American Literature: Romanticism Student Midterm Submissions 2016 (midterm assignment) 2b. Short Essay 2b. Choose a previously-read literary text . . .

Liz Davis

11 October 2016

Romanticism in Star Wars: ‘The Romanticism is strong with this one.'

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away Romanticism apparently still existed because the Star Wars movies capture the spirit of the Romantic Ideology. The series begins when the characters embark on a journey to save the world from the Galactic Empire and Darth Vader. The saga continues with prequels about Darth Vader’s upbringing and life as a Jedi and transformation to Darth Vader. The movies incorporate elements of science fiction, romance, and action with a now-famous cast. The movies bring Romanticism to the silver-screen with the idea of the sublime with outer space and the gothic with Darth Vader and the other Sith’s black and red apparel. The Star Wars sagas capture the Romantic spirit or ideology because the characters want to change the here and now by going on a journey to better their world (Objective 1a).

The Star Wars films follow the Romance Narrative (Objective 1a). Joseph Campbell’s book The Hero with a Thousand Faces explains the theory of the hero’s journey in which the protagonist of a narrative embarks on a quest and overcomes many tasks with help and hindrance on the journey. The Romance Narrative begins when Luke Skywalker intercepts a message in a droid intended for Old Ben AKA Obi-Wan Kenobi from Princess Leia seeking his help. This is the call to action that sparks Luke to set off on his journey and find Obi-Wan Kenobi, his father-like figure and wise and helpful guide who trains him to become a Jedi. He leaves the safety of Tatooine behind and goes off to rescue Princess Leia with his motley crew of the Millennium Falcon. A key point in the hero’s journey that Luke encounters is the atonement with the father. Luke has followed in his father’s footsteps by studying with Obi-Wan-Kenobi to become a Jedi and is also a skilled fighter pilot. In Empire Strikes Back, Luke engages in a lightsaber battle with Darth Vader, and it is revealed that Luke is his son. Luke accepts this fact, but he does not accept the dark side of the force and sacrifices himself in battle. The reconciliation between the two shows that there is a balance to the Force. At the end of Return of the Jedi, peace is restored to both the divine and the human worlds because of Luke. Therefore, his journey is successful and complete. The Empire has been defeated, the Ewoks are dancing, and the spirits of Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Master Yoda are looking on Luke in good graces. He can bestow his boon – peace – onto his fellow man. Luke set out on a quest to change the world by joining the Rebellion and destroying the Empire. He longed for the old days when Jedis ruled and were peacekeepers among the worlds, so he decided that he would help change it. Along his journey, he learned many lessons about his past and his family. 

While Luke is known as the golden boy of the Star Wars sagas, the villain of the series was not always evil and represents the Byronic hero in Romanticism. On Luke’s quest, he sets out to destroy the Galactic Empire and defeat Darth Vader AKA his father AKA Anakin Skywalker. From episode 1 to episode 6, the audience follows the life of Anakin Skywalker from childhood to death. Anakin is a prime example of the Byronic hero because he possesses characteristics such as handsomeness, brilliance, and standing apart from society as an outsider. Ever since he was a child, he was a bright pilot and skilled with technology and showed potential to train as a Jedi. Though Anakin trained with Obi-Wan Kenobi to become a Jedi, he went behind the Jedi Council’s back and married the angelic Senator Padme Amidala. Their love was forbidden since Jedis are not to marry or become attached romantically to anyone. Anakin was haunted by nightmares of the loss of his family. When he witnessed the death of his mother, he murdered a whole village of Tusken Raiders, including many children. He vowed he would stop at nothing to protect his family. When he began to have nightmares about the death of Padme, he decided to seek help from Chancellor Palpatine to learn the dark side of the Force. Anakin is eventually engulfed physically and mentally by the dark side and become Darth Vader. While battling Obi-Wan on Mustafar, Anakin succumbed to the dark side and lost to Obi-Wan in battle. Obi-Wan exclaims “You were the chosen one! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them. You were to bring balance to the force, not leave it in darkness.” Anakin was left severely burned and was forced to wear the black suit to remain alive. Anakin official transformed into Darth Vader at this point. Later in the series, while Vader is trying to turn his son to the dark side, Luke helps his father back to the light. During the final battle between Luke and Vader, Vader overcomes the powers of the dark side and turns on the Emperor. He chooses family over the loyalty of alliance and throws the Emperor to his death, sacrificing himself in the process. By doing this, Anakin has restored peace to the Force and can transcend to the spirit world. As the Byronic hero of the tale, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader is a misunderstood Jedi who only wanted to save his family. He turned to the dark side out of love for his wife and kids, and he still did not manage to protect them.

In Star Wars there is a constant correspondence between the dark and light side. There are two sides of the Force: the dark side and the light side. Jedi Masters usually perform the good and use the light side of the Force for the good of the people. Jedis are known for keeping the peace in the galaxy and are honest and compassionate people. They are like space cowboys — they are misunderstood, quick to draw, and not around anymore. Old Ben says “For over a thousand generations, the Jedi were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic — before the dark times. Before the Empire.” The evil Jedis, known as the Sith, practice the dark side of the Force and use it for their own gain. The Sith are power-hungry Jedi who abandoned their old ways to embark on a new path of adventure and corruption. Palpatine says “A Jedi gains power through understanding and a Sith gains understanding through power.” Normally, the Sith are not only mentally twisted but physically damaged as well such as the Emperor and Darth Vader. The villainous Emperor wears a dark cloak to cover his face which has been physically damaged from age and the work of a former Jedi.  Not only does George Lucas portray Romanticism through contrasting good and evil against one another, but he also uses the Gothic color code with the lightsabers and clothing. The Sith usually have red lightsabers and, because Jedis make their own lightsabers using crystals, it represents their originality and descent into madness. The Jedi normally have lighter color lightsabers, such as blue or green, which are associated with harmony and peace. The Sith are normally represented by the colors black and red which are associated with evil, fire, and darkness while the Jedi are represented by more earthy tones such as blues, greens, whites, and tans. An example of this is the style of clothing the Jedi and the Sith wear. Jedi garb is a tan tunic and brown robe while Sith’s attire is all black with a masked face. 

The Star Wars movies encompass Romanticism on the big screen because the characters desire to change the here and now and set off on a quest to change their worlds. Of all the elements that are incorporated into the films, the Romance narrative or journey captures the spirit of the films because that is the heart of the story. Understanding Luke Skywalker and his desire to leave home and change the world to become a Jedi is Romanticism at its finest. The Byronic hero of Anakin Skywalker is something that was revealed in the prequels and done well. For Lucas to reveal the Byronic hero’s outcome before his backstory makes his childhood and upbringing that much more important. Anakin Skywalker is by far the most influential character in the entire series. Lastly, the correspondence Lucas includes adds to the space western idea of good versus bad and cowboys versus Indians. For the film to have such a simplicity of light versus dark makes it a classic film franchise.