It’s hard to imagine anything more important in our culture than Star Wars.
Yes, there are ideas and archetypes we share, but only one story has been passed down artistically and socially from generation to generation in such a comprehensive manner … and that is Star Wars.
Star Wars IS our culture.
It’s completely magical in its approach in storytelling, because it is ABOUT us, and WE are the storytellers — and that is completely revolutionary.
Creator George Lucas grew up watching random Flash Gordon serials in theaters before features. These serials first debuted in the 1930s, so by the time Lucas saw them, only random episodes were shown. So when a guy all of the sudden had an eye patch or robotic arm, young Lucas had to make up the reasons for such developments in his head.
This, most likely, was the reason he eventually labeled the first Star Wars film as Episode IV: A New Hope. In doing so, he asked us to make up the rest — and that’s what we did. Acting out stories with action figures, or in back yards with friends, family, and neighbors, an entire generation’s imagination exploded.
And, culturally, it all meant something. With the connective tissue of the Joseph Campbell Hero’s Journey, Lucas created a tale about the victory of the soul — about nature’s triumph over technology. Following the malaise of the 1970’s, a story about the spiritual awakening of the individual simply rocked the world.
This set a benchmark that has never been reached in cultural art: The main relationship Star Wars has is with US. Because this has never been lost — no matter who the caretakers of this galaxy is — it has stood as a collection of our artifacts as it relates to our history.
Star Wars will run as a main theme throughout the life of this blog. It is both a reflection of our cultural mythology, and a beacon of hope for our future.
