How did joseph Campbell become famous?

Answer 1

Joseph Campbell identified the motif of the Hero's Journey, a theme recurring in myths from a variety of cultures widely separated in time and in space. Whether Gilgamesh, Hercules, Moses, Buddha, Jesus, King Arthur, Superman, or Luke Skywalker, these heroes follow a parallel pattern which Campbell, borrowing from James Joyce, termed the "monomyth" in his seminal work, "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" (published in 1949).

Campbell's work has influenced generations of artists, writers, musicians, and filmmakers, including figures such as avant-garde composer John Cage, author Richard Adams (Watership Down), the Grateful Dead, and George Lucas. According to Lucas, the original Star Wars trilogy was grounded in "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" and Campbell's four-volume "Masks of God."

Several months after Campbell's death (October 30, 1987), PBS aired "The Power of Myth" - a series of six hour-long interviews of Campbell by Bill Moyers. This series introduced Joseph Campbell's ideas and charismatic personality to the general public, sparking an unprecendented posthumous popular.