73 – Grail King

coverblack[Recorded April 29 & May 6, 2020]  Decoding MOS and BvS with the story of the Grail. Parallels between the first grail knight, Percival, and the first superhero, Superman.

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Answers, insights, and commentary on:

  • Previously with Percival (00:01:20)
  • The Grail King & Grail Castle (00:03:10)
    • Magical Other World
  • The Fisher King Wound Origins & Meaning (00:04:05)
    • The Tasting The Burning Fish – “What was I supposed to do?” (00:04:55)
    • Jousting The Pagan Knight – “Krypton lost something precious” (00:10:25)
    • As Divine Punishment – “I don’t know if it’s possible” (00:13:55)
  • Stages of Evolution (00:15:20)
    • Unconscious youth, conscious middle, enlightened elder
    • The Midlife Crisis (00:19:50)
  • The Wasteland (00:23:55)
    • Inauthentic Lives (00:26:10)
    • Campbell’s Start – From Critic To Champion (00:27:30)
    • In Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman (00:30:20)
      • Fertility, ecology, decline, Knightmare
    • The King and the Knight are One… (00:36:30)
  • The Grail Castle (00:37:40)
    • The Grail Procession – Grail and Lance (00:38:20)
    • Failing to Ask Questions – “A knight does not ask questions” (00:39:30)
    • The Law of Enchantment – Spontaneous Gifts (00:40:50)
    • The Duty to Ask (00:43:00)
  • The Weeping Damsels (00:46:50)
    • The Pain of Consciousness
    • The Costs & Collateral of Past Successes
    • Father’s Unbreakable Sword (00:48:20)
    • The Lady of the Tent (00:50:00)
  • Society vs. Spontaneity (00:51:50)
    • Advice – Right or Wrong? (00:56:10)
    • The Old Knight’s Character (00:57:30)
    • Jonathan’s Character (00:58:40)
    • Advice Context – Stage of Life (00:59:50)
    • Jonathan’s Advice (01:02:40)
    • The Old Knight’s Advice (1:04:10)
      • Authenticity…
      • …without Boundaries is Careless (01:06:50)
      • …without Empathy is Selfish (01:09:00)
      • …without Trust is Risky (01:11:20)
    • Bring Your Best Self (01:12:50)
    • Uncertain Dry Years (01:13:30)
  • Joining The Round Table (01:14:40)
    • Love Trance (01:15:40)
    • The Grail Messenger – Humiliated Before Camelot (01:17:10)
  • Sir Gawain (01:19:10)
    • Percival : Superman :: Gawain : Batman
    • Nature of Foils (01:21:30)
    • Dual Identities (01:24:00)
    • Batman Mythos : Gawain Mythos (01:26:05)
      • The Sun Knight – Batman ’66 : The Light Knight (01:27:40)
      • Descent & Rehabilitation (01:29:10)
    • The Useless Knight (01:32:50)
    • The Trial of the Perilous Bed
  • The Bleeding Lance / Kryptonite Spear (01:35:40)
    • Religious Artifact (01:37:00)
      • Collective Consciousness
      • Remixing Mythology (01:38:50)
      • DC Heroes & World War II (01:42:20)
    • Symbol & Commentary (01:43:55)
      • Kryptonite Spear vs. Bullets
      • Critique of Violence (01:45:50)
  • And much more

To learn more:
Le Mort D’Arthur | Thomas Mallory (Armstrong)
Owning Your Own Shadow | Robert A. Johnson
Living An Examined Life | James Hollis
Myths to Live By | Joseph Campbell
Eternal Chalice | Monica Potkay
Emotions in Medieval Arthurian Literature | Frank Brandsma
King Arthur: History & Legend | Dorsey Armstrong
The Crusades: A History | Jonathan Riley-Smith
Fantastic Creatures | Juliette Wood
Joseph Campbell: A Fire In The Mind | Larsen & Larsen
Carl Jung: Wounded Healer | Claire Dunne
The Waste Land | T.S. Eliot
2001: A Filmmaking Odyssey | Imaginary Worlds
The Science of Well-Being | Yale
Define Your Fears Instead of Goals | Tim Ferris
Authenticity Is A Double-Edged Sword | Adam Grant
Official BvS Watch Party | VERO
Official MOS Watch Party | VERO
$5.27 Launch Fundraiser | AFSP
Limited Time Offer $12/yr | HBO Max
Hurt | Johnny Cash

Web: ManOfSteelAnswers.com
Twitter: @mosanswers
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“The most rewarding mythological experience you can have is to see how it lives in your own psychological structure.”

“We have not even to risk the adventure alone for the heroes of all times have gone before us. . . . And where we had thought to be alone we shall be with all the world.”

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2 Comments

  1. Love this series of podcasts, can’t wait for the next one! I could honestly listen to you compare figures of Arthurian legend with DCEU characters all day, haha!

    • Thank you Collin, I appreciate the kind words.

      There were a lot of other literary and technique parallels in the original recording (a whole discussion on subversion, another on virginal Galahad vs. experienced Percival, etc. etc.) but I just didn’t have time to edit it all. Hopefully, I can put it in an extras episode.

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