Beautifully crafted Patrick. I agree that superhero films will be analysed fondly retrospectively. I remember Henry Cavill say Superman (and the genre itself) is like Hindu mythology in some ways. It riled up many Indians as he compared a fictional character to gods still worshipped but there are undeniable similarities. That’s probably what makes the Ramayana and Mahabharata venerated even today - how protagonists suffering from self-doubt are pushed onto the path of greatness by their mentors!
I really appreciate your tie back to Hollywood as a surviving marker of American society - as an actor in the age of influencers, I’ve really wondered if Hollywood/ cinema is a dying art but this futurist POV was really refreshing.
Do you believe that we’re all on our own hero’s journey? Or are some of us always, the guide, for example, in others journeys? Are we constantly switching archetypes, the hero in one story, the guide or ogre in another, simultaneously?
Hey, a super interesting point. I think these patterns are always taking place; we’re on journeys within journeys and are constantly entering others’ stories under different guises
Perhaps what is dying is the unsubstantial, devoid of art and soul, commercial ‘movies’. When we talk about cinema we are moved and creates emotions and feelings. I think that is the difference. What do you think?
I am following your reflections of Dante’s inferno. Very interesting series. I discovered you talking about Candide, that I read in college. I made me think about Voltaire again, although he has been very present lately. Thank you for sharing and inspiring readings and thinking.
Great piece! How many of us doubt our instincts in the face of twists of fate? When I was learning to drive, my father told me not to second-guess myself in an emergency situation. The worst thing you could do he said was to change off your instinctual course. I've always thought that that was more than a driving lesson! But too little listened to in life.
Another truly interesting read, Patrick. I never really thought about looking back on the American Empire in the future. Naturally, I'm not a stranger to the idea that all things must come to an end, but being so surrounded by that culture in the present moment can make it feel incessant; undying.
After you're done, I'd love to read about your thoughts on Dante's Inferno. Such a complex text can't (and in my opinion 'shouldn't' be received in the same way by two different people.
Snyder’s journey formula sounds likeJoseph Campbell’s hero’s journey. Was that his inspiration for it?
I should think so
Beautifully crafted Patrick. I agree that superhero films will be analysed fondly retrospectively. I remember Henry Cavill say Superman (and the genre itself) is like Hindu mythology in some ways. It riled up many Indians as he compared a fictional character to gods still worshipped but there are undeniable similarities. That’s probably what makes the Ramayana and Mahabharata venerated even today - how protagonists suffering from self-doubt are pushed onto the path of greatness by their mentors!
I really appreciate your tie back to Hollywood as a surviving marker of American society - as an actor in the age of influencers, I’ve really wondered if Hollywood/ cinema is a dying art but this futurist POV was really refreshing.
Do you believe that we’re all on our own hero’s journey? Or are some of us always, the guide, for example, in others journeys? Are we constantly switching archetypes, the hero in one story, the guide or ogre in another, simultaneously?
Hey, a super interesting point. I think these patterns are always taking place; we’re on journeys within journeys and are constantly entering others’ stories under different guises
Perhaps what is dying is the unsubstantial, devoid of art and soul, commercial ‘movies’. When we talk about cinema we are moved and creates emotions and feelings. I think that is the difference. What do you think?
Thank you for an amazing read Patrick!
🙌
I am following your reflections of Dante’s inferno. Very interesting series. I discovered you talking about Candide, that I read in college. I made me think about Voltaire again, although he has been very present lately. Thank you for sharing and inspiring readings and thinking.
Love this mate!!
thanks man
Great piece! How many of us doubt our instincts in the face of twists of fate? When I was learning to drive, my father told me not to second-guess myself in an emergency situation. The worst thing you could do he said was to change off your instinctual course. I've always thought that that was more than a driving lesson! But too little listened to in life.
Love this, thanks
Another truly interesting read, Patrick. I never really thought about looking back on the American Empire in the future. Naturally, I'm not a stranger to the idea that all things must come to an end, but being so surrounded by that culture in the present moment can make it feel incessant; undying.
After you're done, I'd love to read about your thoughts on Dante's Inferno. Such a complex text can't (and in my opinion 'shouldn't' be received in the same way by two different people.
Many thanks, Nicholas