As I stated in the preamble, Main Street Mythology reimagines our modern world through the lens of mythology. It crafts an entirely new pantheon of gods and heroes to explain the ways of the modern world. You will meet figures such as Cale, the goddess of streetlights. In her tale, you shall learn where streetlights came from, and how Cale uses them to communicate to her followers. You will learn of how wild cars were tamed by brave humans. You will see how the rivalry of the gods Abad and Webi lead to the creation of cities. You will witness all these things, and more, as the mythical and the modern combine in Main Street Mythology.
I had been aware of Newton’s Dark Room for a while. They followed me on Twitter last year around…hmm. Was it before or after I did the audio drama parade for International Podcast Day? Well, in any event, I’d known about them for a while, and I listened to a couple episodes of Newton’s Dark Room Presents, but didn’t really give them too much thought. Then one day, on a whim, I looked at the Newton’s Dark Room Twitter account, and I saw a post about Main Street Mythology. The premise sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a listen. It didn’t take long before I fell in love with Main Street Mythology.
Mythology has historically been used to explain how the nature world came to be, and how it functions. In our modern times, we have science to do that. Main Street Mythology seeks to apply that original mythological worldview to our modern world. So, you get answer to question like where did streetlights come from? How were roads made? Why do people drive around in cars?
There are very few shows that I would describe as truly mythopoetic. Main Street Mythology, however, is one of those rare shows where the term mythopoeia absolutely applies. There have been other works of fiction that attempt to craft a mythology for the modern world. However, most of these series create stories that are reskinned version of preexisting myths and legends. Otherwise, they might draw clear parallels to history. This is not the case with Main Street Mythology. The myths do not, for the most part, have any obvious parallels in preexisting mythology or folklore. Some of the character fit into broad mythological archetypes; such as the trickster, the folk hero, the blacksmith. However, even then, there’s still plenty of gods who don’t fit snuggly into any category. The series does occasionally reference real world event, but not overtly so. Crafting a completely new and original mythology is no small task, so I applaud Main Street Mythology for its creativity and originality.
And this is a very heartfelt effort. There’s no winking subversion, or humorous attempts to comment on the nature of modern life. That’s not to say that there aren’t elements of humor in some of the myths. However, in comes across, for lack a better word, more organic. That is, humorous in a way you might expect from actual myths and legends. Main Street Mythology made a sincere effort to create stories that felt like they could be from a real mythology. And it is all the better because of that.
So, why don’t we talk a bit about the stories themselves? Well, actually let’s first talk about the audio. The stories are accompanies by very calming, meditative, but also rather epic sounding music. That is, I would say, a very fitting soundtrack for a mythology-based series. The audio has a bit of a hiss to it; almost like what you’d hear on an old recording. The framing device at the opening claims that the stories were collected Julia Sawbone, a members of the Newton’s Dark Room Collective. She was traveling across America to find the stories. As such, I’m inclined to believe that this is by design. The narrators of the stories manage to bring the proper awe and gravitas that myths and legends both deserve and require.
Also, it might seem like the myths are episodic and disconnected, but don’t be deceived. The stories gradually build upon one another. As such, it pays to listen to the series in sequential order. There are only five episodes total, so, Main Street Mythology makes for quick listening.
Okay, now we can talk about the content of the stories. One of my favorites is the story of Cale, the goddess of streetlights. She was fascinated by the night sky from a young age, even though it didn’t give much light. She is eventually gift a star by Mesec, the god of satellites. Cale pulled off tufts from the star and put them in glass bulbs, thus creating the first streetlights. At last, there would be light, true light, even in he darkness of night. Cale watches over humans, and the emotional distress they endure. When someone has hit their darkest hour, Cale will turn out a streetlight the person is standing under. They will be reminded of the light behind them, and the light in front of them. Cale is telling them that, though things are dark now, they will soon be bathed in light once again.
I also enjoyed the story of how humans tamed cars. In the world of Main Street Mythology, cars and other vehicles are living creatures with animal-level intelligence. So, humans had to domesticate them, like horses and other livestock. Though, originally, humans and cars mostly ignored each other. The legend tells of one brave woman who sought-out the cars, and offered gasoline to them in exchange for transportation. And thus, that is why cars require gasoline to work. This is one of those instances were you can kind of see the influences from real mythology, but the story also goes in its own direction.
Then there is the story of Doti, the goddess of waste. She lives on an island made out of discarded materials. Everything will eventually belong to Doti, for everything gets discarded sooner or later. I guess, in a way, that also makes Doti the goddess of entropy as well. Doti’s island being located in the Pacific Ocean might possibly be a reference to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It is a massive collection of plastic garbage that is twice the size of Texas; or three times the size of France, to put it anther way. It stays together as a result of ocean currents. Doti and her followers lead a hard life. Their clothes are full of holes, their technology is always out of date, they spend their days fishing things out of the ocean. And yet, despite all the hardships, they are happy in their own life. They have turned their island of trash and discards into a home of sorts.
The story of Doti and her followers also relates to the story of garbage trucks. You see, in Main Street Mythology, garbage trucks were fearsome beasts that consumed everything in their path. They then brought their loads to the west coast and dumped them into the ocean. However, a brave girl named Maria fought back by pelting the trucks with garbage. The garbage satiated the trucks’ hunger, and from then on, people left offering of garbage on the curbs. As long as the trucks had a constant supply of garbage, which the humans were more than happy to get rid of, they would remain peaceful.
I could keep going all day, but I don’t want to summarize all the stories. Suffice it to say, there’s a lot of great myths and legends to discover in Main Street Mythology. Also, be sure to listen to the episodes all the way through to the end of the credits. There were plenty of gods and myths that didn’t make it into the final show, but Newton’s Dark Room wanted to preserve them in some small way. For example, you’ll hear about the god of skateboards, who makes a habit of annoying the older gods.
As I listened, I kept thinking about how nice it would be if the gods and goddesses had some visual representation. Well, as luck would have it, they do. You can finds sketches of the gods and goddesses on the Main Street Mythology page of the Newton’s Dark Room website. Originally, there was only a transcript for the first episode. However, after I pointed this issue out to Newton’s Dark Room, it was swiftly resolved. There are full transcripts for all five episodes. There’s a surprisingly high number of hard of hearing and/or deaf individuals in the audio drama community and fandom. Yeah, I know, it surprised me too. Point being, transcripts are essential for them to be able to enjoy the fun along with the rest of us. Also, transcripts are very helpful for people who write reviews.
I don’t have any complaints about Main Street Mythology. Part of me wishes there had been more episode, but I think the series is exactly as long as it needs to be. Main Street Mythology ultimately turns out to be set mostly around Los Angles. It made me wonder what sort of myths and legends could be told using other cities. Specifically, I made me wonder about what story of myths and legends could be told about my home city of Shreveport, Louisiana. I guess I’ll have to get on that at some point. I only hope I’ll be able to measure up to the high standard that Main Street Mythology has set.
So, there you have it. Main Street Mythology reimagines our modern world through the lens of mythology and folklore. It is five episodes long, and more than worth your time. Don’t sit on this one like I did. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.
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