The Old Artificer

Star Wars as Personal Mythology
by Jonathan Young
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Once again, an installment of the Star Wars series has become a movie event of galactic proportions. The spiritual underpinnings of the story have been widely recognized as a clear part of its enormous appeal. There has been much discussion on the mythic dimensions of the film. Now that the commotion has settled down, perhaps it is a good time to reflect on the implications of the tale for those interested in the life of the soul.
Early in the film, an imposing spacecraft is speeding through the darkness between planets. There is a crisis, and two Jedi Knights are on their way to help. The call to adventure is similar in all these movies because it matches experiences that are known to the audience. The events that cause us to develop strengths often begin as bad news. Something calls us to solve a problem, or survive an ordeal, and through this difficult process, we find that we are capable of more than we thought.
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Galactic gasbag
Beneath all the pseudo-mythic Joseph Campbell hogwash, the roots of George Lucas’ empire lie not in “The Odyssey” but in classic and pulp 20th century sci-fi.
By Steven Hart
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April 10, 2002 | Another “Star Wars” movie, “Episode Two: Attack of the Clones,” is about to hit the cineplexes. As with all cosmological phenomena, certain strange and even frightening things are likely to happen as the event horizon draws near.

Hardcore fans will prepare for opening night by polishing their toy light sabers and getting their Darth Vader costumes taken out an inch or so. Fast-food joints and toy stores will fill up with merchandise bearing the faces of alien creatures. And some gullible middlebrow — most likely Bill Moyers — will once again recite the pseudo-religious doctrine that attributes the phenomenal success of the series to producer-director George Lucas’ skill at tapping underground streams of ancient legends, using Joseph Campbell’s work in comparative mythology as his dowsing rod.
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An American Mythology: Why Star Wars Still Matters
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Note: This essay, which was written for Catholic World Report magazine, is partly based on reviews and essays that have previously appeared at Decent Films and in the National Catholic Register.

By Steven D. Greydanus
The circle is complete.

The saga that began in midstream over a quarter century ago with Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi — also known to aficionados as Episodes IV, V, and VI, respectively — has at last come to a close with the May release of Episode III — Revenge of the Sith, the third and final installment in the new trilogy of “prequels” detailing the back story to the original trilogy.

Though the new prequels have been widely contrasted unfavorably with the original trilogy, the Star Wars universe remains a cultural institution of immense proportions. Its impact on Hollywood alone has been incalculable. It’s impossible to imagine Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., The Matrix, or The Lord of the Rings without Star Wars. In fact, Lucas’s bitterest critics charge Star Wars with nothing less than “ruining” Hollywood by turning it from the gritty, “relevant” sophistication of films like The Godfather, Taxi Driver, and Annie Hall toward juvenile fantasy, spectacle, and romanticism.
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The Gospel of Star Wars
Posted by JediToren
Tuesday, November 25, 2003 12:03:21 AM
What constitutes the truth, or canon, of Star Wars according to Lucasfilm?
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One of the most heated debates in the world of Star Wars fandom is the issue of what is considered true, or canon, in the Star Wars Universe. As geeky as it may sound, these debates frequently get as intense as debates on the Christian/Catholic canon. The issue has been around since Splinter of the Mind’s Eye was first published a few months after the release of Star Wars, but it didn’t really become a major issue until the 90’s, when Lucasfilm began authorizing whole series of novels and comic books depicting the further adventures of our heros, as well as exploring the ancient history of the galaxy in the Tales of the Jedi comic books.
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(1) The New York Times:
“Some Surprises in That Galaxy Far, Far Away”
by A.O. Scott
Published: May 16, 2005
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“CANNES, France, May 15 – With “Episode III – Revenge of the Sith,” the “Star Wars” cycle at last comes to an end – or rather to a middle, since the second trilogy, of which this is the final installment, comes before the first in faraway-galaxy history even though it comes later in the history of American popular culture. Like many others whose idea of movies was formed by (and to some extent against) the galactically later, terrestrially earlier “Star Wars” trilogy, I was disappointed by “The Phantom Menace” and “Attack of the Clones.” So I approached the recent press screening of “Episode III” in New York warily, and perhaps a little wearily, though to balance my own trepidation I brought along two fans whose enthusiasm in 2005 easily matched my own in 1977, when I was a little older than they are now and when “Star Wars” – oh, all right, “Episode IV – A New Hope” – landed in my hometown.

I was anticipating, at least, a measure of relief: finally, this extravagant, ambitious enterprise, a dominant fact of our collective cultural life for nearly 30 years, would be over. But I was hoping, a little anxiously, for more. Would George Lucas at last restore some of the old grandeur and excitement to his up-to-the-minute Industrial Light and Magic? Would my grown-up longing for a return to the wide-eyed enthusiasm of my own moviegoing boyhood – and my undiminished hunger for entertainment with sweep and power as well as noise and dazzle – be satisfied by “Revenge of the Sith”?

The answer is yeth.
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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?
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