Person
Joseph Campbell
Writing & Narrative
Spirituality & MythWho is Joseph Campbell in the Agency editorial?
Joseph Campbell was an American writer and scholar of comparative mythology, known for the book The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949). Issue.16 names him once, in the author's prose, as the source of its definition of a hero, in the passage that leads to the anti-hero.
In short
Joseph Campbell was an American writer and scholar of comparative mythology, author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949). In the Agency editorial he appears in a single sentence of Issue.16, the edition about James Gandolfini and The Sopranos. The author asks what a hero is and answers that, according to Campbell's book, "a hero is a protagonist who embarks on a transformative journey, faces challenges, acquires wisdom, and returns with newfound insight and gifts for their community". The edition then defines the villain as the opposing force and moves on to the anti-hero.
Key facts
- Who was Joseph Campbell?
- An American writer and scholar of comparative mythology, author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces, published in 1949.
- Where does the Agency editorial name Joseph Campbell?
- In Issue.16, in one sentence of the author's prose that answers the question of what a hero is.
- What definition does Issue.16 take from his book?
- That a hero is a protagonist who "embarks on a transformative journey, faces challenges, acquires wisdom, and returns with newfound insight and gifts for their community".
Who was Joseph Campbell?
Joseph Campbell was an American writer and scholar of comparative mythology, born in 1904. He is known for The Hero with a Thousand Faces, published in 1949, a book about the journey of the hero in myths. He died in 1987. These facts come from outside the edition and are marked for verification.
How does Joseph Campbell appear in Issue.16?
Before presenting the anti-hero, Issue.16 asks what a hero is. The answer cites the book, which the English edition writes as "A Hero with a Thousand Faces", by Joseph Campbell: a hero is a protagonist who embarks on a transformative journey, faces challenges, acquires wisdom and returns with insight and gifts for the community. The edition concludes that the villain is the opposing force to that community or protagonist. That is the only mention of Campbell in the editions.
Source editions
Where this entry comes from in the Agency editorial.