7 Jan 2016 – Regarding
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the media coverage veers distinctly into Yoda’s well-known quote, “Do or do not. There is no try”. A Newsclip analysis of this coverage revealed four themes; philosophy, religion, the empowerment of women, and language use. These themes are exhibited in how the film has been digested by consumers and the way it has affected popular culture.
Written and compiled by Nadine Schlebusch
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Although there was some speculation over the new
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, with director J.J. Abrams taking over the epic space opera along with Disney, it has put to rest the fears of even the most ardent critics. The movie set the box office record for reaching $1-billion in sales in only 12 days
1. In South Africa, the first country in the world to screen the movie, the film broke the record for the most pre-sold tickets bought
2. The latest instalment of the
Star Wars films comes ten years after
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and 38 years after the first
Star Wars film. Over the years, the films have attracted a cult following amongst young and old, some even converting to a Star Wars based religion – Jediism.
Significant media coverage was generated around the release of the latest film. An analysis of the media revealed four main themes within the coverage which are discussed in greater detail below.
Philosophy
Many have pondered the philosophical meanings of the
Star Wars series (Decker and Eberl, 2005; Stephens, 2005). The space epic is said to point to larger philosophical questions about life and what our purpose is on this planet. Philosophy is not the mere questioning of reality, but it leads to thinking, thinking about problems that we face, the need to change ourselves and our environments (Decker and Eberl, 2005: ix). The philosophy found in
Star Wars, according to Decker and Eberl (2005), is not as clear to the naked eye, but the characters all battle with external and internal problems that are larger than themselves. “It’s the struggle to understand and overcome deep problems of identity, truth, freedom, and the tragic side of life…” that works to define the characters in the films (Decker and Eberl, 2005: x).
The
Star Wars epic is based on the quintessential hero’s quest, imagined by the creator, George Lucas. It follows the classic story of an ordinary person who goes on a journey, during which he faces a number of challenges. The hero ultimately survives a “supreme ordeal”
3 imparting some great knowledge or treasure which he takes home to share with his people. This story trajectory is something that most people can identify with, specifically in that we all face challenges that we believe will shape our existence.
When Lucas originally wrote
Star Wars, it was during a time when American society was facing hardship - the Vietnam War was still raging, the Kennedy brothers were assassinated and the Watergate scandal caused severe controversy. America needed a fairy tale to remind them that good will overcome evil, according to McCarthy (ENCA, 2015). The new film serves a similar function, for today the world is plagued by economic instability, continuing unrest in the Middle East and terrorism.
The films, therefore, raise important philosophical issues, such as the nature of good and evil, free will and determinism and the prophecy of the chosen one. Many academics have studied
Star Wars in relation to themes such as moral ambiguity, father-son relationships, concepts of feminine beauty and the yearning for something better in life
4. According to opinionist Morgan Bolton
5, mythology is part of every generation and
Star Wars is the legend and myth for our generation. It assists us in exploring the topics of good and evil, morality and even religion.
Religion
According to Bryan Stone, quoted by McDowell (2007: xvi), films are not mere representations of the world but they create a worldview, and that plays an instrumental role in shaping what and how we see the world around us. In the creation of
Star Wars, George Lucas admits that he intentionally created the story in such a way that there was a lesson to be learnt. It aimed to promote the importance of morality and being morally responsible. He is quoted as saying that The Force embodies “a concept of religion based on the premise that there is a God and there is good and evil”.
Religion is a vastly explored theme within the
Star Wars films, usually from various angles. Some see the theme of good vs. evil that can be found throughout the
Star Wars franchise as alluding to general religious beliefs. The Force is also equated to religiosity in the form of the Holy Spirit or Karma. It could allegorically be viewed as a metaphor for all religious faith, according to Schultes (2003), yet it is something that is universal, testable and empirically verifiable (unlike the religious beliefs of our modern world) even to unbelievers.
Another aspect is the rise of
Star Wars as a religion in the form of Jediism. Jediism is described by Possamai and Lee (2011: 229) as a mix of religion and popular culture. It is a hyper-real expression of religion which is consumed and individualised (Possamai and Lee, 2011: 229). Jediism is largely an internet-based community of like-minded people where they connect via cyberspace. The religion, according to Possamai and Lee (2012), is loosely based on religious beliefs ranging from Buddhism to Catholicism.
According to media coverage
6, the Jedi church grew with approximately 1 000 members a day leading up to the release of the new film. The religion apparently started as a joke during the 2001 census in Britain when nearly 400 000 Brits named it as their religion. Today, over 250 000 people identify Jediism as their religious denomination. The faith is based on principles and practices in which members work to unite with The Force.
Traditional churches have also embraced the fervour around the release of the new
Star Wars instalment, with a church in Berlin hosting a
Star Wars themed service. Pastor-in-training Ulrike Garve said that as they discussed the films “the more parallels we saw with Christian traditions
7.” The passage from the Bible: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21) served as inspiration for the service.
Women
The Force Awakens is seen as an empowering film for women, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. The heroine of the film is a woman named Rey. She was abandoned at a young age and survived by collecting scrap in exchange for food. She has no formal training, but she comes to play a key role in fighting against Kylo Ren and the First Order. In the new film, Princess Leia is now General Leia, leading the resistance in their fight against the First Order.
Behind the scenes, women also play a key role in the Lucasfilm franchise. Ten of the 19 top executives are women and Lucasfilm is headed by producer Kathleen Kennedy. Kennedy has also indicated that one day a female will direct a
Star Wars film
8.
In the Western world, women in the film industry are significantly underrepresented, according to French (2012: 41). A decline in participation is evident from the early 2000’s, although a recovery in numbers can be seen. Areas such as technical or camera work are still highly gendered and females are particularly excluded. Women are often overtrained but underpaid in the industry which is a major concern (French, 2012: 41).
Language
Popular culture influences language, specifically in the expressions that individuals often come to use.
Star Wars, in its 30 plus year existence, has coined many iconic phrases that are widely used by fans and non-fans alike. The expression “May the force be with you”, is widely recognised and used even by people who have never seen any of the
Star Wars films. The phrase is often used as a parting greeting by people or in an ironic way to wish someone well. The misquoted “Luke, I am your father” phrase is often used for humorous effect and “going over to the dark side” is a common expression used to tempt someone into doing something that is considered not quite above board
9.
Star Wars has, therefore, been hugely influential in our common or colloquial language use, even to those who are not fans of the films.
A concluding thought
Love it or hate it,
Star Wars has been a (the) force that has hugely impacted popular culture for the last 30 years. Fans of the films have internalised much of the mythical hero discourse that the space opera has been based on, building it into their personal narratives, sometimes even creating their identities around it. Even those who have never seen the films are indirectly influenced by the stories, the language, the marketing or the fact that women are being promoted by the recent instalment. The media coverage suggests that this is not the end for the franchise and that Disney will continue bringing the epic to fans in the tradition of George Lucas. It remains to be seen how much of an influence the films will have in the next 30 years, or if it will become lost to a galaxy far, far away…
To download the analysis as a PDF, click
here.
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1BANG Showbiz. ‘Star Wars’ becomes fastest film to bank $1 billion. All4Women.co.za. 28 December 2015.
2Ray White. New ‘Star Wars’ sets record in SA. EWN.co.za. 17 December 2015.
3Patti McCarthy. A force awakened: why so many find meaning in Star Wars. ENCA.com. 19 December 2015.
4Reuters. Philosophers spaced out on ‘Star Wars’.
Pretoria News. 07 December 2015.
5Morgan Bolton. The force will always be with us.
Star. 29 December 2015.
6Reuters. Jedi-kerk groei ‘met duisende’ voor fliek.
Beeld. 15 December 2015.
7AFP. ‘Star Wars’ theme for church service.
Herald. 21 December 2015.
8Jena McGregor. May the force be with powerful women. Iol.co.za. 19 December 2015.
9The Conversation. Do you speak Star Wars? Mybroadband.co.za. 19 December 2015.
Possamai, A. and Lee, M. 2011. ‘Hyper-real religions: Fear, anxiety and late-modern religious innovation.’
Journal of Sociology, 47 (3): 227 – 242.
Schultes, JS. 2003. ‘Any Gods Out There? Perceptions of Religion from Star Wars and Star Trek.’ Journal of Religion and Film, 7 (2).
McDowell, JC. 2007. The Gospel according to Star Wars: Faith, Hope and the Force. Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press.
French, L 2012, 'Women in Film: Treading Water but Fit for the Marathon' in Theresa Carilli, Jane Campbell (ed.) Challenging Images of Women in the Media: Reinventing Women's Lives, Lexington Books, Maryland, United States, pp. 35-46.