Millennial Mythmaking: Essays on the Power of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Films and Games

by John Perlich (Editor), David Whitt (Editor)

Overview

Contemporary myths, particularly science fiction and fantasy texts, can provide commentary on who we are as a culture, what we have created, and where we are going. These nine essays from a variety of disciplines expand upon the writings of Joseph Campbell and the hero's journey. Modern examples of myths from various sources such as Planet of the Apes, Wicked, Pan's Labyrinth, and Spirited Away; the Harry Potter series; and Second Life are analyzed as creative mythology and a representation of contemporary culture and emerging technology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786455928
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	03/08/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	212
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

John Perlich is an associate professor of communication studies at Bemidji State University in Bemidji, Minnesota. His teaching specialties include communication theory, mixed research methods, public speaking (presentation-based courses), and interpersonal communication. David Whitt is a professor of communication studies at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska. He teaches mass media, persuasion, communication in the professions, and has taught courses on Star Trek, comic books, and the Irish rock group U2.
John Perlich is a professor of communication studies at Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska.
David Whitt is a professor of communication studies at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska. He teaches mass media, persuasion, communication in the professions, and has taught courses on Star Trek, comic books, and the Irish rock group U2.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface: “There and Back Again…”     

Contrasting Colors
1. Sorting Heroic Choices: Green and Red in the Harry Potter Septology
(KIRSTIN CRONN-MILLS and JESSICA SAMENS)     
2. The Complexity of Evil in Modern Mythology: The Evolution of the Wicked Witch of the West
(JASON EDWARDS and BRIAN KLOSA)     
3. Polysemous Myth: Incongruity in Planet of the Apes
(RICHARD BESEL and RENEÉ SMITH BESEL)     

New Champions
4. The Hero with the Thousand-and-First Face: Miyazaki’s Girl Quester in Spirited Away and Campbell’s Monomyth
(DEE GEORTZ)     
5. The Odyssey of Madame Souza: A Heroine’s Quest in The Triplets of Belleville
(DAVID WHITT)     
6. Rethinking the Monomyth: Pan’s Labyrinth and the Face of a New Hero(ine)
(JOHN PERLICH)     

No Boundaries
7. Actors and Their Mythic Heroes: From the Doctor to Captain Kirk
(DJOYMI BAKER)     
8. Running Free in Angelina Jolie’s Virtual Body: The Myth of the New Frontier and Gender Liberaton in Second Life
(ELLEN GORSEVSKI)     
9. So Where Do I Go from Here? Ghost in the Shell and Imagining Cyborg Mythology for the New Millennium
(JAY SCOTT CHIPMAN)     

Epilogue: “Always in Motion Is the Future…”     
About the Contributors     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

intriguing...recommended”—Choice; “valuable”—Mythlore.

From the Publisher

"valuable"

Mythlore

intriguing...recommended

Choice