Looking at Lucas’ life, talents, interests, and previous films, it is possible to distinguish four main elements in Star Wars that are his unique contributions.  Interestingly, these elements are the ones most often cited by fans, critics, and scholars when describing the depth, importance, and lasting appeal of the movie.  The first is one that has already been mentioned, the collection of themes that found its original outlet in THX 1138 and American Graffiti.  Some of these themes stem from Lucas’ own experiences, such as the strong work ethic and independent climb to fame that serve as models for Luke’s acceptance of adult responsibility and the achievement of his dreams.  Luke, like Lucas and the protagonists of Graffiti, learns that growing up means “you can’t avoid the tough decisions” (Pollock 138).  This personal responsibility theme is popular because it is something that people never tire of hearing, akin to the American Dream.  Intimately connected with this idea are the themes of escape, and the underdog beating the system.  Here again Lucas’ own declaration of independence from the binds of Hollywood seems to be immortalized in the moment that Luke destroys the looming Death Star, releasing the universe from an oppressive superpower.  The final theme, that of man vs. machine, also stems directly from THX and Lucas’ concern for the preservation of the human spirit in an increasingly technological world (Henderson 7).  Darth Vader and the Empire play the double role of the repressive system and impersonal machine, while the Rebel Alliance is destined to triumph because of their underdog status and reliance on symbiotic friendships.  When all is said and done, in Lucas’ world humanity must ultimately prevail.

    If this premise does not sound particularly original, that is because it was not meant to.  As I already mentioned, Lucas’ goal with Star Wars was not only to entertain, but also to create a modern myth, an up-to-date fairy tale.  According to Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero With a Thousand Faces and one of Lucas’ main inspirations, Lucas succeeded.  As Campbell told Bill Moyers in 1985, Lucas “has put the newest and most powerful spin” to the classic story of the hero.  “It’s what Goethe said in Faust but which Lucas has dressed up in modern idiom – the message that technology is not going to save us… We have to rely on our intuition, our true being” (Campbell xiv).  The second element that Lucas brings to Star Wars is, then, the moral simplicity of mythology.  He was fascinated by the persistence of myth in culture, especially “the capacity of the human imagination to conceive alternate realities to cope with reality” (Champlin 41).  With Star Wars he was therefore “trying to get fairy tales, myths, and religion down to a distilled state, studying the pure form to see how and why it worked” (Pollock 134).  The movie is an expression of Lucas’ philosophical research, and looking at it from this point of view puts a whole new twist on at least one of the critiques mentioned earlier.  Several authors, including Campbell, insist that the characters are supposed to be shallow in order for us to recognize and identify with them as cultural icons like The Hero, The Girl, The Villain, The Sidekick, and The Wise Old Man.  “It was his job to withhold the actors from their full meaning,” says writer Jim Paul, “Real live actors generally make bad icons; the ones who are great at it, like John Wayne, are almost wholly one-dimensional in their acting.”  Frugal and practical in his daily life, it is no wonder that Lucas was attracted to such a simple and efficient means of narration, for “What Lucas lost in nuance, he gained in immediacy” (Paul).

    However, in putting mythology to use in his film Lucas had another, more altruistic motivation.  Despite his oft quoted downplay that the Star Wars films are “only movies” (Pollock 272), the fact that movies can make a cultural impression was not lost on him.  When awarded an Irving G. Thalberg Award for maintaining an exceptionally high standard of filmmaking, Lucas said in his acceptance speech, “I’ve always tried to be aware of what I say in my films because all of us who make motion pictures are teachers; teachers with very loud voices” (Legacy).  Concerned that children were not growing up with clear role models, Lucas wanted to provide young viewers with the basic archetype of good vs. evil in a manner that was exciting and up-to-date.  In doing so, he also reawakened the innocent child within us all.  In his essay Star Wars: A Myth For Our Time, Andrew Gordon explains that “In the absence of any shared contemporary myths, Lucas has constructed out of the usable past, out of bits of American pop culture, a new mythology which can satisfy the emotional needs of both children and adults.”  The emotional needs Gordon is talking about are those that mythology has served since ancient times, providing an illusion to make sense of our lives and give us a structure to live by, hopes to aspire to, and ideals to stand for (Lyden).  The timeless tale of the heroic journey, complete with all of the most recognizable icons, gives Star Wars the power to transcend all boundaries of time and place, and to touch the unconscious desires shared by the human race (Harrison).  Set in the realm of fantasy “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away,”⁶ Star Wars offers viewers a vision of the world not as it could be, but as we dream it should be.  As Gordon concludes his essay, “Kids’ stuff, after all, is the stuff that dreams are made of.”

    As with most mythologies, the one that Lucas creates in Star Wars could not function without a religion to support it.  In Star Wars, this spiritual level is expressed quite clearly in the form of The Force, a mystical power that “binds the universe together.”⁷   Scholars have been able to find elements of practically every religion known to man within the teachings of this Jedi religion.  From Eastern philosophies there is the integration of body, mind, and spirit, and from Western beliefs there is Christian process theology, the concept that God is both around and within each individual (The Wars).  Certainly when characters tell each other, “May the Force be with you,” it is an appropriation of the Christian phrase, “May the Lord be with you” (Jenkins 59).  Lucas’ distillation of religion into its most basic and universal form was not, however, simply an academic process.  Whereas mythology was a method of presenting a basic morality with which Lucas agreed, The Force is an actual manifestation of his more personal spiritual beliefs.  “The conclusion I’ve come to is that all the religions are true,” he told Bill Moyers in a recent interview, “I put the Force into the movie in order to try to awaken a certain kind of spirituality in young people – more a belief in God than a belief in any particular religious system.  I wanted to make it so that young people would begin to ask questions about the mystery” (Moyers 92).  Star Wars is therefore the Gospel according to George, in which Lucas weaves various mythological and religious traditions to create his own cosmology about responsibility, loyalty, morality, and faith (The Wars).  The unexplainable, magical nature of The Force brings out the mystery of existence, not answers, and by touching on people’s values and insecurities it makes Star Wars more moving than a mere adventure film.

    While the special effects, suspension of disbelief, and fast pace give Star Wars its entertainment value, the thematic, mythological, and religious aspects give it psychological weight as well.  An amalgamation of elements simultaneously personal and social, old and new, technical and spiritual, it is a miracle that Star Wars sticks together as well as it does.  Anthony Daniels, better known as the golden droid C-3PO, explained this accomplishment in the following way:

We all have been exposed to myths, legends and fantasy.  We’ve read it as children, seen it in our movies and on television.  There are fears that are pretty basic to mankind.  There are taboo areas for children and parents.  There is love and hate.  There is fear and bravery.  And I think George Lucas somehow culled all of these things into a particular mixture, shoved a little magic in as well, and the result was Star Wars and everything that sprang from it 20 years ago. (Naha 31)

  ⁶ From my own transcription of Star Wars
  ⁷ From my own transcription of Star Wars
  ⁸ Definitions from Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary:  “Effervescent = gay, lively, sparkling; bubbling.”  “Giddy = frivolous and lighthearted; impulsive; flighty. Attended with or causing dizziness.”