Episode V: the Luuuv Triangle Strikes Back

I was in a record store the other day and noticed that they had the SW soundtrack as number 5 on the religion chart.(it wasn't a mistake there were a bunch in this slot) This disturbs me. Does it anyone else. Is this a sign it has gone too far????

 

Star Wars can't ever go to far!!

 

If it goes as far as to become a religion I think some people have serious problems. If it is getting considered that then IT HAS GONE TO FAR!

Is this Lucas' plan??????????????? Hmmmmmmmm

[This message has been edited by RingWorm (edited 08-12-1999).]

 

LOL... #5 on the religion chart... that's hysterical!! I'm betting that was someone's idea of a joke...

 

I think that was in reference to the style of music on the album, not the content.

As for it being a religion? What was your first clue? Star wars has thousands of sites where people can come and pay homage to it (you're on one now), people have made great pilgrimiges just to stand in line to see it (take the Mann's Theater people and the UK people coming over for the US premiere), and the only names that garner more of a following are Jesus, Allah and Buddha.

 

First off, yes I am at this site because it's fun not because I worship it. I do not consider it a religon.

Second, If the reason why it is on the religon chart is because of the style of music it is, then why isn't the rest of John William's music on it. They are all the same style.

Third, I don't think it was someone's idea of a sick joke. Not for the past almost four months now!

[This message has been edited by RingWorm (edited 08-12-1999).]

 

The style is classical. There's nothing religious about it.

 

From http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/et?ac=000689061765293&rtmo=0XK00xeq&atmo=lllllllx&pg=/et/99/3/30/bfstar30.htmlan article on the Electronic Telegraph :

Francis Ford Coppola once seriously proposed to Lucas that, since the frenzy surrounding the film was so great, he should start a religion, using the philosophy of "The Force" as his central text. "Religion is where the real power is, George," he said.

When you think about, Mr. Lucas is almost half way there. He has the money, influence, and a sufficently self-contradictory, yet cohesive and engaging story line (with the introduction of Ep I) to keep 'scholars' busy sifting for meaning and for centuries on end.

Coppola was dead on. Religion is where the real power is.

 

I'm with Ejan and Baron Soontir. What are religions, anyway? Explanations for the unexplainable. Religions are largely based on mythical stories that are handed down through the ages. Open the bible and what do you see? Stories. Based on fact, or no, stories they remain.

Unfortunately, however, these old stories no longer inspire the vast majority of us, particularly in the west. They seem to inspire more intolerance and hatred than anything. Humanity needs new stories to help foster ethics and goodness relevant to a new age.

The Force can be a synonym for God, Higher Power, Creative Intelligence, the energy that surrounds and binds the universe together, etc. Whatever you want to call it, the religious connotations, or perhaps, more accurately, spiritual connotations, are undeniable.

Nothing has ever brought me more faith. Not Mass, that's for sure. And I've learned more about why I should try to be a decent human being from Star Wars and other great stories than I have from any other source.

If that makes it a religion, count me in.

 

*sigh* I have written quite extensively on the ways in which Star Wars is like a religion (or is a religion), as the long-term members will recall. HOWEVER, the soundtrack is not religious. The soundtrack is just a plain old secular classical score.

 

Its seems that I am not surprised.......

The religon in SW is subtle but noticeable...

It is quite humorous that it is in the religion charts.

 

Yeah, but before TPM who would've ever guessed Anakin would be the Christ figure in all this?



SW is the Greatest Story Ever Told.

 

And RingWorm, why would it be a "sick joke"? How do you think most religions get started, anyway? It's been going in that direction for 20 years. Where have you been? I personally have my own religion, but SW is just as legitimate as anything.

And religion doesn't necessarily connote worship.

I guess this means my action figures are ... what? No longer play things or collectibles, but rather plastic idols?

THAT is kinda disturbing ...

 

I can not believe that Boba Fett would die so easily, but apart from that Star Wars is more believable than certain other popular mythical tales.

Why not turn it into a religion? I would have Yoda over the Pope any day of the week.

 

No way, Star Wars is just a movie. Some of the greatest movies of all time but definitely not more than that. Repeat after me... "Star Wars is just a movie"

 

Amen to that!
I wonder if maybe the guys at that record store weren't trying to tell US something...
But I don't care... SW is not a religion, it is BETTER than a religion (collecting action figures is more fun than collecting crucifixes -- no disrespect, mind you)

 

Thank you Darklord of the Sith. It is Just a movie! And it is just a fantasy/science fiction story. I am waiting for people to make a pilgrimage to Skywalker Ranch. Before you know it people are going to start bowing to the growth that makes Lucas' neck huge. The bottom line is Lucas or SW would'nt be here if it wasn't for GOD!!!!

[This message has been edited by RingWorm (edited 08-13-1999).]

 

Actually, ringworm, we do make a pilgrimage to Star Tours in Disneyland... it's almost a religious experience!

 

Star Wars is just a series of movies.
Of course, it is not a religion.

But the movies do have a non denominational message to them that trancensds all religions. This is why it is so popular, because it pretty much jibes with just about everyone's views of right and wrong.

You might say that Star Wars is a gateway to other religions. Kind of like how ganja is considered a gateway drug to more serious additctions. You get into Star Wars, and hear its vaugly religious reverence, which makes you think to yourself: "Well what do I beleive". Then you start off on this journey of discovery. About yourself, and about what you perceive to be "The Way".

Not because your mom made you go to Sunday school, but because you are really interested in finding out first hand... what to beleive in.

As Obi Wan says in Jedi. "You will find that many of the truths we cling to, rely greatly on our point of view."

Anyway, going to church can be a good thing, if that is what yo beleive in. But you have to ask yourself why do you go to church?

Is it because you beleive it is the way? or is it because you have heard that if you don't you will not be able to get into heaven (or whatever bonus level your religion talks about) at the end of your life?

I think it is much better to make your own inquiries as to what our existance is, then and only then can you truely beleive anything with utter conviction.

 

Surely the key thing about The Force in Star Wars is that its power can be demonstrated very easily. In Star Wars it doesn't take that long for Han Solo to say those famous words 'may The Force be with you'. Although it might not be easy to have faith in just how powerful The Force is (Luke can't believe that his ship could be raised out of the swamp) to believe that The Force exists is very easy when you see a Jedi in action.

The power of (any) god just can't be demontrated like the Jedi demonstrate The Force. Our religions require much more faith, a belief in things that are supported by little evidence and indeed that often contradict scientific theory.

Star Wars is something we can all believe in.

 

Before we go any further, shouldn't someone maybe define religion?

And if SW is "just" a series of movies, then does that mean the Bible is "just" a series of books?

"As though to breathe were life!"
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson

 

Ol'val, all.

(You all knew I would end up here sooner or later!)

OED:
1. The belief in a superhuman controlling power, especially in a personal God or gods entitled to obedience or worship.
2. The expression of this in worship.
3. A particular system of faith and worship.
4. Life under monastic vows [is this one relevant to anyone here?]
* but just look at the next one:
5. A thing that one is devoted to.

Origin: Old French "religion," Latin "religio -onis," meaning obligation, bond, reverence.

Apart from #5, however: only #3 seems directly relevant at all. (Presumably we all do know that GL is not a god?)


So much for the OED.


On a (quasi) side note:
Could anyone post some step by step instructions on how to bring images within a thread? I seem to have this complete lack of electronic genes, and the administrators are backlogged.


A computer is almost human - except that it does not blame its mistakes on another computer.

<hey! oh i see, thank you i think - kayla>

 

Hi Shar!

Yes, Lucas is not a god. He would be the "prophet"!

BTW, "religio", the Latin, means "linking back," to be precise.

Dedalus - Latin Student Extraordinaire

 

You asked for a definition of religion?..... Ok, here it is!


-religion n. 1.a. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creater and governor of the universe. 4. A cause, a principle, or an activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.-

That came from "The American Heritage College Dictionary, third edition"


I skipped a few references, because they didn't really apply to our question.




[This message has been edited by KSkywalker (edited 08-13-1999).]

 

Umm... i think that it is in the #5 slot because religous people buy it alot... because it isnt evil in any way.
Not because star wars is a religion