Star Wars Essay, Research Paper
Star Wars As a Mythology
?Fifteen years ago, I set out to make a movie for a
generation without fairy tales.?
-George Lucas
There exists in every culture a series of folk tales and stories, which make up a part of that culture’s history. These stories, called myths, often venture into the magical and fantastic, with great heroes battling terrible monsters to save exotic lands. As the human race has evolved, we have moved beyond the need to attribute unexplained events to supernatural workings beyond our ken. As a result, modern culture puts its faith in science and organised religion, and for centuries there have been no new myths.
In the nineteen-seventies, a young and enthusiastic film maker/director put his imagination and heart into changing that. George Lucas’s now legendary Trilogy of movies and books, Star
Wars, is the result. To the casual observer, the movies are only exciting science fiction stories, but a closer look reveals nothing short of a complete mythology within. George Lucas collaborated
with Joseph Campbell on the making of the first movie of the
Trilogy, A New Hope (A New Hope is more commonly known as
Star Wars, but to be accurate, Star Wars will be used when
discussing the entire Trilogy and A New Hope will be used when
discussing the first movie only.) Before he died, Campbell was
widely accepted as the foremost authority on myths and
mythologies in the world. Campbell strongly believed that every
culture’s myths and legends were strikingly similar, even identical,
to those of every other culture. His The Hero With A Thousand
Faces compares the trials and traits of heroes from all legends.
Lucas incorporated Campbell’s model of the Hero in developing
Luke Skywalker as the Hero in A New Hope.
The plot line of A New Hope is very similar to that of many
mythologies. In order to better understand how Luke evolves as a
Hero, it is necessary to examine the early events of the film and
note how these key events are typical of other myths. A New Hope
takes place in a typical science-fiction galaxy. There exist many
planets and races of intelligent life. The galaxy’s government has
recently been thrown into turmoil by the emergence of the evil
Emperor and his Empire. The Empire is the typical tyrant of
mythological stories. In Greek legend, the creation of the universe
proceeded smoothly until Cronos, father of the gods, decided he
wanted supreme power. He took over and ruled ruthlessly, and it
was up to Zeus and his divine siblings to overthrow him and
restore peace. In A New Hope the Rebel Alliance takes the place
of the gods. As in many myths, the Rebellion is young and
hopelessly outnumbered. Campbell wrote that the Hero is almost
always a youth and weak relative to his enemies. The Rebellion
has just won its first victory by stealing classified information
from the Empire and smuggling it to Princess Leia, a high ranking
Alliance member. Princess Leia is on her way to deliver the
information to Obi-Wan Kenobi, a former general. It is the
Alliance’s hope that Kenobi can safely get the information to the
Rebel base. Obi-Wan lives on Tatooine, a desert planet on the
outskirts of the galaxy which happens to be home to a young Luke
Skywalker. Luke knows Obi-Wan as “Ben,” and believes he is
only an old hermit. This element is also present in Greek
mythology. Cronos swallowed all of his children to ensure that
they could not overthrow him. His wife hid his last son and gave
Cronos a rock to swallow instead. The youngest son, Zeus, was
sent away to live in a remote mountain valley until he grew old
enough to challenge his father. Tatooine corresponds to Zeus’s
valley as the distant sanctuary for the growing Hero.
On the way to Tatooine, Leia’s ship is intercepted and
boarded by one of the Empire’s ships. In desperation she sends the
information, stored in a droid named Artoo-Detoo, to the planet’s
surface. Artoo-Detoo and his companion, an interpreter droid
named See-Threepio, meet and are bought by Luke’s uncle. Thus,
Luke enters the story.
An introduction of some of the story’s key characters will
also help in analyzing the Hero Cycle. Luke Skywalker will
become the Hero. He is nineteen years old and works as a
farmhand on his uncle’s moisture farm. He is bored with his life
and wishes to submit his application to the Starfighter Academy.
Luke’s dream is to be a starfighter and go on grand, epic
adventures. Another classic element of mythology is this yearning.
Campbell thought that one of the basic prerequisites of the Hero-to-be is the desire to become something great.
Han Solo is another key figure. Han is a smuggler, and
earns his living shipping cargo for unscrupulous characters. He
has incurred the wrath of several crime lords, and is currently
looking for easy money to pay his debts. Han joins the adventure
in Mos Eisley spaceport on Tatooine and becomes Luke’s closest
friend. As the plot progresses, Han along with Ben plays the role
of Luke’s tutor. He represents physical discipline and proficiency
in combat. It is Han’s job to instruct Luke as a warrior.
Ben Kenobi is Han’s spiritual counterpart. Ben lives as a
hermit on Tatooine and is regarded by the citizens as a crazy old
man. He was a general in the Clone Wars long ago, and was close
friends with Princess Leia’s father. It is for this reason Leia seeks
him out. Ben is also a Jedi Knight. The Jedi were the protectors
of the galaxy during the reign of the Old Republic but have
become extinct, exterminated by the Empire. Ben is the only Jedi
remaining. It is his role to instruct Luke in the Force, the Jedi’s
source of power. Ben represents mental control and self-discipline. He is Han’s complement in Luke’s teaching.
A New Hope’s version of the classic “damsel in distress” is
Princess Leia. She is a senator in the Republic and one of the
Rebel Alliance’s key members. Leia is captured by Darth Vader
and taken to the Death Star, a mobile space station and the
Empire’s newest and most powerful weapon. There she is
interrogated and, after giving up no useful information, is
scheduled to be executed. It is into this situation Luke and his
friends enter, and it is Luke’s goal to rescue her. Here George
Lucas reflected the modern view of the role of women. Instead of
designing Leia as a meek, subservient woman, he has her take
control and join Luke and Han as an equal. In the Trilogy, she is
developed into a full-blown character. Despite her haughtiness,
both Luke and Han become enamored with her. This creates
something of a love triangle between the three, but, as in most
fairy tales, the heroes work through it (actually, Lucas didn’t
elaborate on it much.)
The two most amusing characters in the movie are See-Threepio and Artoo- Detoo. They are both droids, artificial life
forms with intelligence. Artoo is an astromech droid. These types
of droids are used for navigation and are frequently placed into
starfighters as an engine enhancement. Artoo is placed into Luke’s
starfighter later in the movie, and this gives the two the chance to
develop a master-pet relationship. See-Threepio is an interpreter
droid, working in “human-cyborg relations” as he is fond of
saying. See-Threepio is the closest thing A New Hope has to a
narrator. Most of the comic relief and release of tension in the
story occur as a result of the interplay between Artoo and See-Threepio. Their role in the mythological aspect of A New Hope is
that of the faithful companions of the Hero. These companions
serve him because they know no better or have nothing else to do
or, as in the case of the two droids, because they are programmed
to.
The last remaining key character in A New Hope is Darth
Vader. Vader is the villain, evil, sinister, and powerful. He is
dressed all in black and is half mechanical, giving his voice a
deep, metallic sound which is quite intimidating. Vader plays the
role of the Dark Knight in mythology. He is the being of
unstoppable power and evil which plagues the land. Old Celtic
legends hold that there once was a mystical island named Eire,
which is Ireland today. Eire was peaceful and idyllic until the
coming of Balor of the Evil Eye and his minions. Balor was a
huge, one-eyed Fomorian (Irish giant). He brought hundreds of his
Fomorian followers and settled in Eire, enslaving the populace and
ravaging the land. After many years, a band of heroes killed Balor
and restored peace to the land. These heroes became the Celtic
gods, and included Manannan Mac Lir, Lugh, and Dagda, all
prominent Irish deities. Darth Vader is the Balor of A New Hope.
Vader is extremely powerful and the best starfighter in the galaxy.
Although he tortures Princess Leia and pursues the heroes
throughout the story, he never directly threatens them. The fact
that Luke never faces him is the concession of his power; Luke,
even with his newfound Hero powers, cannot hope to match him.
Even at the end of the story, Vader doesn’t die; he escapes into
space.
Campbell’s model of the Hero involves what he called the
Hero Cycle, or “Adventure of The Hero.” The cycle is circular,
with steps along it which the Hero takes on his journey. The circle
is split into two semicircles, with a line splitting the circle called
the “Threshold of Adventure.” Those events which occur in the
place where the Hero grows up and lives, called the Homeland, lie
above the Threshold of Adventure. Those which occur in the
realm of the fantastic and supernatural, called the Land of
Enchantment, lie below the Threshold. The steps of the Cycle are,
in order: the Call to Adventure, the Helper, the Threshold, the
Tests, the Supreme Ordeal, the Flight, the Return from the
Threshold, and the Elixir.
The crucial part of the plot of A New Hope, as in any folk
tale’s, is the development and evolution of the Hero through the
Hero Cycle. The first part of the Cycle is the Call to Adventure.
Here, the hero discovers that there is something beyond his
normal, everyday existence. Many Irish and Celtic folk tales begin
with the hero riding in a forest and discovering a ring of small
standing stones with a luminescent rock in the center. The hero
enters a doorway in the rock and is transported to a land of faeries
and magic. In A New Hope, Luke chases a runaway Artoo- Detoo
into the desert which makes up the vast majority of Tatooine, and
is ambushed and knocked unconscious by a group of desert
scavengers. Luke is saved from certain death by Ben Kenobi, a
mysterious hermit. Ben takes him to the cave where he lives and
tells him of his heritage as the son of a Jedi Knight. This is his
entrance into the faery rock. Sometimes the Hero refuses the Call
to Adventure. In his cave, Ben asks Luke to accompany him off-world and join the Rebellion. Luke declines and decides to stay.
Campbell said that this refusal, although seemingly against the
Hero’s wish to accomplish legendary deeds, is present in every
Hero, representing his desire to lead a normal life. Luke feels that
he should stay and help his uncle despite his adventurous nature
(Reference A New Hope, 4342–4513). Meanwhile, the Empire’s
soldiers, which have been searching for See-Threepio and Artoo-
Detoo, track the droids to Luke’s uncle’s farm and kill his aunt and
uncle. Upon returning, Luke realizes that there is no reason for
him to stay (Reference ANH, 4724–4914 and 5000–5946), and
agrees to accompany Ben to return the stolen data and join the
Rebellion. Campbell repeatedly emphasized the importance of the
revenge factor in the Hero’s evolution. The Hero’s most common
Call to Adventure is the response to some action taken against
him. The brutal killing of Luke’s family is what makes him
change his mind and answer his Call to Adventure. He leaves his
previous mundane existence and enters the realm of enchantment
and danger.
The next step in the Hero Cycle is the introduction of the
Helper. The Helper is a character who aids the hero’s first
faltering steps into the Land of Enchantment. This character is
often a supernatural, mysterious entity who instructs the hero and
equips him for the trials ahead. When Perseus set off to slay
Medusa, he was told to seek out advice and aid from the gods.
Medusa was the only mortal sister of three Gorgons, and was so
hideous in appearance that any who glanced at her would
immediately turn to stone. Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom
and honorable warfare, lent Perseus Aegis, her brass shield. She
told him to look into the shield and fight Medusa while viewing
her reflection. Hermes, the god of thievery and trickery, gave
Perseus a magic sack and a pair of magical sandals. The sack
would grow large enough to contain anything put in it, and was to
be used to hold Medusa’s head should Perseus prove successful.
The sandals would enable Perseus to fly and bestow upon him
superhuman speed so he could escape the wrath of Medusa’s
sisters. Thus armed, Perseus was ready to engage his foe.
Ben Kenobi and Han Solo play the roles of the helpers in A
New Hope. Ben instructs Luke in the ways of the Force, the Star
Wars equivalent of magic. He gives Luke a lightsaber, the weapon
of a Jedi Knight. This enables Luke to compete with the enemies
he will face in his adventure. Han Solo is Luke’s friend and
companion. He doesn’t give Luke anything tangible, but serves as
the guide from the Homeland to the Land of Enchantment. His
ship, the Millennium Falcon, is the physical mode of
transportation between Tatooine and elsewhere. The physical
transportation to adventure is easily seen in Greek mythology.
Several Greek legends take place in Hades, Greece’s version of
Hell. In order to cross over into Hades, the traveler must cross the
River Styx. This river flowed with poisonous, acidic water and
killed all who came into contact with it. The only way to cross
this barrier was to pay Charon, the boatman of Hades. Charon
would ferry the souls of the dead or those heroes brave enough to
enter Hades for a price. The dead had only to pay a single silver
coin, which they were buried with. Charon refused to ferry living
beings across without an extravagant form of payment or
persuasion, however. Han Solo’s price for taking Luke and Ben to
Alderaan, their destination before it was destroyed, was ten
thousand credits. Luke balked at the price, as Ben and he didn’t
have that much money, but Ben offered to pay Han a small amount
now, plus much more upon arrival at their destination. Han
agreed, and they were on their way (Reference ANH, 5539–5709).
Han also defends the passengers throughout the voyage to
Alderaan and ultimately the Death Star, providing Luke with his
first taste of combat. Immediately upon leaving Tatooine, Han
pulls some fancy maneuvers to evade two Imperial Star
Destroyers, huge ships which would have easily destroyed the
Millennium Falcon. Han’s role as defender is the same as that of
the Argonauts as they accompanied Jason to Colchis in the Greek
legend of the Golden Fleece. Jason had a huge ship built to fetch
the prize which would restore him to the throne of his country. He
invited the greatest heroes from Greece to accompany him, and
they defended and aided him on his journey to Colchis. The peril
the Argonauts faced which is most similar to the Star Destroyers in
A New Hope is the Clashing Rocks of the Symplegades. In order
to pass, the Argonauts had to follow a specific procedure, and
succeeded with only the stern of the ship being crushed. Han is
able to save the heroes with only superficial damage to his ship.
A necessary part of the Hero’s journey is the actual,
physical transport out of his previous life. There is a gate or
Threshold which the Helper from step two aids the hero to cross,
and on the other side of the Threshold lies the Land of
Enchantment. In Norse mythology, there existed a rainbow bridge
which spanned the gap between Midgard, the land of men, and
Asgard, the home of the Gods. This bridge, named Heimdall, was
one such Threshold. The Threshold in A New Hope is the
spaceport of Mos Eisley. It is an extremely dangerous place, as
Ben warns Luke. Luke responds arrogantly, as the naive Hero-to-be often does. (Reference ANH, 5047–5106 and 5217–5230) Mos