Mythologies | Topics for Discussion & Projects

Mythologies Topics for Discussion

Consider the author's comments on foam (Section 1, Part 3). In what ways can the principle he describes in this quote be applied to other examples of myth-based popular culture described in this book? In what other ways is something made of nothing? In what other ways do "effects" proportionally outstrip their perhaps superficial, perhaps trivial causes?

Consider the references in Section 1, Part 1 and Section 1, Part 4 and the way physical appearance can become a kind of shorthand for personal, spiritual qualities. Examine the emphasis placed on appearance by pop culture since the beginning of the 20th Century, and discuss what personal qualities have come to be symbolized by which aspects of physical appearance. What, for example, has blond hair come to represent ... red hair ... green hair ... spiked hair ... thinness and/ or obesity ... large and/or small breasts in women ... well-defined musculature...
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