Campbell speaks often about native Americans—specifically the Iroquois, the Duwamish Chief Seattle, the Algonquin maize legend—and their simple communion with Nature. It seems appropriate, now, to recall an interesting, quite pathetic story I only recently heard for the first time—so shame on me! Naturally the early American settlers were frantic to convert the Indians to Christianity, whether or not they were secure and satisfied in their beliefs. Bigoted and biased, these whites regaled the “savages”—Creek, I think they were—with the tenets of Christianity and their desperate need for salvation.
Having listened patiently, the Indians, now, wanted to share their gods—in this case decidedly
plural!—but, no, the whites would have none of it. “But why not? You told us about your god, now we would like to tell you about our gods.” Indignant as well as intolerant, the whites proclaimed, “But our god is the only true god. Your beliefs are false and have no meaning.”
“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.”
The six interviews, titled variously “The Hero’s Adventure,” “The First Storytellers” and “Masks of Eternity,” have previously appeared on both DVD and VHS, the latter once doled out as “gifts” for monetary contributions during woeful PBS pledge drives. The video and audio qualities of the discs are surprisingly good, considering their age, though the images are not as sharp as has become commonplace now, and, from the original tapes, there is some residual hiss, though not intrusive by any means. Additional materials are sporadic in quality and are spread over both discs.
Whether as an introduction to the imaginative mind of Joseph Campbell or as a welcomed reacquaintance, this DVD set is highly recommended.