Star Wars is a space opera, and on a scale of literary genius, it kind of falls short. I’m not knocking it; it’s just not exactly Gone With the Wind. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not without merit. Star Wars has several examples the studious observer can learn from. Well, maybe some of them are a bit obvious, but still, they’re lessons worth learning.
Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover
Star Wars is full of people who are not what they seem. Old Ben Kenobi turns out to not just be related to Obi Wan Kenobi, but is in fact the famous Jedi Master. Though he does kind of die like an old man. Han Solo, who DEFINITELY shot first, is really a space pirate and doesn’t hesitate to shoot his way out of a jam. But he ends up being a major hero of the rebellion. Even Darth Vader redeems himself at the end. People aren’t always what they seem at first glance.
Might Does Not Make Right
The Empire had all the cool toys: AT-ATs, landspeeders, a small moon that wasn’t really a moon and could destroy entire planets, Darth Vader (yeah, when you’re more machine than man, you’re a toy), and those chicken walker things too. And what happens? The rebels (who did have the admittedly cool TIE X-Wing fighters but not much else) took them down. Oh, and they were helped by primitive teddy bears. Sometimes determination can overcome a lot of obstacles.
Beware of Strangers
People who bring you gifts without warning are often duplicitous. Jabba thought he was getting a Wookie from a bounty hunter, and oops, the bounty hunter turned out to be Leia in disguise. Luke was kissing Leia, and it turned out to be his sister. Be careful of new people in your life. Sometimes they aren’t what they seem. Especially women, judging by Star Wars. Maybe George has a nerdy fear of girls.
Sometimes, All You Need is Faith
Faith in the Force is a big help to Luke. It’s how he destroyed the Death Star. It saved his ass in the Wampa cave. And it helped him defeat the Empire. Plus, his faith in his father saved him too. While I’m not advocating a religious faith, sometimes you just need to trust that things will work out in the end.
Those are just a few of the things I’ve learned from Star Wars. There are other lessons too, like how easy it is to control weak minded people, but that’s a little beyond the scope of this article. Tell us the life lessons you’ve learned from Star Wars in the comments, or post it to our Facebook page. Maybe you learned something we totally missed.
**UPDATE: Thanks to all of our friends for pointing out the Rebels DO NOT have TIE Fighters, they in fact have X-Wings.
Marcus wrote
WHAT’S THIS?
“The rebels (who did have the admittedly cool TIE fighters but not much else)”
BLASPHEMOUS MISTAKE
Ben wrote
Comparing Star Wars to Gone With The Wind is absurd. Regardless of whether or not it has great literary merit, these would not overlap or explore the same themes at all. Choosing one over the other would be arbitrary unless you’re choosing which one did what it set out to do better.
Also, it’s easy to say that something written in the style of realism trumps something exploring mythology simply because of the difference in complexity. However, I would never say that Henrik Ibsen was necessarily wrote better literature than the brothers Grimm. Sometimes writing a simple story with carefully explored major archetypes can lead to discussion that is complex and relevant in a way that a piece o realism cannot (and vice-versa).
I think there is plenty of literary merit in Star Wars, and what you’ve written here is mostly moral tid bits one derive. What’s brilliant about Star Wars is the exploration of universal mythology.
The faith idea that you’ve pointed out is fascinating because of its cultural implications, not because it’s a good moral lesson. How do our conceptions of good and evil interact with faith? Before the dumb midichlorians development, there was the idea that the force was scientifically ambiguous and yet existed in harmony with the advanced science of the world. Many scoffed at it and called it superstition, but its affect on the world was indisputable.
Sound like a debate you hear between uninformed religious and secular fanatics on youtube? The demarcation problem. Lucas may not have intended this, but his accurate construction of a tale that cohered with mythological conventions created something with human relevancy. Mythology from the past, put into the technology of the future results in what we have today: the co-habitation of both in people’s belief systems.
Ben wrote
Haha, sorry for not proof-reading.
Mikey wrote
“The rebels (who did have the admittedly cool TIE fighters but not much else)”
Wait… what?
hoprlessNewb wrote
I hate to nitpick, and you may have been nerd-baiting, but the rebels have X-wings, not TIEs. X-wings are an order of magnitude cooler than TIEs. The only cool things about TIE fighters are the sounds they make (engine and lasers).
But don’t worry, your actual point isn’t lost on me. I just think X-wings are cool.
P.S. Redlettermedia is how I found out about this site.
HarrySPlinkett wrote
“The rebels (who did have the admittedly cool TIE fighters but not much else)…”
*sigh*
what a monumental SW fail.
Chloe wrote
Er… The Rebels didn’t have TIE fighters…
Greegor wrote
Maybe there’s an arcane piece of trivia that I’m not privy to, but the rebels had TIE fighters? Didn’t they have X-wings?
What the hell do I know… I was just some chump who saw a cool movie in the theatres at the age of 12 in 1977 and developed callouses from drawing the creatures found in said movie, not some mid-brow scholar.
PVGLTeam wrote
Lol. Nerd-baiting? Us? NEVER!
James wrote
Star Wars also taught us that space travel is very exciting and colorful.
And that mankind has never conceived of anything more cool and awesome than a Jedi with a lightsaber.
DarthCyyd wrote
Star Wars taught me ‘TO DO’ not ‘TRY’!