Speaker
Betty Sue Flowers
Betty Sue Flowers pioneered the modern, psychological appreciation of ancient myths alongside the esteemed Joseph Campbell - whose work was famously the inspiration for the Star Wars franchise. Betty Sue acted as a consultant on the groundbreaking documentary, The Power of Myth, and co-authored 'Presence: Human Purpose and the Field of the Future'.

Betty Sue Flowers pioneered the modern, psychological appreciation of ancient myths alongside the esteemed Joseph Campbell - whose work was famously the inspiration for the Star Wars franchise. Betty Sue acted as a consultant on the groundbreaking documentary, The Power of Myth, and co-authored 'Presence: Human Purpose and the Field of the Future'.
Betty Sue Flowers Videos

Fantasy and reality
Should narratives reflect or escape reality?

Betty Sue Flowers on Myths and Modernity
The power of legend

Catching sight of our self
Is it possible to know ourselves?

Your true self
Is the idea of an authentic self a fundamental mistake?

Rhetoric and reality
Why is language no guide to reality?
More Videos

Minds, Machines and Magic
Is human creativity no more than mechanics?

Life Story
Making sense of the self

Story Time
Is objective news an illusion?

The Art of Life
Are biographies fiction?

Philosophy in the Bedroom
Exploring pain and pleasure

The Art of Imagination
Is art the ultimate arbiter of truth?

The Key to Creativity
Do restrictions breed inventiveness?

Imagining Reality
Can we create fantasy worlds?

Authenticity, Reality and Being
What is it to be real?

At the World's Edge
Fantasy, fiction, and desire

The Doubleness of Oscar Wilde
What's behind the gentlemanly facade?

The King's Will
Mystery and death in the House of Tudor

Strange New Worlds
A new vision of reality

A Spider in the Eye

Authenticity is a Con
The problem with 'truthful' politics

Canon Under Fire

Mirror, Mirror
Can plastic surgery make you more authentic?

Conditions for Creativity
Does censorship create great art?

Myths for Modernity
Fictions and fantasies in an age of reason

The Old Gods: England's Mythic Past

How to Rediscover Your Creativity
Why blue sky thinking is essential

Dark Satanic Mills
Do our landscapes determine our selves?

Taking Humour Seriously
Is humour an essential form of subversion?

Imagining the Truth
Can fantasy reveal reality?

Killer Stories
Why do we fall for narratives?

The Arc of Life: Michael Morpurgo
How reading cultivates empathy

In the Moment

The Fantasy of Technology
Is technology the driver of progress?

The Great Escape
Is fantasy fiction a dangerous crutch?

Visions of Apocalypse
Is the end always nigh?

A Field Guide to Reality
Overcoming the tyranny of realism in literature

Death of the Hero
Icons for a new era

Verses for Eternity

The Mirror to Nature
The wonder of the wild vs. our imagination

Writing the End Times

Tales of an Extravagant Stranger

Austen vs Woolf
The female fantasy

Poetry and the Transmission of Errors
The poetical errors that matter

Uncharted Territory

Lust, Love and the Late Madame Picasso
Seduction, suicide and a courtcase. Godfrey Barker sheds light on Picasso’s final years.

Irony, Truth and Reality
Confronting the limits of sincerity

Our Hopeless Future & Other Comedy

Shooting Truth

The Mara Crossing

Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On
Does Shakespeare’s mystery and magic resonate in a rational age?

Rhyme and Punishment
Art for prisons

Dangerous Virtues
When enticing stories sell shady truths

Order out of Chaos

Dreaming beyond time
Studying the timeless tapestry

Stories Worth Telling
Politics in children's literature