Sitting tucked away on a dusty bookshelf of every aspiring filmmaker is a heavily dog-eared copy of Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”. Or at least there should be. Campbell’s work has largely been credited for defining the “Hero’s Journey” mythology which the majority of stories - and specifically movies - follow.

Or, maybe you’re well aware of Campbell’s work but have moved on to more film specific formulas like Dan Harmon’s “Story Circle” - which you can read about here.

However, regardless of your personal feelings for Campbell’s work, it’s hard to not see its enormous influence throughout the history of film and television. If you do fancy yourself a screenwriter, or filmmaker in general, then you may find this new dump of lectures to be quite interesting.

Over 17 lectures, 48 hours of Joseph Campbell’s teachings are available online for free through Spotify. Via the Joseph Campbell Foundation, these lectures cover everything from the functions of mythology, the cosmic order and the mythology of today. All of which tie directly into his “Hero’s Journey” research and directly into our Star Wars obsessed cinema culture.

Joseph Campbell Lectures on Spotify

So, check it out above (or on Spotify). And if you’d like to learn more about Joseph Campbell and the “Hero’s Journey” here are some interesting articles on its use in film - as well as having it explained by puppets.

Joseph campbellThe Hero with a Thousand Faces
Screenwriting