Joseph Campbell's Functions of Myth in Science Fiction: A Modern Mythology and the Historical and Ahistorical Duality of Time

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2014-02-07
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Virginia Tech
Abstract

This document explores the relationships between science fiction and mythology, utilizing the theories of Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung in particular. Conclusions are then drawn that argue that science fiction performs the same functions as mythology in the modern world. The author provides examples of these functions being performed in science fiction by analyzing two novels: The Forest of Hands and Teeth, and Stranger in a Strange Land. Finally, the document explores the narratives' uses of time in historical and ahistorical modes as a vehicle for its functions, and argues that the various uses of time are key to science fiction acting as modern mythology.

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myth theory, joseph campbell, carl jung, science fiction
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