Monday, January 25, 2010

Themes in Star Wars

After watching the documentary about Star Wars what fascinated me was some of the themes that were found in the movie were significant themes or lessons brought up in many religions and religious texts. Some that George Lucas mentioned were: issues of friendship, good and evil within us, compassion versus greed, does destiny exist, mentor and apprentice, following inner desires, and much more.
Another topic that also increased my interest was the Buddhist influence in Star Wars. Buddhism to me is a religion whoses practices differ from the three monotheistic religions of the world. So for Buddhism to influence a great epic really means something. Unlike the other faiths Buddhism does not have many epics and stories, but it does have the story of Siddhartha and his journey to find a purpose in life. He leaves his wealthy life as a king of all kings and chooses to be asthetic. Siddhartha's journey for finding himself is similar to Luke's journey.
Finally, I liked how George Lucas did so much research to create such a amazing work of art. I personally have seen only one Star Wars film but this documentary inspired me to watch it and look for the themes that George discussed.

3 comments:

noconnor09 said...

i am determined to sit down one weekend and watch them all in sequence to see if i missed anything...

Unknown said...

gswhat documentary is this? I'm actually doing an essay on religious themes in Star Wars so I would appreciate the help.

James F. McGrath said...

The documentary being referred to is called "Mythology of Star Wars" and is an interview of George Lucas by Bill Moyers.