|
(2017
midterm assignment) Model Student Midterm answers 2017 (Index) Essay 2: Personal / professional topic |
 |
Clark Omo
Is There Still a God in a Galaxy Far, Far Away?
Religion, though many there are, has an importance to humanity. It asks us to
quantify our beliefs and seek a better state through those beliefs. This being
said, it is nonetheless strange and perhaps enlightening to find it present in
science fiction, including that of the seminal body of films known as the Star
Wars Saga. We have already seen throughout this class that religion maintains a
presence in literature concerned with the future: Earthseed in
The Parable of the Sower, the Masons
in “Mozart in Mirror-shades” and the references made to reincarnation in “The
Garden of Forking Paths”. However, to find a religion present in a setting as
that of Star Wars (A galaxy far, far
away….) where there is no visible or even locatable connection to our own
reality’s history or cultures is a challenge. Furthermore, religion seems like
it would be first thing to go in any science fiction tale, especially one where
technology has advanced to such a point that many of the physical mysteries of
our world would henceforth become debunked or discarded, for religions, in the
most suspended sense, represent ‘old’ and ‘outdated’ ways of explaining nature.
Yet, they persist in their existence, even in tales such as
The Parable of the Sower, where
religion in fact motivates Lauren the protagonist. Same can be said of
Star War, for its own world revolves
around the use of religion to motivate the history and the major powers within
it, and thus proves why religion of any form can in truth never be separated
from science fiction if it is to remain a tale about humanity.
The
first aspect of the world of Star Wars in which religion can be found to have a
strong and pivotal presence lies within the history of the world explored
through the films. As Ben Kenobi relates to Luke Skywalker in
A New Hope: “For over a thousand
generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old
Republic. Before the dark times, before the Empire” With this one line, Kenobi
affirms as he relates to Skywalker that the Jedi were imperative to the
preservation of justice and peace within the Republic. Without them, the world
of Star Wars has fallen into “dark times” as Kenobi puts it. Already there is a
sense of Creation/Apocalypse evident in just this one line. Kenobi’s statement
that the Jedi protected the peace for “over a thousand generations” is redolent
with an Edenic society, echoing Genesis in the sense everything was good in the
beginning. Corruption of course enters the world in the form of the Empire. It
can be concluded then that the Jedi, who utilized their own branch of the Force,
were the forces of good, and their aspect of the Force was what embodied the
galaxy’s concept of good, just like Faith in God is the true faith in
Christianity. And as Christianity has left its mark on the history of our world,
so has the battle between the Light and the Dark in Star Wars. Now, the origins
of this notion have been debated and analyzed.
Yet, at the same time, this struggle and
the onset of corruption in the form of a fallen hero (Anakin Skywalker aka Darth
Vader) also holds characteristics in common with Christian concepts. and the
transformation of Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader (thus the Light to the Dark)
is critical to understanding the world of Star Wars. As Duncan states: “perhaps
the most distressing aspect of Vader’s character is that he used to be
good.” Indeed this is true: Darth
Vader at one point stood as the pinnacle of the Jedi, and yet he fell to the
Dark Side. And it was this fall that ultimately led to the destruction of the
Jedi, along with the dissolution of the Old Republic.
The Jedi have been engaged in conflict with their enemy, the Sith, for
centuries. This conflict exemplified by Vader and his fall centers around the
dogma that life and existence are to be ruled by either the Light Side of the
Force, or the Dark Side. And so, the galaxy’s history has been crucially shaped
by this belief that it must either be one or the other, for now, as the setting
of A New Hope introduced audiences to
the galaxy of Star Wars some forty years ago, there are no Jedi who championed
the Light Side, and instead in their place the evil Emperor Palpatine and his
servant, Darth Vader, dominate and tyrannize.
Furthermore, this idea of the Force does not exist to simply explain who is evil
and who is not. Indeed, it also impacts the characters to achieve higher
potential and indeed examine themselves. Similar to how a faith such as
Christianity emphasized its adherents to reflect upon themselves, so does the
Force motivate characters such as Luke Skywalker to better their internal
selves. As Pessin quotes: “the Skywalker stories offer a model for how to find
strength in God or internal balance.” So even the principles of motivation on
which the Force’s teachings operate are comparable to that of Christianity.
Faith, and the perseverance and sacrifice it nourishes, are present therefore in
the Force, and serve to motivate the characters. As Pessin quotes Staub, saying
of Luke Skywalker: “[Luke]
doesn't even know the Force exists, and it becomes the absolute passion and
focus of his life.” As Luke develops throughout the course of the original
trilogy, this statement certainly becomes true. In the final film of the
original trilogy, Luke proclaims “I am a Jedi, like my father before me.” Here,
Luke has reached the ultimate goal of training in the Force, and has managed to
defeat the Emperor, liberating the galaxy from the oppressive rule of the
Empire. If it were not for his dedication to discovering the power and mysteries
of the Force to use it for the Light, he would not have done so. This dedication
mirrors the Christian maxims of perseverance and faith: both the Force user and
the Christian follower strive to achieve perfection in their beliefs. Though the
teachings of the Force are stark in their contrasts to that of the Bible,
nonetheless the Jedi take these teachings to heart, and then better themselves
through their application. Luke Skywalker does so, and ultimately, he succeeds.
So far, it has been established that religion in the form of the Force stands as
a major power and shaper of the world of Star Wars. It has affected the history
of the Star Wars world with immeasurable consequences and events, such as the
destruction of the Jedi and the rise of the Empire. It also serves as a guiding
force for the characters, evidenced by Luke Skywalker’s dedication to learning
its mysteries so that he may use it for good and triumph over the evils of the
Empire. Thus, religion does have a relevance to tales that take place in
timelines centuries ahead of our own, or even in galaxies far, far away. And
with religion’s relevance established in the world of Star Wars, thus its
relevance can be established throughout the science fiction genre as a whole.
Works Cited
Duncan, Ryan. “5 Christian Messages Found in
Star Wars.”
crosswalk.com, 14 Dec. 2015,
https://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/christian-movie-reviews/5-christian-messages-found-in-i-star-wars-i.html.
Accessed 9 Nov. 2017.
Pessin, Jaime Levy. “‘Star Wars’
Parallels Found with World’s Major Religions”.
Chicago Tribune, 27 May, 2005,
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2005-05-27/news/0505270034_1_star-wars-jedi-masters-beliefs.
Accessed 9 Nov. 2017.
Lucas, George, director. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Twentieth
Century Fox, 1977.
Lucas, George, director. Star Wars
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Twentieth Century Fox, 1983.
 |
 |
|