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The Patrick Coffin Show | Interviews with influencers | Commentary about culture | Tools for transformation

The Patrick Coffin Show podcast features weekly interviews with A-list influencers and outliers in the effort to recover the Judeo-Christian roots of the culture. Patrick is the Canadian-born former host of Catholic Answers Live, and he has raving fans around the world. He injects these fascinating interviews with his own distinctive blend of depth and levity. If you’re tired of politically correct mediaspeak, you want to see God back in the public square, and you’re not allergic to having a laugh, this is the place to be.
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The Patrick Coffin Show | Interviews with influencers | Commentary about culture | Tools for transformation
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May 2, 2023

Did you ever wonder why certain movies resonate with audiences all over the world? Why some grab you for two hours in the dark, but then like so much cinematic MSG, you forget these flash-in-the-pans by the time you get to the car – while others hold you in their spell for years?

This is the mystery I explore with Father Robert Spitzer, SJ, president of the Magis Center of Reason and Faith in Irvine, CA. Digging into a fascinating section of his book The Soul’s Upward Yearning: Clues to Our Transcendent Nature from Experience and Reason, Father Spitzer and I talk about the Power of Myth at work in four of the top movie franchises of Hollywood history: Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and The Chronicles of Narnia films.

Turns out, these examples all share certain common elements that invite the viewer (or reader, if the book) into an adventure that forces a choice, a crisis, which leads ultimately a catharsis, or cleansing of the soul. But, as is his wont, the Jesuit scholar goes deeper than the platitudes about nice music and great dialogue. You’ll learn about Rudolf Otto and the numinous, Carl Jung and archetypes, Joseph Campbell and the hero’s journey, and Mircea Eliade and mythical structure.

I know, I know, it this sounds too deep for mere mortals. Give it a chance. Stretching a bit mentally pays handsome dividends, including a new appreciation for what makes great movies great.

 

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