I’ve enjoyed this lecture series very much, but I’m left wondering if there are more lessons to come. Currently, the last lesson is “Tolkien and Heroism”, but in the earlier lessons, it’s said that the course will cover CS Lewis, Science Fiction, and comic books/movies.
That being said the course does a great job covering classical and medieval periods as well as covering Tolkien in great detail.
This is my exact question. Don’t forget T.S. Eliot. He also mentioned discussing fantasy as a genre as well as the current dystopian teen fiction trend. I’d also like to hear about how the rise of the antihero fits into mythology. I guess in many ways, Odysseus is about as antihero as someone can get. And finally what would a discussion on contemporary mythology be without Star Wars and Game of Thrones!!!
An interesting line of thought would be the rise of internet fan fiction and the large scale rejection of the Star Wars Prequels by many long time fans. I personally do not regard them as “canon” but simply high budget “fan fiction.”
I greatly enjoyed this class as well, but would like to echo the more coming question? The roles of modern characters in mythology would be a very interesting discussion. I would also throw out there for those not familiar, the very great Dresden Files series. The author does a fantastic job of combining elements from multiple mythologies. Additionally, though I’ve never spoken with him, several interviews that I have watched have led me to believe that Mr. Butcher is liberty minded.
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