"You will never find a more comprehensive film of philosophy and history."

Ever since its creating in 1977, George Lucas’ Star Wars franchise has been a staple of American culture the defined movie-making and the science fiction genre. The tales of the Skywalker family have resonated among moviegoers of all ages and holds many themes that people have no trouble identifying with. Whether it be through history, mythology, religion, or strong characters, Star Wars became so popular in part through its fresh take on familiar themes that viewers find comforting.

Historic influences are made very apparent in the imagery of Star Wars. It has been well known that the main conflict in the original Star Wars nnrilogy gets much of its inspiration from WWII. The Galactic Empire is a clear sci-fi take on Nazi Germany. Imperial troops are clad in all white to represent a superior world of white uniformity. In a galaxy full of alien species, only humans (and almost solely males) are represented in the Empire. Additionally, the most common type of Imperial infantry is called a Stormtrooper, which share their name with Adolf Hitler’s close guard.[1] To even further the Nazi imagery, in 2015’s The Force Awakens (TFA) a scene was shot where a screaming First Order official gives a violent speech before an enormous crowd of troops before unleashing their superweapon.

The WWII imagery does not end with the original trilogy. The Force Awakens paralleled its storyline with what happened to Nazis after WWII. In TFA storyline, it has been nearly 30 years since the fall of the Empire. While the New Republic has formed, a splinter group of Imperial sympathizers form the First Order, an organized attempt to continue what the Galactic Empire started. This mirrors the historic trend of former Nazis fleeing to South America after being defeated in WWII. Director JJ Abrams even stated in an interview that the First Order was meant to mirror the rise of Neo-Nazis.

Other war imagery has made its way into the Star Wars franchise. When coming up with concept art for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, director Gareth Edwards took photographs from the Vietnam War and pasted on Star Wars helmets and weapons. The aesthetics of the various wars had heavy influences on the final product of Rogue One. Additionally, one of the main generals in the finale of the film was heavily based on Winston Churchill in looks and mannerisms.

Another major historic trend that is represented in the Star Wars saga is the fall of the Rome. Rome was a hugely successful Republic that thrived for hundreds of years. However, after deception, corruption, and murder among the political elite the Republic fell and out of its ashes rose the Roman Empire. While Star Wars’ prequel trilogy does not follow the rise and fall of Rome as closely as it did with Nazi imagery, it’s similar themes cannot be ignored. In Star Wars the Old Republic stood for many years with the Jedi acting as peacekeepers. While peace was kept for thousands of years, many were frustrated with the complicated and slow lawmaking system. Soon a charismatic senator was elected Supreme Chancellor and was quickly granted emergency powers during a time of war. To say the Supreme Chancellor was corrupt would be an understatement. He was in fact Darth Sidious, a Sith Lord secretly orchestrating both factions of the Clone Wars. When the Jedi learned of this fact they mounted a mutiny against the Chancellor and attempted to assassinate him. The Sith Lord survived the attack and claimed that he had been attacked by the Jedi in a power grab by the Jedi Order. The galaxy then sided with the Chancellor and gave him the power to reorganize the Old Republic into the First Galactic Empire “for a safe and secure society.” This then led to the Empire enforcing its rule on the galaxy and crushing any group that stood in its way.

Roman influences can also be seen in scenes like the podrace in The Phantom Menace. The popular sporting event holds many resemblances to chariot racing, an equally deadly event in historic times. The podrace scene harkens back to Ben-Hur which is set in the Ancient Roman Empire.[2]

History is not the only major theme that Star Wars uses to tell it stories. Themes of religion are prevalent throughout the space opera. “May the Force be with you” has become one of the most popular film quotes of all time. In the films, the Force is “an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together.” The religion in Star Wars mirrors many pantheistic views of a higher being. In my opinion, the idea of the Force was a storytelling and marketing genius. The heroes of Star Wars are obviously religious and focus their stories on learning and trusting in the Force. This appeals to many religious movie goers like myself. It shows that faith in a higher power is not weakness, but can provide one with strength. Additionally, the Force is not specific enough to any single religion to make anyone feel left out. The Force created a religion that many people could subscribe to because it did not have many set moral boundaries. In its purest form, it represented the light and darkness in each individual.

An important storyline in Star Wars is the path of the Chosen One. Anakin Skywalker plays a savior role in the galaxy and is destined to bring balance to the Force. While many movies have a “chosen” character, Star Wars takes it a step further and likens Anakin to more of a Messiah figure. The character was born without a father, and it is alluded to the possibility that Anakin was conceived by the Force.

However, the religious themes surrounding the Chosen One go even deeper. A major philosophy in Star Wars is redemption. Characters face a constant battle with their inner thoughts of good and bad. Sometimes the bad become more prevalent, in the case of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. However, major characters are seen as redeemable.[3] In the main story, Luke Skywalker’s mission is not to kill Darth Vader, but to save Anakin Skywalker. Additionally, in The Force Awakens, Kylo Ren is not seen as completely evil, instead, he struggles with his own internal conflicts of light and darkness.

“Potential” is a big word when it comes to the philosophy of Star Wars. On the surface level, characters are measured by the potential of their power and what they could become. But on a deeper look, characters look at each other’s potential to do good. This is what drives Luke to redeem his father. Redemption is all about the potential to change one’s life and do good in the world. One cannot be redeemed if they do not have some level of potential. These themes are very prevalent in many of the world’s religions. Redemption and forgiveness can be found when an individual trusts and has faith in their higher power.

Religion becomes ancient, it is often seen as myth. Star Wars is very upfront with its mythological influences. However, the saga’s mythology is not all Greek Gods and Goddesses. Instead, it is an amalgamation of many of the stories that director George Lucas enjoyed as he grew up.

One of the most prevalent mythological themes is the western. From the very beginning, Lucas marketed Star Wars as cowboys in space. The most cowboy-like figure in the entire Star Wars saga is undoubtedly Han Solo. He is a fast-talking, quick-drawing, devilish character with a heart of gold. Han Solo’s introduction scene was even made to mirror the opening scene from the popular western The Gunfighter.[4] Additionally, in a galaxy full of exotic planets, much of the movie times take place on desert planets. Bars are frequented by the characters and shoot outs are a common occurrence. Finally, space smugglers must be on the lookout for bounty hunters and other gangsters that may attempt to capture or kill them.

However, Star Wars has become so successful for capitalizing on one of the most popular story arches of storytelling history. The hero’s journey. The underlying story of Star Wars can be found in many other classic stories. A farm boy who was orphaned at a young age meets a wise old man and some social outcasts and go on an adventure. On this adventure the boy grows and learns more about the world and himself. By the end of the story, the boy has rescued a princess, loses the mentor and defeats an evil wizard. Researchers have also noticed that Star Wars touches on almost every part of the hero’s journey; the ordinary world, meeting the mentor, answering the call to adventure, meeting the companions, crossing the threshold, undergoing trials, encountering the goddess, magic flight, crossing the return threshold and many others.[5] This common story arch can be seen in other famous stories like The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit, Harry Potter, Eragon, Greek Mythology and so many others. The hero’s journey has been so successful for Star Wars that the story was repurposed for The Force Awakens. However, the major difference with the 2015 film was that it was no longer specifically a hero’s journey, but a heroine’s journey.

Star Wars has had its moments of racism, sexism, and ignorance when it comes to its characters in films. Villains have been given stereotypically ethnic accents, women have been forced into revealing clothing, and we cannot forget the Star Wars Christmas Special where a man led a cooking show in drag and in blackface. However, in more recent years Star Wars has attempted to make up for their past with strong female characters. The most obvious and well-known for being a strong female character in the series is Princess Leia Organa. “She has been described as ‘a driven, dedicated woman with a forceful—if somewhat abrasive—personality’ who like her mother, was ‘active and successful in the political arena, as well as the most beautiful and remembered woman in the Star Wars universe.’”[6]

However, strong females have become more and more prevalent in the galactic stories.

Padme Amidala (Leia’s mother) was introduced as a tough queen who did her best to keep her planet out of war. However, when war inevitably came, she was able to fight alongside, and even lead a squadron of male soldiers.

The two most recent female characters in the stories were not just strong characters, but they were the focuses of the films. In Rogue One, Jyn Erso is the main character who leads and inspires a team of rebels to steal the plans of one of the Empire’s superweapons. Jyn is able to fight alongside, and sometimes even better than, her four other male counterparts.

The other popular character from recent Star Wars film, is Rey, who appeared in The Force Awakens. Rey is this generation’s answer to Luke Skywalker. She is brave, incredibly strong, kind-hearted, and all at the same time, shrouded in mystery. Her character learns a great deal over the course of her one film (so far).

One of the things that makes these two characters so unique to not just Star Wars, but to Hollywood as a whole, is that nowhere in their storylines, is there a love story. This would not be a big deal for a male character, but to have a female character who is not focused on finding a man, is relatively new to movies. Rey and Jyn are surrounded by men for the entirety of their films, but they are not in any way distracted by the males. They are not slowed down by romance and are never rescued by their male companions. Rey and Jyn stand apart from previous female roles in the saga. Padme was focused on her romance with Anakin, and Leia was focused on her romance with Han Solo. These strong independent characters have become fan favorites in recent movies.

Additionally, fans are quick to support the female characters when they get snubbed from marketing materials. There was a huge backlash to promotional material when The Force Awakens was being promoted. A major store was selling a pack of characters from the movie. All of which were males. None of them included Rey or Leia. Social media was in an uproar and demanded that Rey’s character be marketed just as heavily as other characters.

Star Wars has had a long and rich history both on and off the screen. It’s characters, stories and themes have brought in a fan base of all ages. One of the reasons this fan base has grown so big is because Star Wars holds so many familiar themes that we can recall or identify with. Whether it be using imagery from history, discussing aspects of religion, or empowering characters, Star Wars has created a franchise that will continue to be popular for years to come.