Star Wars and The Odyssey: A Thesis exploring the commom mythic themes

Hello there.

I am both a graduate student in psychology and English, and I am writing my thesis about the common mythological themes found in both Star Wars and The Odyssey. Joseph Campbell's work is a large part of my thesis. It also has a large identity development component to it.

Anyway, being we are all Star Wars experts here, I am interested in any ideas anyone might want to bounce around about this particular topic.

I will be sure to cite anyone who contributes an original idea.

But even if that never happens, it could be fun just to explore this issue with others who share common interests, and also help to keep my mind working and thinking about these connections.

Looking forward to hearing what anyone might have to say.

 

This documentary on the history channel may answer all your questions.
http://www.history.com/minisites/starwarslegacy/

 

Thanks for the link. And while helpful, it will hardly answer all my questions.

And I was hoping to start a dialogue and exchange of ideas here.

For instance, both Luke and Telemachus do not know their fathers and believe they are dead. Both father's fought in a pivotal war (Clone and Trojan war).

And both eventually have a reunion with their fathers.

How are these reunions in each story different. How are they similar?

 

How many credits do I get??

 

All of them.

No, seriously, I was just hoping to bounce around ideas for those who would be interested in doing so.

 

Its been a awhile since I've had to read the Odyssey so I can't provide any links. However, its one of the few popular myths that I haven't seen compared to Star Wars often. Curious why you chose that and not one of the more classical "Hero's Journey" stories?

 

I don't think you can get any more classical in term of stories that conform to Campbell's momomyth (i.e., hero's journey) than The Odyssey. It's typically one of the prime examples of the pattern.

What other stories are you more familiar with/did have in mind?

 

Like I said the Odyssey is very hazy to me. You've got the sirens, right? You can link them to Palpatine and Anakin. You've got the slaughter in the dining hall, can link that to the slaughter of the younglings.

Have you ever check out this book?

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Magic-Myth/dp/0553378104

 

Thanks for the link.

I know of the book. A little too surface level for a project like this.

I really don't need resources. I have plenty.

I know what it will be about, and I've written a good portion.

But I don't want to say exactly what it's about for a variety of reasons.

Such connections, as the ones you mentioned, are a bit of a stretch. This is more of an identity development crtique, using Campbell's Monomyth and Cosmogonic cycle as a sort of guide (but it is much more involved than that).

Although the slaughter is kind of interesting. I might be able to compare how both father's, Odysseus an Anakin, were involved in a slaughter.

How is the slaughter related to who they are, for both characters? What role does violence play in the stories and for the individual characters? Is this violence tendency a metaphor for something else?

I kind of like that idea (I'm sort of thinking out loud here). Both stories involve violence. What is the metaphor for violence getting at in terms of an individual's identity development?

 

I'm not sure how specific you want to get because a lot of times the urge to link Star Wars to myths of the classical age results in some forced comparisons--not because the comparisons are particularly tenuous, but simply because the comparisons are unremarkable, ie a million other Hollywood films use the same device. I suppose the main point of comparison is that both are a sort of "Quest" type story, but IMO there are more differences than similarities. Star Wars is pastiche in the way it draws from sources, so there are some similarities but it doesn't stick very faithfully to any one genre or source.

 

yeah i guess we'd have to look into the uniqueness of the links...

i'd think that odysseus is more resourceful than anakin in his journey.

 

Star Wars is absolutely a pastiche. That is part of my argument. And it's not exactly a comparison contrast piece. A masters thesis needs to be more than that.

I am using these two prime stories to exemplify a motif that seems to have transcended times. I am using other stories, briefly, as well, but my focus will be on these to stories.

It's very specific, this motif, and it contributes to an identity development model, based on this analysis.

While some comparison between Odysseus and Anakin can be made, I am more interested in the Telemachus/Luke connection. Also, I am doing some work with the mentor role: Athena and Obi-Wan.

 

I dont know if you did the paper or not yet or if this is just so obvious that no one wasted their time posting it but there are actual scenes that directly correlate with the odyssey. When Han navigates through the asteroid field it is a representation of the clashing rocks. Another is when they battle over the gorlack pit (if thats how you spell it) it is very similar to the creature charybdis.

 

You mean the sarlacc pit?

 

Here's how I might begin to compare them:

An Epic is a long story that often takes place over many years and is set in several nations, the whole world, or even the universe.- Applies to both stories

The gods and mortals both play an active role in the outcome of actions. Jedi would fill the roles of gods, important non-Jedi characters fill the roles of mortals.

The main character or protagonist is heroically larger than life, often the source and subject of legend or a national hero. This describes Odysseus, and an argument could be made that it describes multiple Star Wars characters.

Epic Heroes:
A man who seems able to conquer most problems, even though he has no ?super powers.?
He is faithful to his family, his country, and his god.
He is brave; he feels fear, but he overcomes his fears because he knows he has responsibilities, which are to defeat evil and allow goodness to prevail. This is obviously Odysseus, but in Star Wars I would say that Han Solo more easily fits this definition.

Themes of The Odyssey:
Loneliness
Feeling Lost
The importance of home
Not being perfect, but doing the best you can
Loyalty

All of the above themes can be found in Star Wars.

 

I would write your thesis on 'The Force As Religion', and use the kernel presented here as the backbone

http://boards.theforce.net/the_star_wars_saga/b10456/29545449/p1/?0

its a rather obscure positon. most people are too consumed by 'light side versus dark side' to even see the third path.

-= cheers =-