Star Wars is one of of the most popular cinematic series of all times, going beyond box office success, and changing lives. But why is it so powerful? I think the success of the saga can be traced back to a single four minute scene in the first film, A New Hope. In Obi-Wan Kenobi’s house on Tatooine, we are introduced to the intriguing, almost mythical back-story of Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker, and the Clone Wars that would eventually become the prequels—a story which, coming from the enigmatic wise man, ushers us into a living world of mystery and adventure that existed long before the beginning of the film, and will go on long after it is finished.

Here also we are introduced to the Lightsaber and the Jedi and the mysterious energy field they able to tap into: the Force. Such things appeal, both in old and new ways, to the primal human instinct for power, which is perhaps most influential when we are children, making us wish that we had Lightsabers, that we were Jedi who commanded the power of The Force.

In the words of Austrian Psychologist Alfred Adler, ““The fundamental law of life, therefore, is that of overcoming.” “The goal of the human soul is conquest, perfection, security, superiority.” “Put under the spell of the ‘must’ of life, he is drawn on by his constantly increasing longing for a final goal of superiority over the earthly lot that has been assigned to him, with all its unavoidable demands. And this goal that draws him on takes tone and colour from the narrow environment in which the child struggles for conquest.” “...there is something inherent which is part and parcel of life itself, a struggle, an urge, a self-development, a something without which life cannot be conceived. To live means to develop oneself” (Adler, 1938).

Both Adler and Star Wars teach us that power is not always evil, but can be good as well. Indeed power, strength—a kind, benevolent mastery over one’s environment and circumstances—are necessary in order to become a well adjusted individual. Hence the role of the archetypal wise man, played by Alec Guinness, who exists to spur young men (in this case, Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker) on to power.

Adler also realized that when faced with the inevitable and universal problems of life, people naturally prefer to avoid those problems, to make existence easier, throwing the load on the shoulders of other persons, obtaining our goals, if possible, without any cost, which, says Adler, is in fact not possible. So we often choose to pay no cost at all, and consequently achieve no goal.

The wise man does not tolerate the young man’s self-destructive weakness. With the eyes of wisdom, time, and experience, he pierces into the deepest desires of the youth, the desires the youth dare not admit even to himself, the desires he dare not hope may be possible. The wise man understands that the desires of the youth lie down the hard, narrow path, which weakness shies away from. Because of his expanded relationship with time, the wise man knows that the young man has a destiny, a destiny perhaps unknown even to the young man at present. And if the young man avoids that destiny, he will regret it, and the world will be the worse for it.

Ultimately, the wise man leaves the decision up to the young man. Because the responsibility lies with the young man alone. He must choose. No one can choose for him.

In Star Wars, the young man does choose his destiny. He sets out, not necessarily with the goal of saving the world, but with the simple goal of becoming like his father, which should be the preliminary universal goal of all men. Even though his father is imperfect (to say the least) Luke fulfills his destiny through the ultimate power of the Light: he goes beyond merely imitating his father and ultimately redeems his father.


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RECOMMENDED READING

C. S. Lewis Reviews The Hobbit, 1937: https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2...
Thus Spake Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
Social Interest: A Challenge to Mankind by Alfred Adler
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri


RECOMMENDED VIEWING/LISTENING

Academy of Ideas: The Psychology of Alfred Adler: Superiority, Inferiority, and Courage
The Psychology of Alfred Adler: Superiority, Inferiority, and Courage    • The Psychology of Alfred Adler:  Supe...  

Philosophize This! Nietzsche, The Will to Power:    • Episode #091 ... Nietzsche pt  2 - Th...  

George Lucas Interview on the Mythology of Star Wars:    • The Mythology of Star Wars with Georg...