Twenty years of Star Wars
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Twenty years of Star Wars:
What can we learn?
Twenty years ago, in 1977, movie audiences first encountered the now classic opening lines, "A
long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." Director George Lucas had always been a science fiction
fan and it had been a long time desire of his to recreate the Flash Gordon/Buck Rogers type films
of the 1950s. In fact, Lucas originally considered remaking the Flash Gordon serials, but
discovered that the owners of the rights were going to exercise heavy control over such a remake
on top of demanding large amounts of cash. Instead of going in that direction, Lucas chose to
create the Star Wars series of films. Three films have come out already and three "prequels"
(which take place before the last trilogy) are scheduled to come out in the next several years. We
have not heard the end of Star Wars. There can be little question that it is a central element of
popular culture in North America. Not only is it the highest grossing film of all time, its story and
characters are known to many. Its popularity among science-fiction fans is surpassed only by
devotees of Star Trek. Do a search on the Internet for Star Wars and you'll come up with more
than a few thousand hits. Go to your local public library and try to find a book on the subject which
isn't checked out. Star Wars is truly a living part of the North American cultural consciousness.
Why is it so popular? Why, after 20 years, can the Star Wars films still pack theatres? What does
this film say about our culture? More importantly, what can we learn from this film that will help us
in molding a cultural apologetic for presenting the good news of Jesus Christ to those lost in
unbelief? These are the questions that will be explored in this article. The point here is not to
discuss the moral rightness or wrongness of movie-watching; that has been done enough
elsewhere around our coffee tables and in our society meetings. The goal here is to examine Star
Wars from the point of view of someone concerned about formulating an effective and faithful
presentation of the Gospel in our modern culture. It must be emphasized that this critical evaluation
in no way represents an unqualified endorsement of the Star Wars films or of films in general.
The story
The story line of Star Wars is that of an old-fashioned fairytale or even, perhaps, a western.
George Lucas claims both as influences in his creation of the story — a story which, despite its
great popularity with adults, was originally created for children. Many similarities are present
between Star Wars and the Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress (1958), a
story about samurai (Japanese knights) who are on a quest to rescue a princess. Lucas openly
acknowledges his debt to Kurosawa. Just as in Kurosawa, in the Star Wars films we find the
classic battle between good and evil. The evil Galactic Empire is battling against the Rebel forces.
In the first film, Star Wars, Darth Vader has captured Princess Leia and it is up to Luke Sky-walker,
Obi-wan (Ben) Kenobi, Han Solo and Chewbacca to save her. As one might expect, the Princess
is rescued and the Rebel efforts to quell the Galactic Empire continue with the destruction of a
planet-sized battle station, the Death Star.
In the next film of the trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader returns to attack the Rebels on
the icy planet Hoth. Leia, Luke and Han barely escape. Luke heads off to become a fabled Jedi
knight under the tutelage of Yoda on the planet Dagobah, while Leia and Han go to the planet
Bespin, where they are captured by Darth Vader. Luke later arrives at Bespin as well and is forced
to fight Darth Vader. The film ends with a cliffhanger which is the starting place for the next
installment, The Return of the Jedi. Luke rescues Han Solo and Princess Leia, who are now in the
hands of the gangster Jabba the Hutt. Meanwhile, Darth Vader and the Galactic Empire are
constructing a new Death Star which is an apocalyptic threat to the Rebel Alliance. The heroes
1head for the planet Endor where a force field has been set up around the battle station. Luke, Han
and Leia destroy the force field and later finish off the second Death Star as well. This is just a
general outline of the story; there are many more elements to the story which could be told. It
should be evident that we are dealing with a typical morality play: an enthralling story where good
and evil battle and eventually "the good guy" wins the day. There are no sad endings in the Star
Wars movies. Good triumphs over evil. The audience heads home happy.
Historical background
This triumph of good over evil may explain to a certain degree the popularity of these films. The
first film came out in 1977. Think back to that year, if you can. Many of today's fans of Star Wars
were not even born yet. Disco was all the rage. The Vietnam War had been over for only a short
time. Two years earlier, in 1975, Americans had witnessed the humiliating evacuation of Saigon
and the fall of South Vietnam. In the background of all this was the Cold War with the Soviet Union.
America still considered the Soviet Union and communist global domination a major threat, and
would continue to do so until the early part of our decade. Besides all this there were the
continuing repercussions of the chaotic 1960s and the immorality which characterized this time
period.
To understand Star Wars and its popularity, it is very important to understand the historical context
in which the film came out. As was said before, the film was created for children, yet the film also
found a great following among older people, especially the so-called "baby-boomers." The
historical context is one of political and moral uncertainty. Communism had achieved a very
important victory in Vietnam. The good guys had lost. Absolute moral standards ostensibly
continued on their way out. Into this maelstromic morass comes Star Wars, a film in which the
good guys win and there are clearly defined standards of right and wrong. The first film had as
subtitle: Episode 4: A New Hope. That's exactly what Star Wars represented to the North American
cultural consciousness, a new hope. Good would finally triumph over evil, at least on the big
screen. There would be no more uncertainty about what is right and wrong, at least for two hours
anyway. We know who is on what side: the bad guys wear black and the good guys wear white
(though this is not a hard and fast rule throughout the whole series of films — later Luke appears in
black). Blowing up an innocent planet is clearly an act of malicious evil.
Star Wars represents an escape for a generation which has been burdened down by the failure of
American military might and the vacuum created by a rejection of absolute moral standards. Star
Wars is a two hour fantasy for man faced with his mortality and sinfulness.
George Lucas was not aware of this factor when he created the first film. As previously mentioned,
he was partly influenced by Japanese samurai films and 1950s science fiction shows. In a recent
interview in Wired (February 1997), Lucas was asked about the sources of inspiration for the
upcoming prequel series of films. He responded,
The influences I use are just the way that I live my life. A lot of this stuff I've been gathering
since I was in college; the basics were done 20 years ago. In the case of Star Wars I had
studied mythology in my cultural anthropology class for a year, so I knew something about
it, but then I went back and started doing a lot more research in that area, and in history.
The popularity which drives Star Wars finds its inspiration in mythology, classic stories of old which
present the conflict between good and evil. Star Wars was a film in the right place at the right time.
Lucas had not calculated the success (he actually withdrew to Hawaii during its initial release, in
fear that it would be an embarrassing flop). He was just creating an old-fashioned fairytale for kids.
He didn't intend it to be science-fiction as such, but a space fantasy, or a space opera, a modern
day morality play.
A Western with great FX
Star Wars, however, is more than a fantasy. Lucas also claims to have been influenced by
Western films (such as those of John Ford, often starring John Wayne) and this too may explain
some of the popularity of the Star Wars films. The early part of the 1970s were a time of great
2excitement in the field of space exploration. Although by 1977, the initial excitement had worn off to
the extent that NASA had cancelled a number of flights to the moon, there was still much
enthusiasm for exploring "the final frontier." Just as pioneers in "the Old West" bravely breached
the borders, so also NASA astronauts took that great leap for mankind into the unknown. But how
does that relate to Star Wars and its popularity? People, especially children, were excited about
space travel. A film set in space would inevitably add that extra draw which might not otherwise be
possible. What's more, a film set on earth would probably appear to be an outright rip-off of Akira
Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress, at least to film critics. Setting it in space gave more opportunity
for the imagination to run wild. It also gave Lucas and his co-workers the opportunity to
revolutionize special effects.
One of the major drawing points of the Star Wars trilogy of films are the special effects and other
technical elements. Never before had a filmmaker been able to make science-fiction so believable.
Lucas and his company, Industrial Light and Magic, have been responsible for some of the most
talked about special effects in recent film history, from the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park to the star
tornado in Twister. And it all began with Star Wars. Lucas had a limited budget, but a limitless
imagination. He hired a special effects producer, John Dykstra, and showed him what he wanted
done. Dykstra and his crew produced effects which still wow audiences, even in this day when
many films have produced far more glitzy effects. The Star Wars films have long been acclaimed
by film pundits, and the films have collectively garnered 11 Academy Awards, mostly for the
technical side of things (Visual Effects, Original Score, Art Direction).
Furthermore, the recent re-release of the Star Wars films feature many improvements in this area.
Many things that were not possible in 1977 are now possible and so have been fixed in the films.
For example, in the original release in 1977, the gangster Jabba the Hutt does not appear on
screen, because Lucas was not satisfied with the suit that the actor had to wear. In the newly
released version, Jabba the Hutt appears, having been created on computer and placed into the
old film. Lucas can now mold his creation to perfection, something he had always wanted to do but
could not because of the limits of technology.
Star Wars and religion
While technology placed limits on the production of the original films which required revision, one
element that has not and will not be revised is the worldview represented in the films. There is no
comprehensive worldview presented as one might find in Star Trek, but there are elements which
reflect how the creator/artist looks at the world. The most important element is in the area of
religion. Unlike many other films which purport to be religiously neutral, Star Wars is very explicitly
religious.
Many readers have undoubtedly heard the expressions "May the Force be with you." or "Use the
Force, Luke:" Some have recognized the explicit reformulation of Matthew 28:20 in the line, "The
Force will be with you always." The "Force" is the key religious element in these films. We first
encounter it when Luke meets the old Jedi knight Obi-Wan Kenobi in the first film. Kenobi knows
the secrets of the Force, for being a Jedi, he knows that the Jedi knight's strength rests not in
physical agility but in his ability to manipulate the Force. Luke asks Obi-Wan what this Force is and
Obi-wan replies, "It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us.
It binds the galaxy together." Later, Obi-Wan instructs Luke further:
OBI-WAN: Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him.
LUKE: You mean it controls your actions?
OBI-WAN: Partially. But it also obeys your commands.1
The Force is something which both manipulates and can be manipulated. At one point in the film,
Han Solo expresses his skepticism concerning the Force, and also shows us that belief in the
Force is more than "spirituality," but is actually a religion:
HAN: Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side,
kid.
3LUKE: You don't believe in the Force, do you?
HAN: Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other. I've seen a lot of strange stuff,
but I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful force controlling
everything. There's no mystical energy field that controls my destiny.
Han Solo, the renegade smuggler, has no use for religion. He's his own man, and is not going to
believe in any sort of religious nonsense. He's the macho guy in control of his own destiny. At the
same time this lines tells us something about Han's conception of what the force is: a mystical
energy field which pervades everything. This lines up with what was said earlier in the film by Obi-
Wan. There can be no misunderstanding of what Lucas is driving at.
In the Empire Strikes Back we receive more information about the Force. In particular we find that
further explanation of the idea that the Force has a good side and a dark side. Yoda, a Jedi
master, teaches Luke more about the Force. On the planet Dagobah, Luke undergoes a rigorous
training program intended to bolster his ability to manipulate the Force. At one point, Yoda has the
following conversation with Luke:
YODA: A Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger ... fear ...
aggression. The dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight.
If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it
will, as it did Obi-Wan's apprentice.
LUKE: Vader. Is the dark side stronger?
YODA: No ... no ... no. Quicker, easier, more seductive.
LUKE: But how am I to know the good side from the bad?
YODA: You will know. When you are calm, at peace. Passive. A Jedi uses the Force for
knowledge and defence, never for attack.
There are two sides to this mystical omnipresent force: a dark side and a good side. The good side
is pacifistic and loving — the dark side is aggressive and hateful (from the way Yoda talks it
appears the Force does something to your speech too!). But these two sides are part of the one
and the same Force.
Influence of Joseph Campbell and Taoism
How did George Lucas come up with the Force? In the Wired interview mentioned earlier, Lucas
acknowledges that Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) has been particularly important for the religious
elements in Star Wars. Campbell was well-known as a populariser of spirituality and religion,
especially in the area of mythology. During the 1980s he was the focus of a PBS television series
hosted by Bill Moyers, discussing the connections between mythology and religion. He was deeply
interested in religious things. However, he was not anywhere near being a Christian. He claimed to
be neutral in matters of religion, but his writings display a definite disdain for Christianity and an
extreme fondness for eastern religions. In discussing his own beliefs, Campbell wrote in his book
The Power of Myth,
There's a transcendent energy source... That energy is the informing energy of all things.
Mythic worship is addressed to that. That old man up there has been blown away. You've
got to find the Force inside you. (Your life comes) from the ultimate energy that is the life of
the universe.2
Note here already the similarity with what was said in the Star Wars films. Campbell even calls his
"god" the Force! Eastern religion is very important for Campbell, and this shows through also in his
very positive assessment of Hinduism. There he writes, "you are part of the organism of the
universe, and perfectly so, you partake of the power of the universe. You have become a conduit
of universal energy and can perform miracles."3 Some pretty miraculous things take place in the
Star Wars films too, and all by the power of the Force. It is quite clear that George Lucas has been
intoxicated with the "theology" of Joseph Campbell.
4But there are yet more religious influences on George Lucas, all of them coming from where the
sun sets. The Force has two sides to it: the good and the dark side. This idea is borrowed explicitly
from Taoism. Taoism, like many other pantheistic eastern religions, teaches that there is an
omnipresent and all-pervasive force through the universe. But Taoism expands on that by adding
the idea of the "yin" and the "yang." Doubtless many readers would recognize the symbol for yin
and yang, a circle with a curvy line through the middle and two dots on each side, half the circle
black and half the circle white. Yang is that part of the Tao (cosmic force) which expresses light,
life, goodness and other positive things. Yin is that part of the Tao which expresses darkness,
death, evil and all negative things. The good side of the Force in Star Wars is equivalent to the
Yang, the dark side to the Yin.
Star Wars has an explicitly religious background, one that is distantly removed from a Christian
way of looking at the world. We do not believe in a God who has a good and bad side. We do not
believe that God is within each of us, to the extent that we ourselves are part of God. We maintain
the Creator-creature distinction. There are no redeeming qualities in the religious sentiments found
in these films. The Force is the invention of unbelief, and quite frankly, Christians who jokingly utter
lines like "Use the Force, Luke," are participating in that unbelief. As we ponder these films it is
important to remember that these films are not morally neutral, for they express a way of looking at
the world which is antithetical to what the Scriptures teach.
Worldview inconsistencies
That, however, does not mean that the films are completely consistent in their expression of this
eastern/Taoistic worldview. Throughout the films we are given the impression that there is a
definite sense of right and wrong. There is some sort of moral standard operating in the
background. However, can the Force provide this moral standard? Believing in the power of the
Force is no different than a renegade smuggler believing in his own power to control his destiny.
Both points of view preclude the possibility of absolute moral standards, because every man does
what is right in his own eyes. This is realized eventually in Return of the Jedi, where when
confronted with his having lied to Luke, Obi-Wan Kenobi replies, "Luke, you're going to find that
many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view." There is a definite moral
relativism at work here in the words of the old sage. But yet throughout the films, certain actions
are portrayed as being certainly wrong: for example, the tyranny of the Galactic Empire or the
destruction of the planet Alderaan. Following the logic of Kenobi, Darth Vader could have easily
said, "The moral rightness or wrongness of destroying Alderaan depends on your point of view."
But that is not the point of view presented in the film! Destroying Alderaan is patently wicked.
What we see in these films, as often we see in the lives of unbelievers, is the borrowing of the
Christian worldview. Unbelievers, according to Scripture, still retain some notions of rightness and
wrongness. They, just as we, will maintain that it is absolutely immoral to sexually abuse children
(thankfully!). However, on the basis of their way of looking at the world, they cannot justify such a
position. We may say that they are working with borrowed capital. They claim to have a certain
way of looking at the world, but in fact they work with the Christian worldview at certain points. This
element is clearly seen in Star Wars and can help us in understanding our culture. Star Wars is
popular because of several factors, one of these is its blending of spirituality and morality. It is like
a morality play of old, except the old morality plays were founded on a Christian worldview which
could provide a basis for morality. The new morality plays (like Star Wars) can not provide such a
basis. When there are these inconsistencies, Christians should take the opportunity to point them
out. These inconsistencies are excellent starting points for presenting the Gospel of Christ to fallen
man, for presenting to the natural man what already he knows deep down in his heart to be true:
he is a sinner in need of redemption.
Apologetical ammunition
Star Wars has returned. It has always been around on videotape, but now it is back in the spotlight.
Christians can take advantage of this re-release in an innovative way. Perhaps you know
unbelievers through school or work who are Star Wars fans — knowing some of the things outlined
in this article can give you apologetical ammunition for bringing the Gospel to such people.
5Moreover, even for people who are not Star Wars fans, many of the views expressed in this
cultural epigone are common. New age religion confronts us with many of the same concepts
found in these films. Moral relativism is everywhere. A 1994 survey by George Barna and
Associates indicates that 71 per cent of Americans deny that there is such a thing as absolute truth
— and 62 per cent of Christians made the same denial! The unbelieving worldview must be
confronted by Biblical Christians zealous for the reformation of society and culture. Knowing
something about films such as the Star Wars trilogy can be a valuable means to that end.
W Bredenhof
© 2013
www.christianstudylibrary.org
1
All quotes from the films are taken directly from the script, available on the Internet at the following website:
http://www.stwing.upenn.edu/starwars/films
2
Quoted in the essay, "Myth Perception, Joseph Campbell"s Power of Deceit," by Tom Synder, found at the Answers in Action website:
http://answers.org/CultsAndReligions/Campbell.html
3
An essay on Hinduism from the Joseph Campbell Foundation website: http://mail.jcf. org/pub/hindu.html
6You can also read
