Something Borrowed, Something Blue: Avatar and the Myth of Originality
Avatar is now officially the top-grossing movie of all time, but that’s not because it shows us something entirely original (in 3D no less). Like all good myths, it is a mashup: a mix of well-tested stories, presented in an unfamiliar way.
Yearning For A God We Can Live With
Two new books, one offering a vision of interfaith, universal religion, the other a model of a radically transformed Judaism, attempt to wrestle God into the everyday. Against the ascendancy of the so-called New Atheism, both writers argue for a God who transcends “god-management systems” and whose primary claim on us is through our own spiritual longing.
Mythmaking 101, or, Why We Believe in Death Panels
Forget what you learned about myth from Joseph Campbell—this death panel rumor is the real deal: values masquerading as truth, all in service of one heckuva group fantasy.
The Visceral Vote: Obama-as-Sojourner v. McCain-as-Mythic-Hero
This presidential election has a symbolic sub-plot in which ancient archetypes vie for the American voter's soul...
The words of our top general in Iraq—words I’ve described as myths—are those that the president says will determine his war policy.
The words of our top general in Iraq—words I’ve described as myths—are those that the president says will determine his war policy.