The Star Wars Saga and Sacred Texts

One thing that I find remarkable about the Star Wars Saga is really typified by this Saga Forum on TF.N. That is the way it is debated-even down to some of the vocabulary used, such as the word "canon". The word "canon" comes from theology and the study of sacred texts, talking about what books in the Bible are legitimate and which are appocraphal (and thus not canon, but rather "appochrypha"). The level of exigesus found here and in other fora is really akin to centuries old debates on the Bible, the Koran, the Talmud and other sacred texts. While I for one can be both a "gusher" and a "basher" of various Star Wars films, characters, themes, etc., I think this here is really what George Lucas's achievement is--for all its faults, I can't think of any other film, film series or even novel of the 20th century that can approach this level of debate and discourse. I do think Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is a better story, but it is something that does not lead to this kind of debate and all the various interpretations found here. Also I think this success at stimulating fans is something beyond the control of its creator, much like the writers of the Bible have no control over its interpretation--so Lucas's own interpretations and intentions are really of little importance to me. For me this is what makes the Saga so fascinating, deep and wonderful, even when it fails as "art". What do others think?

 

Success can only be measured by it's failure. Of course Star Wars has not failed in any terms, but it has so many levels to it (many unintentional) that through dissecting it all we find much more to talk about then just the film in general.

I agree, it's great to have a Saga filled with so many different aspects that it keeps us loaded with conversations and debates for years to come.

 

To add some humor to the thread, like the Bible which has two sections, the Old Testament and the New Testament, the Star Wars Saga has two sections, the Old Testament (the OT) and the New Testament (the PT) and this alone causes schisms in the "faith": you have those who reject the PT entirely, those who think the Anakin's story is more important than Luke's and thus find the PT the "meat" of the story, those who look at Luke's story as the "meat" and therefore place more emphasis on the OT. Then you have the faithful who go so far as to accept all of the EU (the way some denomenations accept texts and interpretations outside the Bible).

One can make these analogies:
Star Wars "Jews": accept the OT as divinely inspired and reject the PT.
Star Wars "Protestants": accept both trilogies as the word of God, but put more emphasis on the PT.
Star Wars "Eastern Orthodox": accept both trilogies as the word of God, but put more emphasis on the OT.
Star Wars "Catholics": accept both trilogies as the word of God as well as considering all or parts of the EU as dogma of the Church.

Please take this in the spirit it was meant: good fun!

 

not bad, poppy. and the apocryphs would be the EU, right?

and what about all the new churches springing up? can we have a reformed PT fan section, too? ah, the analogy is marvellous.

to conclude, most of the films that use chosen ones only use the new testament.

 

Great analogy, Darth Poppy. I am a Catholic in real life and Star Wars although I don't necessarily accept all EU as sacred because I have not read much of it but I must say that anything Luceno writes should be canon!!!! Dark Lord was fantastic as well as Labyrinth of Evil.

 

another thing occurred to me, though: if the OT is the old testament and the PT the new, then some people's insistance to watch films in the order they were made is explicable.

in other words: why does lucas pose these in the wrong order?

 

Because Lucas didn't want his "Church" to have a Schism. He wants us all to be Star Wars Catholics, viewing the OT and PT in the same light and having some beliefs in the "Dogma" of the EU. This is not because he himself favors the OT, the PT, or the EU. It is because he himself is interested in selling the entire range of his product (In this case sell meaning for monetary profit.) A Catholic priest wants to "Sell" the entire range of the Catholic product because it is what encompasses the belief system of his particular sect of Christianity. He wants you to read the Old Test., New Test., observe lent, don't eat meat on Friday, go to Church on Sunday, Etc. Lucas wants you to watch the OT, the PT, buy Lucasarts video games, buy Star Wars Novels, buy action figures....

Carnage

 

oh of course he wants us to be catholics, yet even with catholics you can end up having an interesting conversation about the difference in story telling in old and new testament. and anyway, the PT is just the new teastament gone to hell in a handbasket, right. i mean, the analogy doesn't *entirely* fit.

 

DarthPoppy, you are absolutely right on target with your analysis of Star Wars as theology. As a recovering Calvinist, I'm reminded of Bible classes I've sat through where elders of the church chewed over obscure passages from Scripture when I read the various efforts to reconcile bits and pieces of the movies with each other or the canon with the EU. I must say Star Wars posters do their theology in a much friendlier and more respectful fashion than the church elders did! Anyway, I will identify myself as a reformed SW poster; Sola Scriptura. I've tended to avoid anything EU because I haven't wanted my enjoyment of the story and characters of the Saga to be tainted by 'heretical' interpretations. Comments I've read about the Lucerno books are intriguing, though. I may yet dabble in The Apochrypha. Hope the elders don't find out!

 

Nice list, but what about the "Heretics"?

Sure, there are/were a lot of heresies going on throughout the history of the Church, but how would these relate to one's perspective on the SW Saga?

I mean, say you're like me, and think: 1) that both the OT and the PT are the word of God - but that they're also incomplete until the Ultra-Mega-Super-Editions come out in 2007(or whenever), 2) that the EU, while it has has a few good points, is too full of continuity errors to be considered anything more that generally useless, 3) even though you hated the Ewoks when you were a kid, you're slowly coming around to actually like them - because a) I liked Jar Jar (and all the Gungans) in TPM - and so I have to be fair to the little furballs, don't I? and 4) you prefer to watch the films in Black and White... from time to time?

And, when can I expect to be burned at the stake? lol

You can now begin with the "Spanish Inquisition" jokes.

You *know* you want to...

 

Winston_Sith, of course you are right. I myself am a heretic:
I accept Star Wars as the word of God, Empire Strikes Back, and Revenge of the Sith as divinely inspired, while I find Return of the Jedi and Attack of the Clones as Apochrypha and The Phantom Menace and the EU as BLASPHEMY!!! So burn me at the stake! So I am neither Jew nor Christian, entirely. I must Gnostic or something.

 

does this interpretation make Trekkies Satanists??



very good analysis though, i have noticed this as well. It truely shows how mythology is created. Movies have become the myths of the modern world and Star Wars is perhaps the worlds first instance of a full-out religion developing out these myths (quite literally it seems, as jedi is now an officially-recognized religion). Isn't social study fascinating?