One of the most famous works that inspired “Star Wars” was Joseph Campbell’s seminal work “The hero with a thousand faces,” which tells of the common patterns of the hero narrative that resonates throughout the world’s cultures. It is a pattern of themes we see not only in famous works of fiction but also throughout myth and religion.
Image source: Lucasfilm via denofgeek.com
The hero’s journey or monomyth, although varying somewhat, involves a pattern that calls the ordinary hero to do extraordinary feats. From humble, ordinary beginnings, the hero, of a background relatable to the audience, is called to adventure but is first hesitant to take it.
The hero’s wise mentor is responsible for guiding the hero away from ordinary world and out of the threshold, into a new world with rules and mores different from those to which the hero is accustomed. It is here that the hero gains allies, faces the great challenges and ordeals that demand sacrifice, and receives a reward, only to take a long and perilous journey back. It is in this close that the hero once more has to make a sacrifice, upon which the conflict is typically solved and returns, with the capacity to change the world as the journey had changed the hero.
Just try to watch “A new hope” and not see each of these points in Luke’s journey. It’s unmistakably by-the-numbers, and yet works brilliantly.
Indeed, going exactly by Campbell’s book was hailed as one of Lucas’ many strokes of genius, creating a saga that not only blended well the elements from across genres but also captured the epic feel of the myths of old.
Image source: thewritersjourney.com
Star Wars’ greatest storytelling aspect wasn’t because it was original, although the blending was so thorough it had become so, but because it was resonant. The journey of Luke (and to a degree his father Anakin and student Rey) would resonate in a pattern that reminds everyone of the universal heroes of humanity’s rich tapestry of cultures.
Wendy Eber, literature teacher, amateur literary critic, and writer of Star Wars fan fiction, at your service. Catch more on my thoughts on literature on my blog.
Wendy Eber 