TV Eye
Talk Softly
By Belinda Acosta, Fri., Aug. 23, 2002
I watched part two of a rebroadcast of Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth last week. The groundbreaking PBS series featured a very young (and often perplexed-looking) Bill Moyers interviewing the now-legendary Joseph Campbell on the origins of myth and story and its enduring presence in modern cultures. Although I remember all the fuss when the show first aired in the late Eighties, I didn't see any of it. I was, as I recall, in my "Oh, I don't watch television" phase.
The Power of Myth was one of the featured specials during KLRU's recent pledge drive. So, like a student wishing to catch up on "the classics," I tuned in. Several things struck me about what I saw. First, could Bill Moyers' glasses get any larger? Second, and more to the point, I was impressed by how down-to-earth and accessible Campbell was. He didn't drown his ideas in jargon or academic gibberish. Well, some of what Campbell had to say was gibberish. I didn't agree with all his hermetically sealed, socially detached conclusions. Yet, something kept me glued to the set for three hours (breaking only for pledge pitches). It was the power of talk. Not talk like you hear over the air today, but talk in which someone earnestly shares his or her ideas and tells a story, while someone else respectfully listens and asks questions.
Today's talk TV (and radio, for that matter) is primarily a means to sell a product -- a movie, a book, a way of life. Contemporary news talk TV has taken its cue from daytime talk shows, which are, by and large, shouting matches. The loudest and most boorish voice "wins." Cutting off an opponent, belittling those with dissenting points of view, or relentlessly shouting in someone's face until he falls silent are the rules, not the exceptions.
So, there was something wistful and mesmerizing about The Power of Myth, especially when compared with its legacy. The man who contributed "Follow Your Bliss" to the national lexicon also begat the likes of Gary Zukav, whose Heart of the Soul special (also on PBS) sent me searching for a shovel.
I won't blame Campbell for launching what seems to be an assembly line of self-help gurus who with a soothing voice can talk without saying a whole lot, sell lots of books, and, if they're really lucky, get their own syndicated TV series (or PBS special). Instead, I'll thank him for reminding me, in three short hours, how important it is to tell stories and hear stories, to listen critically. He also reminded me of the need to support those few shows that offer something more than infotainment. And so, dear reader, I invite you to tune into my three favorite talk shows:
Life 360 (Thursdays, 10pm, PBS): The show returns Aug. 29 after making room for the KLRU pledge drive. "Siblings" is the theme of the new episode.
Berman & Berman: For Women Only (Monday-Friday, 9pm, midnight, and 3am, Discovery Health): I talked about this series a few columns back. It's still my favorite show featuring smart talk by smart women about sex.
Now With Bill Moyers (Fridays, 8pm, PBS): Part talk, part news, Bill Moyers covers it all in a seasoned manner -- and with smaller glasses.
