X-Band: Phantom Podcast #321 - Unpacking Old Jungle Sayings

Following on from X-Band: The Phantom Podcast Episode 307, Jermayn Parker and Matt Kyme explored the many elements that were vital to making a Phantom story something that hits the mark for phans. One of those elements was Old Jungle Sayings, in this podcast we do a deep dive into Old Jungle Sayings!

According to DeepWoods.org, a story cannot be a Phantom story without these sayings appearing more than once in a while. These sayings are in many ways responsible for the mystifying aura seen in Phantom stories.

We look at what are these Old Jungle Sayings and go over some of our personal favourites or sayings that stick in our memories. There is 100+ in various subtle changes to choose from!

We go all nerdy and look at the origins of them in the Phantom universe, from Old Native Sayings to Old Jungle Sayings. We compare them from a cultural impact and psychological role compared to real-life proverbs and religious mantras.

The comparison doesn't stop there as we compare our Phantom's Old Jungle Sayings with oral proverbs preserving legendary heroes like Maui the Maori (New Zealand) demigod, and fear-based lore enforcing social norms, which you can see in the Bedouin, Apache, and Amazonian tribes from around the world.

Our final step in our nerdom travels down Old Jungle Sayings is we compare this storytelling element to comic characters like Batman, Tarzan, Judge Dredd, Conan, and the famous meme master Chuck Norris.

The Phantom is the only character with all of

1) Formally repeated, structured sayings (like folklore or scripture)

2) A generational myth actively maintained by the sayings ("The Phantom never dies") and

3) A tribal culture that embraces and perpetuates the myth as truth

Batman and Zorro come close in terms of urban/fear-based mythology but lack the ritualistic repetition and communal cultural buy-in.

This may end up being our smartest, most in-depth, and nerdiest Phantom podcast ever! We hope you enjoy it!

You can email us at chroniclechamber@gmail.com or chat with us via our social media profiles on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram. We love comments and feedback from the Phantom phans from around the world. Make sure you stay with us, and do not forget to subscribe and leave a review on our podcast on our YouTube channel.