Tag: Star Wars

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May the Fourth Be with You

Star Wars fans celebrate May 4th as Star Wars Day thanks to the clever word-play with the franchise’s iconic commendation, “May the Force be with you.”

Catholic fans used to respond with “And also with you.” Somehow, the new translation doesn’t have the same feel, “And with your spirit,” but we’ll let it ride…it works. Whatever you do, don’t respond with “Live long and prosper.” Let’s keep our cultural quips in the right setting.

The impact of Star Wars, and the widespread acclamation of Star Wars Day has spread beyond the bounds of geekdom. My mom, who’d rather watch a good murder mystery, loves C3PO. I don’t think she’s ever actually seen any of the movies.

So what’s the allure of these films?

At its core, Star Wars illustrates the battle between Light and Darkness, Good and Evil. It hits us in the archetypal feels.

Sure, there are great explosions, fantastic battles, fun and interesting characters. And it’s a gift that keeps giving. I mean, who doesn’t love Baby Yoda? But it’s also a beautiful story of redemption and love. A story about discovering one’s identity and purpose in life and seeking something greater than ourselves.

At its core, Star Wars illustrates the battle between Light and Darkness, Good and Evil. It hits us in the archetypal feels. Click To Tweet

The bottom line is this: good prevails.

We love these stories because we can live vicariously through them. In fact, the hero’s journey is our own spiritual journey. We are drawn to these narratives as models for our own lives. We experience the things that make us human: loss, fear, yearning, temptation, friendship, commitment, and sacrifice. In the end, we learn the value of hope.

I’m happy to celebrate today. In an era increasingly nihilistic, George Lucas gave us A New Hope.

May the Force be with you!

I explore our connection to these heroic stories and characters, especially Rey and St Clare of Assisi, in Super Girls and Halos: My Companions on the Quest for Truth, Justice, and Heroic Virtue.

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Review: Star Wars

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker possesses just the right combination of nostalgia, archetype, arcs, surprises, and closure, not to mention explosions and impressive battles. I’ve enjoyed the Star Wars Saga since I was a teenager when the first film premiered in 1977, and have more or less liked every episode since that first one (minus the silly scene of the “family portrait” at the end of The Return of the Jedi and the incomprehensible Jar Jar Binks).

While I won’t say this is a franchise that defines me or has somehow dramatically impacted who I am, I do acknowledge that it has a meaningful impact on the culture.

In fact, Star Wars has been an excellent tool in my literature classes because of its great themes and archetypes.

I can love these films and wear the critic’s hat. The stories are predictable. The dialog is sometimes terrible. The resolutions are obvious. But the stories! They inspire and uplift me. I’m all about the both/and capabilities. The critics can point out what they want — the films speak to us in ways that delight and entertain. The bottom line is simple; the films are successful. They entertain us, make us laugh, make us cry. They give us heroes who are flawed and still manage to prevail. They give us a universe in which Good triumphs over Evil.

While we might discuss the themes of mercy and redemption throughout the series, with prodigal sons who descend into the Dark and then find the Light, we need only look back to the first episode release, Episode IV, to understand what this series is all about. When it first played that summer of 1977, it was just named Star Wars. The subtitle, A New Hope, came later, and is, to me, the key to understanding the whole story.

Evil — through chaos, war, oppression, and injustice — assaults the galaxy throughout the saga. Nevertheless, our heroes do not fall into despair though they do come close a few times. They long for peace, justice and love to prevail. Nothing is more poignant than Leia and Han’s love for their son, Ben, and their hope he return home. Or Rey’s conviction that the Light is worth fighting for, despite her own fears. Or Luke’s faith that the Light will, in fact, prevail.

Our heroes put their hope in the Light, giving them the strength to persevere in the fight. We love these films because the good guys win. Because hope, as we understand it as Catholic Christians, “keeps man from discouragement; it sustains him during times of abandonment; it opens up his heart in expectation of eternal beatitude. Buoyed up by hope, he is preserved from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity” (CCC 1818).

Hope permeates the Star Wars Saga and that is why it resonates with so many people. Not a hope that is filled with happy endings and good luck, but the deep desire and longing for happiness that is rooted in the Good.

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Star Wars: The Last Jedi Trailer #2 Premieres

Are you excited about Star Wars: The Last Jedi? Christmas will come a little early for me, as the film premieres on December 15th! Tonight, we’ll see the premiere of the second trailer during half-time of Monday Night Football’s match-up between the Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears.

I’ll be watching. There was a time when I was a big fan of the Purple Gang, probably because I had a crush on Donny Osmond and his favorite color was purple. Eventually, though, I had a bigger crush on Han Solo. And an even bigger fascination with the Star Wars saga. It was inevitable that I would write about characters that have influenced me or moved me in some way. So much so, that I feature Rey, the heroine of these last films, in Super Girls and Halos.

Stars Wars’ appeal to me, after the cool special effects, is in the story-telling. I love to see the epic battle of Good vs. Evil play out on the big screen. Although Lucas was often criticized for bad dialogue — as a kid I never noticed. As an adult, I didn’t care — the story is greater than a few cheesy lines here and there.

In The Force Awakens, we meet Rey and are treated to an update on our favorite characters from the first trilogy. I immediately loved Rey. She was fearless and daring, everything exciting about a heroine. Rey’s sense of justice prevails, and she is drawn into the Resistance to fight the evil of the First Order.

The enduring theme of the Star Wars films is the triumph of good over evil, the eternal battle of the light versus the dark sides of the Force on a galactic scale. The films also explore this theme on the smaller though no less epic scale of the individual human person. As Christians, we’re reminded that we must act, whether singly or in concert with others, according to God’s plan for salvation in our lives. (Super Girls and Halos p. 32)

Super GirlsRey represents, for me, the ultimate fictional heroine. Her commitment to justice in the galaxy drives her in The Force Awakens, and I have great hope for how she will use The Force in The Last Jedi through her training, and ultimately, in the battle against the evil in the First Order.

In Super Girls and Halos, I share my love of the saints and how they are excellent models of virtue. The Saints lived lives of heroic virtue, too. I pair Rey with St. Clare of Assisi as a beacon of strength and light, as I discuss the same virtue of justice in a canonized saint and heroine in her own right.

Check back here to see the new trailer.

 

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