Joseph Campbell, Power of Myth, SLC

[MerrieMiss]

I really like Joseph Campbell's works on myth. For anyone who might be interested, The Power of Myth is currently available on Netflix. I've never watched it, but I've listened to it before (it's an interview, I don't know that visuals are important, perhaps they are).

Something I've been thinking about recently is a quote from it where Campbell uses Salt Lake City as an illustrative example:

“You can tell what's informing a society by what the tallest building is. When you approach a medieval town, the cathedral is the tallest thing in the place. When you approach an eighteenth-century town, it is the political palace that's the tallest thing in the place. And when you approach a modern city, the tallest places are the office buildings, the centers of economic life.

"If you go to Salt Lake City, you see the whole thing illustrated right in front of your face. First the temple was built, right in the center of the city. This is the proper organization because the temple is the spiritual center from which everything flows in all directions. Then the political building, the Capitol, was built beside it, and it's taller than the temple. And now the tallest thing is the office building that takes care of the affairs of both the temple and the political building. That's the history of Western civilization."

I've been wondering, what in our culture, whether generally or within mormonism, will supplant the economic center? Are we ready for a new center of life? Any other thoughts?

[2bizE]

I like this Observation. I think we are gradually approaching a new center of society for salt lake. It will be a while still, but other areas such as Lehi or Bluffdale may eventually become the center of society.

[moksha]

Maybe a Salt Lake City Temple as a floating Theopolis high above the worshiping masses in the valley below. Joseph Campbell would point out that idea has its roots in other SciFi myths.

[moksha]

Maybe a Salt Lake City Temple as a floating Theopolis high above the worshiping masses in the valley below. Joseph Campbell would point out that idea has its roots in other SciFi myths.

That is too much science fiction in my opinion. Why not settle for a more practical 900-foot tall statue of David A. Bednar made out of polyurethane foam?

[Red Ryder]

Maybe a Salt Lake City Temple as a floating Theopolis high above the worshiping masses in the valley below. Joseph Campbell would point out that idea has its roots in other SciFi myths.

That is too much science fiction in my opinion. Why not settle for a more practical 900-foot tall statue of David A. Bednar made out of polyurethane foam?

Is 900 feet tall enough?

[moksha]

Why not settle for a more practical 900-foot tall statue of David A. Bednar made out of polyurethane foam?

Is 900 feet tall enough?

I think it would be tall enough. Because of the subject matter, I feel confident Salt Lake City would allow a building permit even though it would be much taller than the Church Office Building and it could serve as the Mormon answer to Oral Robert's claim of being visited by a 900-foot tall Jesus. It would shout both the grandeur of Elder Bednar and the truth that Utah genuinely is the Land of Milk and Granulated Sugar.

[RubinHighlander]

I like this Observation. I think we are gradually approaching a new center of society for salt lake. It will be a while still, but other areas such as Lehi or Bluffdale may eventually become the center of society.

I agree with this, that in the industrial age, but the technology age seems to be more subtle, based on petabytes of data amassed to track every detail of our lives. The buildings of power are now more underground in the form of data centers. From social media to online shopping, the details of our every activity are recorded and analyzed in milliseconds, the sold off to interested partied (also in milliseconds) in order to maximize the economic utility of our existence to the benefit of a few large corporations and governments. It's feeling more like a matrix all the time. At least I escaped the religious matrix!

[MerrieMiss]

Maybe a Salt Lake City Temple as a floating Theopolis high above the worshiping masses in the valley below. Joseph Campbell would point out that idea has its roots in other SciFi myths.

That is too much science fiction in my opinion. Why not settle for a more practical 900-foot tall statue of David A. Bednar made out of polyurethane foam?

Is 900 feet tall enough?

How frightening. I'm imagining something like Rio's Christ the Redeemer...

I like this Observation. I think we are gradually approaching a new center of society for salt lake. It will be a while still, but other areas such as Lehi or Bluffdale may eventually become the center of society.

I agree with this, that in the industrial age, but the technology age seems to be more subtle, based on petabytes of data amassed to track every detail of our lives. The buildings of power are now more underground in the form of data centers. From social media to online shopping, the details of our every activity are recorded and analyzed in milliseconds, the sold off to interested partied (also in milliseconds) in order to maximize the economic utility of our existence to the benefit of a few large corporations and governments. It's feeling more like a matrix all the time. At least I escaped the religious matrix!

Interesting ideas. I don't think the overall focus on money and consumerism is declining, but the ways in which they are being held and utilized is changing rapidly. I wonder to some extent whether the empty malls and big box stores are a kind of testament to this and what will happen to these empty spaces. I was driving by a shopping center recently and noted how many large stores are vacant, but there are so many restaurants. So, so many restaurants.