John, I have a PhD in Myth, so have to quibble with one of my favorite lines in this very delightful piece: <<By their very definition, myths are stories told informally because their explanatory power goes beyond literal truth.>>
Yes, their explanatory power goes beyond literal truth. That is indeed an important aspect of myth.
But, some myths, many myths, perhaps most myths are told in manners that are anything but informal. A fair number are told only in ritual context. The Enuma Elish (the Babylonian Creation Myth), for example, was always told during the Mespotamian New Years' festivities.....
Love this comment, thank you! I was thinking "informally" in the sense of "around a campfire rather than in a book." But as you imply, a campfire can be a ritual. And a ritual is often a formal expression. Indeed, in the context of the rural West, a campfire may be a more important ritual of the culture's values than the written sources that have so often beguiled writers like me. :)
Interestingly enough, many Native American Indian ceremonies were told around communal outdoors fires... as were a number of masked festivities in African traditions...
And, in some sense, campfires are descended from such fires, the focal and gathering point of a campsite...
I just finished a unit with my students where I teach them about the Aeneid, the "official" origin myth of Rome. They always ask why we are spending so much time learning about something that isn't "true history." I explain to them that understanding the mythology that the Romans believed in—which was written eight centuries after Rome's mythical founding as an intentional piece of propaganda for the new Emperor—is one of the best tools we having for grasping how the Romans viewed themselves. I think you're expressing a bit of that same idea here.
So, that being true, what does the prevalence of the jackalope say about how Wyoming folks see themselves? And how does the jackalope interact with the state's other most consistent, persistent, and essentially mythic image, the bronc rider?
I'm not sure there's interaction with bronc riders, except for the mushy definition of "myth." For many years I treated the word the way Will's students and many intellectuals do: "Hey, this is false, the bronc rider schtick is exaggerated, they shouldn't really matter." But with the jackalope, I came to see a more proactive, less intellectualized understanding of "myth." The Wyomingites took the Roman approach: "Sure we're making this up entirely. And having you talk about it validates us!"
I confess to some disappointment that the legislature didn’t adopt it. But they prefer to go with other “myths,” like the invisible hand of the market.
I love how this moves beyond satire into something genuinely human. We all live inside stories about who we are and where we come from. The West just happens to wear its myths more openly than most places.
Great piece with a surprising amount of heart underneath it.
John, I have a PhD in Myth, so have to quibble with one of my favorite lines in this very delightful piece: <<By their very definition, myths are stories told informally because their explanatory power goes beyond literal truth.>>
Yes, their explanatory power goes beyond literal truth. That is indeed an important aspect of myth.
But, some myths, many myths, perhaps most myths are told in manners that are anything but informal. A fair number are told only in ritual context. The Enuma Elish (the Babylonian Creation Myth), for example, was always told during the Mespotamian New Years' festivities.....
Love this comment, thank you! I was thinking "informally" in the sense of "around a campfire rather than in a book." But as you imply, a campfire can be a ritual. And a ritual is often a formal expression. Indeed, in the context of the rural West, a campfire may be a more important ritual of the culture's values than the written sources that have so often beguiled writers like me. :)
Interestingly enough, many Native American Indian ceremonies were told around communal outdoors fires... as were a number of masked festivities in African traditions...
And, in some sense, campfires are descended from such fires, the focal and gathering point of a campsite...
I just finished a unit with my students where I teach them about the Aeneid, the "official" origin myth of Rome. They always ask why we are spending so much time learning about something that isn't "true history." I explain to them that understanding the mythology that the Romans believed in—which was written eight centuries after Rome's mythical founding as an intentional piece of propaganda for the new Emperor—is one of the best tools we having for grasping how the Romans viewed themselves. I think you're expressing a bit of that same idea here.
So, that being true, what does the prevalence of the jackalope say about how Wyoming folks see themselves? And how does the jackalope interact with the state's other most consistent, persistent, and essentially mythic image, the bronc rider?
I'm not sure there's interaction with bronc riders, except for the mushy definition of "myth." For many years I treated the word the way Will's students and many intellectuals do: "Hey, this is false, the bronc rider schtick is exaggerated, they shouldn't really matter." But with the jackalope, I came to see a more proactive, less intellectualized understanding of "myth." The Wyomingites took the Roman approach: "Sure we're making this up entirely. And having you talk about it validates us!"
I confess to some disappointment that the legislature didn’t adopt it. But they prefer to go with other “myths,” like the invisible hand of the market.
Yup! I was that student once. My teachers weren't as good as you. :)
I love how this moves beyond satire into something genuinely human. We all live inside stories about who we are and where we come from. The West just happens to wear its myths more openly than most places.
Great piece with a surprising amount of heart underneath it.
Exactly what I was shooting for. Thanks!
Those killjoys should have approved the jakalope!