Saga Star Wars Ring Theory

I have already shared it with some people on Twitter! I'm hoping that others will take the time to analyze it this deeply also

 

Great essay so far! I've skimmed over it, and am half way through reading it in detail.

My favourite observations so far have been the synchronisation of clock-time moments in TPM/ROTJ. I had noticed a lot of this stuff in less detail, but the way you have presented it is quite impressive. I too find this kind of aspect of the movies underrated, and there really is a lot that encourages repeated viewings, moreso than most other movie franchises. While I once thought I had a particular pattern worked out, then realised that each and all the movies in the six-movie-saga have links between them, your pattern is far more in-depth than anything I've come up with.

On a side-note, I once watched TPM and AOTC simultaneously (years back), and there were several moments that matched up. The most significant I think... Anakin's farewell to Shmi (TPM) happens at the same time as she is found, and dies, at the Tusken camp in AOTC.

I think your observation of the the trilogies moving in reverse direction is very interesting, I haven't read your whole essay yet, but I had partially noticed this aspect in the arcs of Anakin's fall and Vader's redemption. There are so many inversions and role-reversals in these films, your essay seems to put the ROTS/ANH inversion in far more broad a motif than I had noticed, and I've thought about it alot.

Just off the top of my head, one similar thing I noticed (that I posted on my "compilation of direct trilogy mirrors" thread on the saga forum), was the mirror of Anakin losing Shmi and Luke'sexperience in the Dagobah cave. What you observed was very similar, but I failed to include Yoda reacting to his observance of the two events .Nice catch.

 

i just read that section and it was definitely very enlightening and fascinating. This is not a theory but an absolute fact...2 + 2 = 4 style...It makes absolute sense..now I understand what you mean by the way ESB begins is how ATOC ends and vice versa...Lucas doesn't get enough credit for this...in fact he needs to stop being so modest and defend his work, especially the prequels...Lucas has been accused as being very arrogant (especially for not giving certain fans an HD transfer of the unaltered original trilogy) but this shows that he doesn't mind if "it all went over our heads" and he doesn't try to press his rare and ingenuis idea on us...I wonder what fools like RLM would say about this? They probably don't even have the discipline to read your essay...

And I like how you used some of Carl Jung's work in your essay...I got 2 degrees in psychology and I am very familiar with his work..

I'm still blown away by that concept...AOTC ends the way ESB begins and ESB begins where AOTC ends...mmmmmm....

I might have to watch AOTC sometime soon...and while I can appreciate this story telling device being present in the film...I can't get over some the dialogue and plot devices that seem illogical to me...I'm going to make a new thread posting some of them...I'd like you to try and explain some of these things to me because Lord knows I've tried to like this film...but I can't leave "my brain at the door." I'll call the thread "Can you defend AOTC?"

Oh and I'll read the ANH/ROTS sections tonight

 

I think it's a fact too. I'm actually using the word "theory" in the more scientific sense of the term.

And I'd love to talk more about AOTC. I know a lot of people get hung up on the "stylistic choices" that Lucas made (which I'll address in a future essay), but I think the film is incredible cinematic achievement. Start the thread and let's go!

Keep reading! I can't wait to hear what you think about the rest--and the continued descent. It still blows my mind.

 

HevyDevy,

Thank you SO much for taking a look. I've heard some great things about your work. Do you have any links to it you could share? I'd love to see what you came up with. And I'm dying to hear more of your thoughts if you get a chance to finish it.

 

Thanks Seagoat! I can use all the help I can get to spread the word.

 

Seagoat,

What's funny too, is that the films are even a lot deeper than I presented them to be in the essay. I had to leave A LOT on the cutting room floor and remember, I really only focused on the ABC 'C'B'A pattern...I really didn't go into detail on the ABC 'A'B'C pattern. And in my research, I found it to be just as impressive. Even from the opening frames of TPM, which Lucas designed to reflect ANH. TPM opens with a ship entering a blockade, ANH begins with a ship escaping a blockade. Both films begin with a small skirmish on a spaceship. In TPM, the good guys appear out of the "gas". In ANH, the bad guys appear out of the "smoke." It's really quite unbelievable.

 

And it appears I have a thing or two to learn about commenting on these boards. Sorry about the screwy posts.

 

I've got to admit, reading your first post in this thread, I was quite skeptical and, if you can forgive my saying, I even thought it sounded a bit crazy. But I just finished reading your entire essay straight through--I couldn't stop, it was so engaging and well-written--and I must say I believe you've more or less proved your thesis beyond any reasonable shadow of a doubt. I've heard scattered murmurs of something like Ring Theory operating in the Star Wars saga before, but I know of no one who's synthesized and explained it as clearly and as definitively as you just have. It's really a stunning piece of work, and I hope it gets a lot of traction on the Internet. Frankly, I think this essay is worthy of being acknowledged by professional film critics.

Hopefully I'm not being too over-the-top in my praise, but I honestly can't remember the last time I was this excited about Star Wars.

 

Oh, no need to say thanks, your essay's thoughts are far better presented than mine. I appreciate your efforts, you've obviously thought about it alot, and it's presented in a way that won't isolate casual fans.

My stuff has all been on this site following the release of Revenge of the Sith, that was the movie that changed me from a casual viewer to a fan. I'd love to hear your feedback on some of it.


Some links...

This is my most recent thread, some parallels based on (ABC A'B'C') as you put it.
http://boards.theforce.net/threads/...irrors-1-4-2-5-3-6-note-image-heavy.50023924/


Your TPM-ROTJ mirrors are perhaps more extensive and organised than this one (it's TPM and ROTS mirrors), but you may find it interesting nonetheless. I find Ep1 and Ep3 are great as supersticious opposites, representing very contrasting periods for Anakin and the galaxy generally, there are a huge amount of opposites between the two films.
http://boards.theforce.net/threads/...ee-warning-image-heavy-slow-loading.50023053/


A more random thread, it's a misc collection of stuff from all six movies .
http://boards.theforce.net/threads/hidden-meaning-in-star-wars.50019900/



This is an older (again quite random) thread. It's a joint effort, and has a fair bit of repetition with the other links, but if you get the time to look over it it may be interesting.
http://boards.theforce.net/threads/visual-links-note-image-heavy.50003768/

 

I think you just listed mostly every single one of my favourite threads on this forum

 

I finished the ANH/ROTS section and liked it a lot...However why didn't you include a parallel between Vader escaping the battle at the death star with Grievious escaping the battle over Corusunt? I was really perplexed why you overlooked that or didn't mention it...

And i watched ATOC after reading your essay and it didn't seem so unbearable to me as before...the romance is still lame but it seems more insignificant considering that you've illuminated a much bigger picture than I initially imagined...

 

What I think Lucas did was take plot points 1 and 2 in ANH and flip them in ROTS. In conventional screenwriting, the major turning points at or around the end of the first and second acts are called plot points 1 and 2. So, plot point 1 in ANH is the jaw massacre/discovery of the barbecued Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru and plot point 2 is the escape from the death star with the stolen plans to the hidden rebel base. Lucas flipped them in ROTS, so plot point 1 becomes Grevious' escape from the Invisible Hand to the hidden separatist base and plot point 2 becomes the youngling massacre/discovery that Anakin was responsible.

Vader escaping at the end of ANH isn't really a major plot point. It's just a minor story point to basically end the film in typical serial fashion (think Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon from the 30s and 40s i.e., Tune in next week/To be continued/There's going to be a sequel).

That being said, I'm all but certain the theory isn't perfect and I look forward to revising it after more Star Wars experts such as yourself are able to weigh in and challenge it.

P.S. With Clones, try not to get hung up on Lucas' stylistic choices. The dialogue and the performances are very much intended to mimic the films of Hollywood's Golden Age...it's basically an old film with modern effects. And we all know how much mainstream audiences like to watch old films.

 

HevyDevy,

THANK YOU! When I get some free time (hopefully in the next few days) I'll check out your links. I can't wait.

Phantom Calamari,

I really don't know what to say. I printed out your comment and pegged it to my board. This is probably how Chewie would feel if ever received that medal he so deserves. My only gripe is that I'm in the camp that most film critics really don't know a whole lot about cinema.

Believe me, I KNOW how crazy all this sounds for people when they first hear about it. And I think it took a special kind of visionary like Lucas to be able to pull off something this crazy. Sometimes I wonder whether he's just playing with us when he talks about making more "experimental" films--because he may have already made one of the most experimental narrative films in history and we're just now realizing it.

 

I guess you could look at it like that...especially the running in the field of grass scene and that always crossed my mind...it looked like a scene from Gone with Wind or something..when I say lame I just mean Anakin thinking about Padme everyday for 10 years since he was 9. One thing I don't like shouldn't ruin the whole film though...right? Okay maybe 2, can't stand that younglings training scene either...

Thanks for this essay bro. Ever thought of seeking out Lucas to clarify? Celebration 2015 tickets are on sale, maybe you'll find him there...I'm going this is going to be epic especially for Ep 7

 

I personally wouldn't get my hopes up when it comes to the new trilogy expanding on this template. Even if Abrams and co. had been made aware of all this, I doubt they'd want to pen themselves in too much by having to adhere to a complicated structural framework the vast majority of the audience wouldn't even appreciate.

But if I'm wrong....that would blow my mind all over again.

 

Again, great essay. Your tying daoism (which I knew little about until now) and philosophy into it made it very interesting, it adds a lot of depth to the movies. And you've noticed a lot of mirrors I hadn't thought of, which I always love to read about.

I'd noticed some of the ROTS/ANH mirroring myself, but the ring structure is so much more complex than what I had personally imagined. And I was wondering how the links between other episodes (such as 1/3, 4/6) came into it, which you accounted for with the "rings within rings".

Just out of interest, where would you think AOTC/ANH parallels would come into it (if at all)? Such as;

Anakin, age ninteen, sitting at the Lars table, gets up:
Owen: Where are you going?
Anakin: To find my mother.

Luke, age nineteen, sitting at the Lars table (same chair), gets up:
Beru: Where are you going?
Luke: Looks like I'm going nowhere! I'm gonna go finish cleaning those droids.

What I love about this parallel is the discussion beforehand of Luke's "missing" father, and the discussion beforehand of Anakin's missing mother. And Luke's yearning for his own destiny (as a Jedi, unbeknownst to him) is only satisfied (or made possible) when Owen and Beru are killed, leaving no reason for him to stay. Anakin, however, goes in search of his mother, and she dies in his arms, setting Anakin (unknowingly) on the path to becoming a Sith.


But anyway.
A few quick observations I liked (although there were heaps more)...

- Your point on Palpatine learning the "flaw of compassion" and the similarity in Padme and Luke in TPM/ROTJ is good.
- The land/space inversions in TPM's/ROTJ's final battle I had noticed, but you gave it far more meaning for me.
- The funeral pyres; when you get a chance to read my threads, I noted that these two bookend cremations are darkly inverted in the centre (or bottom of the ring) with Anakin being burned alive in ROTS. Notice Qui-Gon dies in Obi-Wan's arms, and Anakin in Luke's arms, yet with ROTS Obi-Wan dismembers Anakin and heartbrokenly lectures him on their lost bond, before Anakin is immolated (part of his metaphorical death).
- I never would have noticed that "City in the Clouds" at the beggining of AOTC / end of ESB involves the same number of ships.
- A lot of your matching run-time moments are fascinating. The Palpatine hologram / Luke hologram for example.
- I think you may be onto something with the third act of ESB actually being the start of ROTJ. And Anakin using green I have always found symbolic, he loses it fighting Dooku, and then is defeated with the blue saber Obi-Wan threw to him.
- The descent stuff is cool, like your visual progression of settings through ROTS. There really was an underrated level of thought put into Anakin's gradual fall, as fast as the actual turn itself may be.

I don't want to list everything I liked, because there was so much. Great effort.

 

One thing I find interesting is the conspicuous use of Episode IV elements in Episode II. I'm not sure if it would fit into Ring Theory in any way, but I think it's definitely there. For example:

- Anakin in Episode II is about the same age as Luke in Episode IV
- Obi-Wan cuts off somone's arm in a bar
- The Lars homestead first appears, with the scene taking place around the meal table directly referencing its counterpart from Episode IV
- Anakin and Padme land their Naboo yacht in a landing enclosure that looks very similar to Docking Bay 94
- Jawas appear with their sandcrawlers
- Sand People appear in a central antagonistic role
- Obi-Wan sends a holographic plea to Anakin for help, similar to Princess Leia's holographic plea to Obi-Wan in Episode IV
- Jango Fett bangs his head on a low door like a stormtrooper on the Death Star
- The Death Star schematics, which serve as the MacGuffin of Episode IV, make their first appearance
- Count Dooku plots with bunch of bad guys around a circular conference table, much like Grand Moff Tarkin later does

Now, obviously there are references to A New Hope scattered throughout all the prequels, given that it's the movie they're all building up to. But the references seem to be way more-on-the-nose in Episode II.

 

Yeah, I mentioned similar 1 post above you.

 

Oh darn, I'm sorry. I've been wanting to post that but didn't want to post two times in a row. So I just waited until someone else posted. Was planning on reading yours right after. D'oh!

 

No worries, funny coincidence. This forum is pretty strict on double-posting

 

This is extremely interesting, and all the more so because it explicates rationally a symmetry between Episodes I and VI that I first noticed intuitively some years ago. I have not actually thought about it much recently, but I can distinctly remember pondering the similarities between the speeder bike race and the podrace and the victories of primitives over technologically superior foes.

You finish your essay by noting that George "has never spoken publicly about ring composition". Yet your argument is so compelling, I think that someone really should put the question to George: is this intentional, subconscious, or pure coincidence?

 

I just wanted to drop everyone a quick note...I'm still here, still reading comments, and still trying to find more time to get on here and respond to everyone. There just aren't enough hours in the day, as the cliche goes. In the meantime, please share. Share like you've never shared before! No, but seriously, I'd be eternally grateful to all of you if everyone would post a link on their Facebook page and write a single tweet about it (with link of course ). Let's get the word out!

"...and I'll return. I promise."

MTFBWY
-Mike

 

Bump.
I find it interesting that ANH involves a friendship formed between Han and Luke, where ROTS involves the breakdown of Anakin and Obi-Wan's friendship.

 

There's also the beginning of a competition between Han and Luke for Princess Leia's affections, whereas in Episode III Anakin begins to feel like he is competing with Obi-Wan for Padme's loyalties.