The spiritual message hidden in ‘Star Wars’ – CNN

Current Affairs / Film

[The Last Jedi]  hints that Luke might not be the “last Jedi,” after all. Even without his help, Rey is remarkably skilled at connecting with the Force, the mysterious energy that pervades the galaxy.

This is where some cultural commentators see an argument against organized religion. In previous “Star Wars” films, using the Force required joining the Jedis and spending years learning the “old ways” from established masters.
Luke seems to say that none of that matters anymore.

“He is making a very modern case for spirituality over organized religion,” argues Hannah Long in The Weekly Standard, a conservative magazine. “If all roads lead to the Force, then the dusty tradition and doctrine doesn’t really matter.”

via The spiritual message hidden in ‘Star Wars’ – CNN

Interesting that people are once again trying to mine the Star Wars saga for deeper spiritual meaning. It’s not surprising to me given that Lucas and subsequent writers intentionally structured the stories on the Hero’s Journey model common in Mythic writing according to Joseph Campell.

But I’m not convinced that there’s an intentional formal connection between the movies and a critique of modern organized religion. This seems to me to be more of a projection by the writer of the article onto the open-ended narrative of the film, which is a consequence of the use of mythic structure to create the plot.

But it is an interesting article nonetheless. Certainly worth a read.

The Author

Episcopal bishop, dad, astronomer, erstwhile dancer...