JMS: Archetypes in B5?

[B5JMS Poster]

Subject: JMS: Archetypes in B5?
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 No. | DATE        |  FROM
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s  1: Nov 14, 1996: Mark Lachniet <lachniet at pilot.msu.edu>
*  2: Nov 15, 1996: jmsatb5 at aol.com

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From: Mark Lachniet <lachniet at pilot.msu.edu>
Lines: 40

Greetings all,

     Both my mother an I have been diligently watching B5.  It is, in my
opinion, the best TV show I have ever seen.  It has touched us both.

     One thing that is truly burning in my mind is how MYTHIC the whole B5
saga seems to be.  It is a modern myth, set in a new context, and for a new
audience.  When viewed in this way, it goes from being a simple TV show to
being an integral part of the development of humanity.  Through these modern
myths, universal truth's are revealed - the poles of the "laws of order" and
"laws of chaos", the archetypal "hero's quest", and most of all, the shades
of gray that inhabit us all.

     I have read an interview with JMS, in which he says that he is an
atheist.  However, it seems like just too much of a coincidence to me that
B5 has so many of the universal human archetypes that it does.  The whole
show appeals to me on a level that is much more profound than simple science
fiction and fantasy. 

---->*My question, then, is this:  "Is babylon5 intended to be a modern
myth?  If so, what influences might have lead to the scripting of the B5
saga?  Jung? Campbell perhaps?"*<----

     am subscribed to the B5JMS listserve, so any responses posted to the
list will make it to me.  I would be very much interested in finding a
better way to join in on this conversation. 

JMS, and crew: keep up the good  work!  I look forward to supporting the
show in any way I can.

Sincerely,

Mark Lachniet
(and by proxy)
Mary LaPorte
Lansing, MI.





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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com
Lines: 30

---->*My question, then, is this:  "Is babylon5 intended to be a modern
myth?  If so, what influences might have lead to the scripting of the B5
saga?  Jung? Campbell perhaps?"*<----

Yes and no.  I'm aware of Campbell's work, and have read much of it...but
bear in mind that his analyses came *after* the creative fact.  If you try
to consciously implement that during the writing, it can start making the
writing feel artificial.  It's the difference between the first two Road
Warrior movies and Thunderdome...in the gap between 2 and 3, he read
Campbell, and started doing things by the numbers rather than following
his gut instinct.  Consequently, 3 feels the least natural.

It's the job of the storyteller to provide myth, or perhaps more properly,
to reinterpret and reinvent myth, since myth tends not so much to be
created as to be newly understood, as we remake the world in our own image
every 15 years.

This is one responsibility that TV has, for the most part, abrogated.  So
I'm trying as best I can to draw some archetypes and myths out of the
collective ether and stitch them together into new patterns for new
audiences....




 jms




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