Star Wars

Major themes and influences

The Star Wars saga has been influenced by ancient mythology, philosophy, and religion.

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Mythology

Many of the themes within Star Wars reflect elements of Greek tragedy, Arthurian Legend, Roman mythology, and Japanese chambara such as the prominence of prophecy and the inability to control one's destiny. For example, Luke's relationship with his father shows evidence of influence from Greek tragedy. The original film contained Arthurian elements such as Excalibur and Merlin, as well as a "round table" aboard the Millennium Falcon. Another example occurs as Anakin Skywalker causes the death of his wife Padmé Amidala through his actions in trying to save her.

Related Topics:
Arthurian - Roman mythology - Chambara - Excalibur - Merlin - Anakin Skywalker - Padmé Amidala

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The Star Wars films also show considerable similarity to Asian Wuxia "Kung Fu" films. In films of this genre, the protagonist almost always begins with a clear objective to avenge the death of someone dear (an old master, his father, or his entire family). Starting as an apprentice, he grows to become the most powerful Master of his art in Kung Fu and rightfully settles old scores inflicted to his loved ones. The influence of Japanese pathos is obvious in the technique of the lightsaber being similar to the use of the Japanese Samurai swords, and the etiquette-conscious Jedi humility to the Japanese bows in greetings. The Jedi also live by a code of conduct and battle similar to the Samurai Code (or Bushido) as well as providing protection without being soldiers for a particular Nation or Government. Lucas has stated that his intention was to create in Star Wars a modern mythology based on the studies of his friend and mentor Joseph Campbell. He has also called the first movie's similarity to Akira Kurosawa's film The Hidden Fortress an "homage".

Related Topics:
Wuxia - Kung Fu - Lightsaber - Samurai - Bushido - Joseph Campbell - Akira Kurosawa - The Hidden Fortress

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Philosophy and religion

The essential trademark of Star Wars' philosophy is its reliance on the Force.

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(See main article: Force (Star Wars)).

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Star Wars stresses the self-destructive nature of fear, anger, and hate, summed up in Yoda's words ("Fear is the path to the dark side: fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering"), as well as placing one's feelings for certain people aside. For example, Luke Skywalker is told to remain on Dagobah to complete his training rather than rescue his friends from Cloud City, because doing so will "destroy all for which they have fought and suffered."

Related Topics:
Fear - Anger - Hate - Yoda - Luke Skywalker - Dagobah - Cloud City

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This aligns with the philosophy of most religions, which emphasize rational thought and meditation as the path to enlightenment, as opposed to the "Dark Side", of violent passion and emotion. It also aligns with secular Enlightenment thought, based in reason (the light side) and passionate and often violent pre-WWI romanticism (the dark side).

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Undoubtedly, however, the strongest influence was the Taoist-philosophy. The Force is also very similar to Qi. The practitioners of Qi according to the Taoist annals can live upwards of 200 years. Many true Taoist masters eventually became "san" or spirit-like beings, immortals who could partake and interact in the day-to-day earthly activities, not unlike what Obi-Wan and Yoda became after their passing, in their tutorials with Luke. Taoism emphasizes smooth flow of the Qi being the balance of the Yin and Yang forces to all manifestations including the human anatomy and the environment, again not unlike the duality of the Sith and Jedi being the dark and light extremes of the Force.

Related Topics:
Taoist - Qi

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The sequel started in Episode IV with the obvious cliché — Darth Vader in matte and shiny black outfit, with Leia Organa in pristine white robes, alluding to the concepts of Good versus Evil. With the exception of Anakin in the teenage years in Episodes II and III (although one could arguably say that he was a bit "destined" for the Sith, so maybe this does not count as an exception to the rule) and Luke Skywalker in Episode VI, black costumes seem to be reserved exclusively for the darker Empire and its Emperor. Whether intentional or not, the use of language was dramatized — the Empire minions almost always spoke with British accents whilst most of the Rebels spoke unadulterated American English. Likewise, all Imperial officers were outfitted in tailor-cut Nazi-like uniforms, with the Rebels in looser and more ascetic overalls. It has been suggested as well that the Imperials/Rebels axis could also be a reference to real-world Reactionaries vs. Revolutionaries, but it's all speculation.

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Technology

Another archetypal conflict in the series is between technology and nature. Ewoks defeat highly mechanized space ship-dwelling enemies. Many of these asymmetries are between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance. For example, the rebels wear clothing that match their environment (greens, browns or whites) while the Stormtroopers always wear white synthetic armor. The TIE fighters are shown as impersonal swarms of metal while the X-wings are individuals; a similar symmetry also exists between the faceless, armor-clad Imperial Stormtroopers and their crisp, uniformed officers, and the various individual members of the Rebel Alliance. More recent examples can be seen in : Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, mounted atop a lizard-like veractyl, pursues and combats the semi-mechanical General Grievous mounted atop a one-wheeled mechanical vehicle; after the execution of Order 66, the somewhat inhuman Clone troopers are shown slaughtering a number of Jedi characters without a second's thought, whose striking art design gives them clear individuality. This concept emphasizes the general idea that technology is in opposition to humanity.

Related Topics:
Technology - Nature - Ewok - TIE fighter - X-wing - Imperial Stormtrooper - Rebel Alliance - Obi-Wan Kenobi - General Grievous - Order 66 - Clone troopers

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Recurring themes

There seem to be repeated elements amongst the Star Wars films. Lucas himself makes mention of his fondness for repeating elements in several of the DVD audio commentaries. Also of note are the parallels between the trilogies; that is, Episodes I and IV, II and V, as well as III and VI. Those groups will show up often in the list that follows:

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• In the first episode of each trilogy (Episodes I & IV) a Jedi Master is killed by a Sith Lord in front of an apprentice (Qui-Gon is killed by Darth Maul in front of Obi-Wan, and Obi-Wan is killed by Darth Vader in front of Luke). However, the responses of the two apprentices are different: Obi-Wan kills Darth Maul, but Luke escapes the Death Star instead of killing Darth Vader.
• In the first episode of each trilogy (Episodes I & IV), the main protagonist helps win a battle at the end of the film (Anakin destroys the Trade Federation Droid Control Ship, Luke destroys the Death Star).
• At the end of the first episode of each trilogy (Episodes I & IV), an award ceremony is held with the heroine of each trilogy (Padmé, Leia) giving the award.
• In the middle episode of each trilogy (Episodes II & V), the main protagonists both see visions of loved one(s) in danger: Luke - Han, Leia and the rest of his friends; Anakin - His mother. Both protagonists also abandon their duty (Luke - Jedi training; Anakin - protecting Padmé) and go off in attempt to save his loved one(s).
• In the middle episode of each trilogy (Episodes II and V) someone evades a spaceship attack by attaching to something (in Episode II, Obi-Wan attaches to a meteor to evade Jango Fett and his attack by the Slave I. In Episode V, Han Solo attaches to a Star Destroyer to evade attack by it.)
• In the middle episode of each trilogy (Episodes II & V), the main female protagonist professes her love to someone before a situation where that person could die (in Episode II Padmé professes her love for Anakin before they enter the arena on Genosis, in Episode V Leia professes her love for Han Solo before he is encased in carbonite).
• In the middle episode of each trilogy (Episodes II & V), R2-D2 repairs C-3PO.
• In the middle episode of each trilogy (Episodes II & V), the main protagonist suffers the loss of his right hand (Anakin's right arm was severed between the shoulder and elbow by Count Dooku. Luke's right hand was severed at the wrist by Darth Vader.)
• In Episode II and Episode IV two people lose their arm in a cantina (Zam Wesell and Ponda Baba.)
• At the end of the middle episodes in the trilogy (Episodes II & V), the main protagonist (Anakin in II, Luke in V) puts his arm around the main female character (Padmé in II, Leia in V) beside the two droids: R2-D2 and C-3PO.
• In the final episode of each trilogy (Episodes III & VI), against the backdrop of a tower overlooking a space battle, Palpatine encourages Anakin and Luke to finish off their defeated, and dismembered opponents (Dooku in III, Vader in VI) - except that Anakin gives in to Palpatine's wishes, while Luke resists them.
• Also, in both episodes, Anakin is the observer to a life-or-death struggle between Palpatine and another opponent (Mace Windu in III, and Luke in VI). In both cases, Anakin/Darth Vader comes to the aid of the weaker combatant (Palpatine himself in III - although some fans believe Palpatine was faking weakness, Luke in VI begging him for aid while being electrocuted by Palpatine's lightning storm), and the stronger combatant (Mace in III, Palpatine in VI) is hurled into a chasm.
• The titles are parallel: "The Phantom Menace" and "A New Hope" can be seen as referring to one deliberately and one unknowingly concealed character (respectively, Darth Sidious and Luke Skywalker) who emerge to be the protagonists that effect the shift of power in each film's sequels; "Attack of the Clones" and "The Empire Strikes Back" both refer to the galactic government mounting a military attack against a rebellion; "Revenge of the Sith" and "Return of the Jedi" exhibit dual parallels, referring, at once, to the ultimate decimation and victory of the Force-based religious order, and focusing on the fall and redemption of Anakin Skywalker. It is also to be noted that the original title of Return of the Jedi was "Revenge of the Jedi".
• Grammatically, some of the titles' constructions parallel one another: I and IV are article-adjective-noun and III and VI are noun-preposition-article-proper noun.
• The following lines are spoken in all 6 movies: "Nooo!", "May the Force be with you" and "I have a bad feeling about this."
• In Episodes IV, V & VI (the original three films), the character Wedge (X-wing Fighter - Red Two, and later Rogue Three and Red Leader) survived all of the battles alongside Luke. Coincidentally, Wedge was played by Dennis Lawson, who is the real-life uncle of Ewan McGregor who plays the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in Episodes I, II & III.
• In the final episode of each trilogy (Episodes III & VI), there is some sort of massive battle involving bear-like creatures (Wookiees in III, Ewoks in VI). The species name "Ewok" is derived from the syllabic-reverse of the species name "Wookiee."
• All 6 movies open with a shot of a starship entering the scene. In the original trilogy, the ship is an Imperial Star Destroyer. In the prequel trilogy the ship is always a government craft which is soon destroyed in an explosion.
• In Episodes IV, V, and VI, a relatively unseen creature attacks one or more of the main characters (Luke in IV, C-3PO and R2-D2 in V, and Lando in VI).
• The middle episode of each trilogy features a chase through an asteroid field.
• In the final episode of each trilogy, the enemy's massive command ship is destroyed by crashing into a giant metal sphere (the Invisible Hand in Episode III and the Executor in Episode VI).
• Each episode concludes with a scene with hardly any dialogue whatsoever. The exception is in The Phantom Menace, where the Gungan leader Boss Nass says "Peace!".