In his book \textit{Eight Theories of Religion} Pals states that Eliade attempts to show in his theories that archaic thinking has persisted into modernity through symbols and myths, using the example of entertainments such as theatre television and sporting events.
Eliade believed that, ``The images and stories of popular culture
 resemble archaic myths, creating character archetypes on
 which ordinary people pattern their lives\ldots These and others
  play for us the same roles filled for archaic people by their
 heroes and Gods of myth.''\footfullcite{Eight}  Eliade's theory can
 be applied to many contemporary examples and society is rife
 with modern imagery that echoes back to symbols used in
 antiquity.  Eliade holds true that the symbols remain the same,
  yet are changed as history progresses, evolving as humanity
  evolves.  This paper will serve as a contemporary analysis of
  Eliade's theory, applied to Jay-Z's \textit{Empire State of Mind}
  song and music video.