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发帖数: 7025 | 1 PBS six part documentary
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Myth
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The discussion considers the role of myth and ritual in contemporary society
. Contemporary rituals are carried out to mark special events in private
lives, such as an individual's marriage or enlistment in a branch of the
armed forces and, on public occasions such as the inauguration of civil and
national leaders. In the Introduction to the book, Moyers recalls Campbell's
description of the solemn state funeral after the assassination of John F.
Kennedy, as an "illustration of the high service of ritual to a society,"
and where Campbell identifies the ritualized occasion as fulfilling a great
social necessity.
In general, however, Campbell and Moyers, reach the conclusion that there is
a lack of effective mythology and ritual in modern American society. They
find nothing that compares with the powerful puberty rituals of primitive
societies. They claim that the exclusion of classical studies from the
modern educational syllabus has led to a lack of awareness of the
mythological foundations of western society's heritage. This, combined with
an increased materialism and emphasis on technology, has led to modern youth
in New York, becoming alienated from the main stream of society and
inventing their own morality, initiations and gangs.
It is of course true that the ancient rites of passage, such as circumcision
, are no longer practiced in American society, but the consideration of
their replacement by the Jewish celebration of Bar Mitzvah or college
graduation ceremonies could, and perhaps should, be made. Likewise, as a
form of ritualized warfare, the weekly college and professional football
games serve to provide a socially acceptable outlet for controlled
aggression. The community support for local teams certainly functions to
give individuals a sense of belonging to a larger social group. Campbell and
Moyers do not consider these social pageants and trends as possible
components in a new emerging set of myths and rituals. | S**U
发帖数: 7025 | |
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