning. I always pictured him like a Zen master who looked like an accountant! Before I tell you about the movie, let me give you some background on Campell.
Campbell was a professor at Sarah Lawrence College for 38 years. His seminal work, “A Hero with a Thousand Faces” was published in 1949 and greatly influenced generations of artists and writers, including Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas, Jerry Garcia and others. Campbell collaborated with Bill Moyers on the PBS series The Power of Myth,in 1987/88. It's television release in 1988, after Campbell's death, brought him to a new audience and resulted in a book, The Power of Myth, which summed up many of Campbell' works.
Before I tell you about the movie, I want to share the trailer with you:
Finding Joe - Trailer V.7 from pat solomon on Vimeo.
Enter to win the Finding Joe poster and put it where you can all see it and embrace it's quote!
About the Director: Solomon began his career shooting action sports films on snowboarding, motocross and skateboarding, including Totally Board>and Crusty Demons of Dirt. He has spent the past 12 years directing commercials and began work on FINDING JOE in February 2009.
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The primary thing about Joseph Campbell is that his words are so simple, but have so MUCH depth in their meaning. I always pictured him like a Zen master who looked like an accountant! Before I tell you about the movie, let me give you some background on Campell.
Campbell was a professor at Sarah Lawrence College for 38 years. His seminal work, “A Hero with a Thousand Faces” was published in 1949 and greatly influenced generations of artists and writers, including Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas, Jerry Garcia and others. Campbell collaborated with Bill Moyers on the PBS series The Power of Myth,in 1987/88. It's television release in 1988, after Campbell's death, brought him to a new audience and resulted in a book, The Power of Myth, which summed up many of Campbell' works.
Before I tell you about the movie, I want to share the trailer with you:
Finding Joe - Trailer V.7 from pat solomon on Vimeo.
FINDING JOE is an exploration of famed Mythologist Joseph Campbell’s studies and their continuing impact on our culture. Through interviews with visionaries from a variety of fields (Deepak Chopra, Mick Fleetwood, Tony Hawk, Rashida Jones, Laird Hamilton, Robert Walter, Robin Sharma, Catherine Hardwicke, Sir Ken Robinson, and Akiva Goldsman,among others) interwoven with enactments of classic tales by a sweet and motley group of kids,
the film navigates the stages of what Campbell dubbed The Hero’s Journey: the challenges, the fears, the dragons, the battles, and the return home as a changed person. Rooted in deeply personal accounts and timeless stories, FINDING JOE shows how Campbell’s work is relevant and essential in today’s world and how it provides a narrative for how to live a fully realized life—or as Campbell would simply state, how to “follow your bliss”
Now I know EXACTLY what you are about to say- BORING! And you would be so very very very wrong!
Review: This movie is not a documentary, not a lecture series, not a fictionalized movie. It is something new- a cohesive discussion, with illustrative movie vignets. And as odd as that sounds, it works on SO many levels- it engages you intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. And isn't that what the best movies do?
When I finished watching the movie I sat there and contemplated for about 20 minutes. Then I went back and watched parts of it again! As one of the interviewees says, "sometimes the universe comes knocking, when you ignore it, it will come back and wipe you off your feet, to get your attention". Ever feel like everything you're reading, or discussing, all seems to be in sync in a really weird way? Yup, that's the universe knocking, giving you a SIGN. I saw that sign when i watched the moving, as it was if everything in the past 3 weeks coalesced and had a was beautifully illustrated in the movie. Very disconcerting to say the least!
How many of us get caught up in what we are 'supposed to do', versus what we 'want to do', with all our psyche? Rationale and pressure, internal and external, stops us. We keep ourselves from taking the proverbial "leap of faith". Yes, time to take responsibility. The 'hero's journey' that is in ALL cultural myths, no matter where they are from, or when they started, is actually OUR INNER journey. Yes, each and every one of us. We have to "be willing to let go of the life that is planned for us, so as to have the life we were meant to have", per Campbell.
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Campbell says we all have something we are meant to do. But we have to go into the forest, on our OWN path, and find what that is. When we do, we will conquer our inner dragon, face our fears, and find our path to bliss. Think back to when you learned to do something new as an adult- be it a new language, a craft, use your new smartphone. When you mastered it, didn't you feel like you could do anything you set your mind to? When we conquer one fear, it's like a domino effect- our safety zone gets bigger and we have less fears and we become more and more confident in ourselves.
How do you find YOUR bliss? And what truly is bliss? Bliss is unlocking your creative potential, and this is where the movie really socks it to you, in the literal meaning of the words. Mythologist/Theologist Rebecca Armstrong says to think back to when you were a kid- what was it that made you different? That you might have been made fun of for? Chances are pretty good- whatever it was- there is your path to bliss. Think about it for a minute- what did you adore to do as a child, that made you happy in a way that you haven't been since? Feel gobsmacked yet?
I truly believe everyone needs to see this movie, no matter what their age, OR their faith! This is not touchy feely new agey stuff. This makes total sense, when you stop to think about it. Just a couple of days ago Yahoo news had a lead article about people who were down and out, found something they loved doing, did it and became HUGELY successful. And then what did they do? They give BACK to their community. When you find your bliss you will find you want to spread your happiness and joy. Pretty Christian ideal, no?
And THAT is what makes this movie important- we all say to our kids "you can be a doctor, banker, sportstar, etc, when you grow up". We urge them into college, to follow the 'norm'. But are we doing a disservice to our kids? Why can't we let them find what makes them happy? They don't HAVE to earn a million dollars to be happy, inside and out (but that does tend to follow, when you find your bliss and stay on that path). Maybe we should be like Mick Fleetwood's dad and say "ok, take your chance and see what you can do" (how right was he to let him go off and play drums?).
But the movie isn't hard to follow- even teens will understand and the images of the kids are very very effective in illustrating the words and concepts. If we see the movie together, we can have discussions about finding OUR individual paths, and how important it is to BE HAPPY, to take the road less traveled. We need to lead our kids by example- by stepping outside our comfort zone and showing them how to achieve THEIR bliss!
See if this movie is coming to your area. TAKE your kids, especially your teens and college age kids. Then take your siblings and friends. SEE this movie and see if it awakens the dragon-slayer within YOU!
Now I know EXACTLY what you are about to say- BORING! And you would be so very very very wrong!
Review: This movie is not a documentary, not a lecture series, not a fictionalized movie. It is something new- a cohesive discussion, with illustrative movie vignets. And as odd as that sounds, it works on SO many levels- it engages you intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. And isn't that what the best movies do?
When I finished watching the movie I sat there and contemplated for about 20 minutes. Then I went back and watched parts of it again! As one of the interviewees says, "sometimes the universe comes knocking, when you ignore it, it will come back and wipe you off your feet, to get your attention". Ever feel like everything you're reading, or discussing, all seems to be in sync in a really weird way? Yup, that's the universe knocking, giving you a SIGN. I saw that sign when i watched the moving, as it was if everything in the past 3 weeks coalesced and had a was beautifully illustrated in the movie. Very disconcerting to say the least!
How many of us get caught up in what we are 'supposed to do', versus what we 'want to do', with all our psyche? Rationale and pressure, internal and external, stops us. We keep ourselves from taking the proverbial "leap of faith". Yes, time to take responsibility. The 'hero's journey' that is in ALL cultural myths, no matter where they are from, or when they started, is actually OUR INNER journey. Yes, each and every one of us. We have to "be willing to let go of the life that is planned for us, so as to have the life we were meant to have", per Campbell.
How do you find YOUR bliss? And what truly is bliss? Bliss is unlocking your creative potential, and this is where the movie really socks it to you, in the literal meaning of the words. Mythologist/Theologist Rebecca Armstrong says to think back to when you were a kid- what was it that made you different? That you might have been made fun of for? Chances are pretty good- whatever it was- there is your path to bliss. Think about it for a minute- what did you adore to do as a child, that made you happy in a way that you haven't been since? Feel gobsmacked yet?
I truly believe everyone needs to see this movie, no matter what their age, OR their faith! This is not touchy feely new agey stuff. This makes total sense, when you stop to think about it. Just a couple of days ago Yahoo news had a lead article about people who were down and out, found something they loved doing, did it and became HUGELY successful. And then what did they do? They give BACK to their community. When you find your bliss you will find you want to spread your happiness and joy. Pretty Christian ideal, no?
And THAT is what makes this movie important- we all say to our kids "you can be a doctor, banker, sportstar, etc, when you grow up". We urge them into college, to follow the 'norm'. But are we doing a disservice to our kids? Why can't we let them find what makes them happy? They don't HAVE to earn a million dollars to be happy, inside and out (but that does tend to follow, when you find your bliss and stay on that path). Maybe we should be like Mick Fleetwood's dad and say "ok, take your chance and see what you can do" (how right was he to let him go off and play drums?).
But the movie isn't hard to follow- even teens will understand and the images of the kids are very very effective in illustrating the words and concepts. If we see the movie together, we can have discussions about finding OUR individual paths, and how important it is to BE HAPPY, to take the road less traveled. We need to lead our kids by example- by stepping outside our comfort zone and showing them how to achieve THEIR bliss!
See if this movie is coming to your area. TAKE your kids, especially your teens and college age kids. Then take your siblings and friends. SEE this movie and see if it awakens the dragon-slayer within YOU!
Enter to win the Finding Joe poster and put it where you can all see it and embrace it's quote!
About the Director: Solomon began his career shooting action sports films on snowboarding, motocross and skateboarding, including Totally Board>and Crusty Demons of Dirt. He has spent the past 12 years directing commercials and began work on FINDING JOE in February 2009.
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Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this preview, free of charge, from the director, via Blog Reach Solutions, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it.
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