William G. Doty - Böcker

A type of folklore, myth is central to all cultures. Myths convey serious truths learned over generations and provide practical advice for living within a society. And while many myths go back to antiquity, they are also an important part of popular culture. Because they are so fundamental to civilization, myths are studied in a range of disciplines and at all levels. This reference is a comprehensive but convenient introduction to the role of myth in world cultures.Written by a leading authority, this handbook is of use to high school students, undergraduates, and general readers. It defines and classifies types of myth and provides numerous examples, many of which illustrate the significance of myth to contemporary society. In addition, it surveys the history of the study of myth and overviews critical approaches. It examines the relation of myths to larger contexts, such as politics, religion, and popular culture. The volume closes with a bibliography of print and electronic resources and a glossary.

A collection of essays about mythical trickster figures, ranging from the Coyote of America to African, Japanese, Greek and Christian figures, plus examples found in contemporary American fiction and drama. The work examines how cultural values are challenged and enforced by these comic creations.

This new edition of William Doty's critically acclaimed study provides a comprehensive guidebook to the many schools of interpretation in this burgeoning field. William Doty's popular text has been hailed as the most comprehensive work of its kind. Extensively rewritten and completely restructured, the new edition provides further depth and perspective and is even more accessible to students of myth. It includes expanded coverage of postmodern and poststructuralist perspectives, the Gernet Center, mythic iconography, neo-Jungian approaches, and cultural studies, and it summarizes what is new in the study of Greek myth, iconography, French classical scholarship, and ritual studies. It also features a comprehensive index of names and topics, a glossary, an up-to-date annotated bibliography, and a guide to myth on the Internet. Presenting all major myth theorists from antiquity to the present, Mythography is an encyclopedic work that offers a cross-disciplinary approach to the study of myth. By reflecting the dramatic increase in interest in myth among both scholars and general readers since publication of the first edition, it remains a key study of modern approaches to myth and an essential guide to the wealth of mythographic research available today.

Few media franchises can match The Matrix for enthusiasm of reception and subsequent proliferation. Who in 1999 could have imagined that the momentum of a single film would sustain two more major theatrical releases in a single year, a collection of nine anime cartoons, a best-selling computer game, and more websites than can be counted? Jacking In To The Matrix Trilogy will be the first academic study to take an in-depth look at all of these products, a coherent overview of the franchise as a whole. The Matrix films are rich with mythological and religious references, as well as drawing upon futuristic fiction. Such richness demands a variety of decoding interpreting skills, and the array of talent in this volume will lay bare many of the strand that have given the Matrix creations such a sense of magic. The book gathers original articles that comment on the cultural and religious implications of The Matrix trilogy, its place within the cyberworlds of contemporary literature and philosophy, and its portrayal of gender and race. The volume also makes conjectures about the ethical and social consequences of taking either the red of the blue pill. Jacking In To The Matrix Trilogy wil

The Matrix films, along with the video games, anime and toys inspired by them, are rich with philosophical, religious and social references that cry out for interpretation. Here these ideas are examined in the context of the history of thought and cinema. The variety of applications in this study is remarkable, engaging thinkers ranging from conservative Christians to postmodernist critics. Feminist issues meet cyberpunk, cosmological perspectives meet mythological and literary analysis. Violence in society, American values, politics, heroic models - all are called into question as several esteemed scholars decode the entire world of the Matrix franchise.