CULTURAL MYTHOLOGY

It really wasn't my plan to distract everyone with the surprise party so I could change the subtitle of my blog. It just sort of happened. I'm really the one that got distracted. Funny how life does that. By the way, the cake was German Chocolate. See, there I go again. In any case, you may have noticed that my blog description is no longer "My Journey as an Illustrator and Writer of Nature Spirits." I didn't feel that was accurate enough. That is why my new subtitle is "My Journey as an Illustrator and Writer of Cultural Mythology".

If you aren't familiar with cultural mythology, it is the story that a culture develops to help make sense of the world and the questions that arise while living in it. There is usually a certain amount of fantastical action in cultural mythology and of course there is generally a message to impart to the audience while they are being entertained. Most people are at least a little familiar with Greek Mythology, but this is just one form of mythology. Every culture has a story and there are usually many.

Within these stories are archetypes or characters that can convey sets of behaviors easily to large groups of people. Basic examples of archetypes are the hero, the villain, and the victim. For instance, many people when they think of a hero or a villain, will conjer up similar types of behavior for that archetype. And think of the unfortunate archetype of the starving artist. You probably get the same general image in your mind that hundreds of other people would also get. (That is one archetype that needs a makeover!) This allows the storyteller to develop an idea without defining every aspect of that character or archetype. When using archetypes the audience can easily recognize the character type and develop an immediate familiarity and understanding.

What is amazing to me are the common archetypes that can be found throughout history in different cultures that were totally separated from each other. Just another way that we are all linked together. You can explore these ideas further by reading some cultural mythology at Encyclopedia Mythica . I get absolutely lost in this website jumping into different regions and looking at the myriad of gods, goddesses, heroes, villains, etc.

So, if mythology is a place where people can begin to make sense of the world around them, how do we in these quickly changing modern times, make sense of what is around us? I think we need a new mythology and some new archetypes to fit this crazy world of ours. Strange coincidence. That's just what I hope I can do....even if I only add or modify a couple archetypes. I think the Starving Artist needs a replacement! Stay tuned.