Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.

Added to

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Laura Annawyn Shamas
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Pop Mythology: Collected Essays Kindle Edition

by Laura A Shamas (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 4 ratings
See all formats and editions
POP MYTHOLOGY: COLLECTED ESSAYS by Laura A. Shamas, Ph.D., is a collection of twenty-three essays about mythology and modern life; seventeen were previously published, plus six new ones and an introduction. From casual to scholarly, the essays vary in tone and topic: from profiles of gods and goddesses; to thoughts on myth in branding; archetypes in film; myth and social media; and more. The author’s expertise as a mythology speaker and as a longtime myth consultant is represented in this collection. The book is divided into two sections: “Pantheon Pieces” and “Myth Miscellany.” Essay titles in Part One, “Pantheon Pieces,” include: “Aphrodite and Ecology,” “Apollo Updated,” “Pieces of Athena (and Her Head),” “The Hera Factor in Hillary’s Run,” “The Holiness of Health [Asclepius & Hygieia],” and “Martha Hearts Hestia.” Topics covered in Part Two, “Myth Miscellany,” include games shows and romance, courtly love, the end times, the Occupy Movement, the Oscars, creation myth and outer space, a meditation on “Revolution” in the I Ching, and Twitter. This second section also includes a “how-to” approach to myth adaptation that Shamas has taught, for over a decade, to writers of all genres at universities and workshops. The book as a whole represents various ways in which the author has advocated for myth’s value in modern life. There are aspects of memoir/biography in certain essays, too.
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    225 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    July 4, 2012
  4. File size
    549 KB
  5. Page Flip
    Enabled
  6. Word Wise
    Enabled
  7. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  8. See all details
Next slide of product details

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B008HLHBP6
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Telemachus Press, LLC (July 4, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 4, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 549 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 225 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 4 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Laura Annawyn Shamas

Laura Annawyn Shamas

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Laura A. Shamas is a writer and mythologist. Her work intersects theater, film, and pop culture analysis. She's an experienced playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and film consultant. As a corporate myth speaker in business and entertainment, Shamas specializes in myth/media analysis. Originally from Oklahoma, she holds degrees from UCLA (B.A. Theatre Arts), the University of Colorado at Boulder (M.A. English/Creative Writing) and Pacifica Graduate Institute (M.A. & Ph.D. Mythological Studies). Her books include: POP MYTHOLOGY: COLLECTED ESSAYS (Telemachus Press, 2012); "WE THREE": THE MYTHOLOGY OF SHAKESPEARE'S WEIRD SISTERS (Peter Lang, 2007); and PLAYWRITING FOR THEATRE, FILM AND TELEVISION (Betterway, 1991). Website: laurashamas.com

Customer reviews

5 out of 5 stars
4 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Thelma de Castro
5.0 out of 5 stars From dark matter to domestic goddesses, Laura A. ...
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2014
Verified Purchase
From dark matter to domestic goddesses, Laura A. Shamas illuminates the relationship between mythology and our daily lives. A must read for any thinking writer!
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
W. Adams
5.0 out of 5 stars The Enduring Presence of Myth
Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2012
In this collection of essays, some previously published, others appearing for the first time, Dr. Shamas draws our attention to the intersection of pop culture and myth. The author is a mythologist - a writer and a teacher whose work explores the relevance of myth as a way of understanding how certain narrative structures shape our perceptions of reality. Shamas builds upon the tradition established by the late Joseph Campbell, whose Hero With a Thousand Faces established, among other things, how the unconscious mind apprehends reality through symbol, myth, and enduring archetypes.

Why do certain narrative structures or personality types, whether drawn from the latest political scandal or embedded in a current Hollywood blockbuster, often contain such potent psychological power? What draws us to them emotionally, why do they obsess us, enthrall us? Shamas's essays, thankfully written for the non-specialist and thus free of academic jargon, demonstrate how the power of myth lies at the heart of much of what in our modern culture ends up as "pop", whether it be the Academy Awards (hero worship) or the popularity of Martha Stewart (the Greek hearth goddess, Hestia). She explores why ancient fascination with stories about gods and goddesses can be likened to our modern fascination with personalities in the news, as in Hillary Clinton's attempt to establish a political presence independent of her husband's (Hera). Shamas's analysis of 2001: A Space Odyssey is among the most insightful summaries of that film I have ever read. We learn how at every turn of the plot, mythological elements are present whose function is to guide the audience towards realizing that "human experience is one of eternal struggle, with the brain at war with the heart." Her parsing of George W. Bush's 2000 nomination acceptance speech should be read by every speech writer in the country for how it recasts Bush's life as analogous to the trajectory of an ancient combat myth. Overall, a very interesting and enjoyable book.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Kathleen Jenks
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful portraits of mythic characters and how they "live" within us still
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2012
One of my former Pacifica Graduate Institute students, Laura Shamas, Ph.D., has a new book out, POP MYTHOLOGY. I'm reading it right now because I'll be using several of her essays as readings for a university course I'll be teaching this autumn. The essays I'm choosing (Cassandra, Hestia, and a pair of healing deities) match a focus of part of my course on recognizing mythic figures/archetypes who "live us," often without our knowledge (until/unless we start studying mythology).

Other essays in Laura's book look at mythic figures in their own right, both in ancient times as well as how and where they function today -- Zeus and Bill Clinton or Hera and Hilary Clinton, for example. POP MYTHOLOGY offers a wide range of contemporary interpretations and I highly recommend it.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Duane L. Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2016
Intersting book. Just started reading it and thus far am enjoying it. Thanks!
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report