Joseph Campbell's comparative studies in mythology revealed to him that culturally bred mythologies, despite their ethnic inflections, continually point to universal archetypes and a common human identity. Campbell's belief in the common human identity stems from his adherence to Carl Jung's mystical perspective on myth, where archetypes of the personal and collective unconscious help us understand humankind in the past, present and future. Myth, like art, Campbell believed, should be interpreted metaphorically, in terms of connotation instead of denotation. Failure to interpret myth poetically leads to religious, social, and political divisiveness. Examples of consequences of a literally interpreted mythology prevail in contemporary ethnic and global warring. This thesis examines the prominent themes in Campbell's alternative philosophy of mythology, and particularly the interpretation of some selected notions in Biblical mythology which, he suggests, have to be reviewed and re-interpreted metaphorically. With the collapse of cultural boundaries due to modernity, the world community needs a mythology for the whole planet. This thesis will discuss the serious implications for religious education of Campbell's hermeneutics of mythology.

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We see the film like a reality because our perception of the film is like a reality around us. Movie as a dream and like a dream has unique tools how describe our soul and unconscious processes. This advantage is a crucial for my research, how can be useful for understanding how our unconscious works. C. G. Jung and Joseph Campbell and his work helps me with looking for the answer. How can film speak to us through the psychological layer instead of the narrative layer.

Thesis (MPhil (Ancient Studies)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / This thesis explores the Star Wars films in terms of C.G. Jung's theories on the archetypes and the collective unconscious, particularly as described by Joseph Campbell in his discussion of the journey of the mythic hero. In Chapter 1 short definitions of relevant terms such as “myth,” “the collective unconscious” and “archetypes” are given. Chapter 2 is a short discussion of four Jungian archetypes relevant to the topic, namely the Shadow, Guide, Mother, and Father. Chapter 3 focuses on the archetype of the Self and the psychological process of individuation as described by Jung, and its relation to the mythic hero and his journey. In Chapter 4 Star Wars is analysed in terms of the theoretical framework set out in Chapters 1-3. Chapter 5 is the concluding chapter, in which certain conclusions are made pertaining to the mythic character and psychological function of Star Wars, i.e., that the films contain elements that are mythic in character and may therefore perform the same psychological functions as myth. It is also argued that the popularity of Star Wars can therefore be ascribed to the same psychological reasons as the popularity of myth. Some attention is also given to possible further areas of study in this field, such as the mythic character of some other popular phenomena (for example Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings) and the function of myth and modern mythic equivalents as a community-shaping factor in people’s lives.