The Force now part of our mythology
By Rich Copley
HERALD-LEADER ARTS COLUMNIST
For many people, Star Wars — which delivers its final installment, Episode III — Revenge of the Sith on Thursday — is a symbol of a lot of what’s wrong with popular culture.
George Lucas’ 1977 classic, Star Wars, was a seismic shift in filmmaking and marketing, ushering in an era of special effects-laden blockbusters and department store aisles filled with movie tie-ins. Now, you can’t even pick up a bag of chips without being faced by Darth Vader or Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Through all of that, it can be hard to discern the Star Wars saga’s long-term effect. But when we step away from the toys, the fanboys and the sold-out opening days, what are we left with?
We are left with a story that will endure to future generations and be part of the world’s cultural canon that includes Homer’s Odyssey, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Michelangelo’s David and the next great thing our children and our children’s children will produce.
Yes, it’s a difficult thing even for me to wrap my brain around, considering I was drawn to the series because of a little robot named R2-D2. But film is the dominant art form of our time, and nothing has collectively captivated us as much as the six Star Wars films.
Some people might say it’s marketing, but that goes only so far. For something to really enthrall us, there needs to be substance. Star Wars has that.
“Though they say, ‘A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,’ we’re really talking about ourselves when we talk about Star Wars,” says University of Kentucky classics professor Bob Rabel. “It’s light and darkness, good and evil, and trust and reason.”
Rabel, who teaches a course on classics and film and has written extensively on the subject, including contributions to a book about the 2004 film Troy, agrees that Star Wars is part of our mythology.
American mythologist Joseph Campbell has made that case. Lucas was a student of Campbell’s work, particularly The Hero With a Thousand Faces, which asserted that all stories have been told, but retelling is necessary as generations create their own myths and heroes.
We go from swords and sandals to droids and spaceships.
Ah, but what are we talking about here? The story.
As much as Star Wars was a watershed of special effects, the reason it succeeded was that it was a terrific story. Recall the scene in Episode VI — Return of the Jedi when C-3PO mesmerizes the Ewoks by telling them the story of the original Star Wars.
The absence of that wonder is why the Star Wars nation got so ticked off at Episodes I and II, because it seemed that Lucas had become much more interested in film technology than storytelling. He was building the myth — Anakin’s immaculate conception, the Clone Wars — but they lacked the soul and spirit of the first trilogy.
Episode III brings that back, albeit in a sad tale, and re-establishes the story’s seriousness. It’s much heavier and more introspective than anything else in the series. It raises the questions of what we will do for the ones we love, the seduction of self-satisfaction over the greater good, the power of individuals to control great bodies of government. This movie truly provides the context for all that has come before and went after it.
Those are timeless themes, and Lucas’ renditions will be revered by future generations, maybe even a long time from now in a galaxy far, far away.
Reach Rich Copley at (859) 231-3217 or 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 3217, or rcopley@herald-leader.com.
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Sun, May. 15, 2005
