Spoiler warning: This article assumes you have seen The Force Awakens

This article is from my blog The White Tower, by David A. Caruso II

THE NEW STAR WARS FILM CASTS A DARK SHADOW

This article is for those who, like me, are inspired by the original spirit of Star Wars, the spirit which came alive in the first two films, A New Hope (ANH) and the The Empire Strikes Back (ESB). I will explore what the original essence of Star Wars is (in my personal opinion) and how the new film, The Force Awakens (TFA), is a corrupting shadow over that spirit.

This is not a review of TFA per se, but rather a discussion of its spirit compared to the original spirit of Star Wars. Please note I am not trying to speak for everyone. My views represent my own personal experience of the films, which I would like to share with those who may be interested.

As a child, Star Wars was for me a kind of spiritual experience. The inspiration, the dream, may be best expressed in the one poignant scene where Luke Skywalker, wishing for a greater life than the one he felt duty-bound to on his uncle’s farm, gazed and searched upon the horizon as the two suns of his home planet set. That moment resonated a lot for me. It’s an example of the symbolism and mythos that makes up Star Wars and serves to create a seed of inspiration and personal mythology in the viewer.

The Original Spirit of Star Wars
What is the original essence of Star Wars? For me, it was about freedom. It was the inspiration to fight for a just cause, to believe in something greater than yourself. It was highlighting the mystery of the power that is dormant within every human being. It was the potential, and the hope, for a greater sense of personal empowerment and liberation. It was the sense of wonder in feeling that there are aspects of life and the Universe that were completely unexplored and unknown. It was about a life living true to the heart, about friendship, and about personal development. It was about liberation from the sense of oppression that comes from the world today in various forms such as society, television, school, church, parents, etc. It was freedom from all those things. It was about living with the fire of inspiration in the imagination. Like I said, it was about freedom – freedom to live the mystery, the freedom to fight for the things one loves.

Each of the main characters in Star Wars expressed some particular aspect of this spirit, particularly in their attitudes, inclinations, and philosophy of life. What follows below is my own personal extrapolation about each character, taking from the actions of the character in the films while also filling in details from my own ideas, feelings, and personal projections.

Obiwan Kenobi
Obiwan Kenobi was the archetype of the wise old man who was fully in touch with the invisible mysteries of the Universe. Despite the problems imposed upon him, he acted selflessly in the service of the larger humanity. Despite the greatness of his stature, he was humble and gentle and courageous and always had a clear sense of purpose. Those who had humility (Luke Skywalker) could recognize him. Those who lacked humility (Han Solo) did not recognize him. He was also, more than anyone, responsible for the defeat against the evil Empire in ANH, because he gathered together the people who could accomplish that task (Luke and Han), brought them out to meet their destiny, gave them the freedom to accomplish their purpose (by securing their release from the Empire), and, in the end, providing Luke Skywalker with the critical moment of grace needed to destroy the accursed space station, thus protecting the freedom and well-being of countless others from harm and oppression. And he did so without any acknowledgement from others for himself. In this way, he embodies the true Jedi Master (which may be likened to a combination of monk and noble knight), because in order to be large in spirit, one must have spiritual qualities like patience, stillness, gentleness, humility, inner strength, concentration, clarity of purpose, control of emotions, etc.

Luke Skywalker
The most notable thing about Luke Skywalker is his passion for justice and for his allegiance to others who share his values. This is one reason he so intensely wanted to join the Rebel Alliance. The other reason is his genuine desire for knowledge and self development, which is the hallmark of the spiritual warrior. And being part of the Rebel cause gave him opportunities to grow as a warrior and to fight for dharma (which is to say, fight for the good of all and for a good society).

Dharma is symbolized by the values of the “Republic” which – though details are lacking in ANH and ESB – must represent a culture that is based on ethics, personal freedom, and prosperity for all. In other words, it is a civilization that is based on higher principles and a certain fundamental sense of selflessness. Luke Skywalker in his heart only wanted to learn about and fight for these higher principles. That is why he stays on the path to become a Jedi and never wavers in his fight against the regime that is oppressing humanity. And it is also why he will always risk his own life for his friends. One of the axioms of the spiritual warrior is never let your friends face danger alone.

Han Solo
Han Solo is passionately independent, and at first, he is arrogant and egoistic, but quickly learns to be humble and therefore opens his life up to new possibilities when he meets with the Rebels and joins their cause. Han Solo is marked by two primary qualities, in my view. One, is his love for his ship, which represents and empowers his passionate need for freedom and self-determination. Secondly, he is someone possessed of courage who has a penchant, like the whole Rebel cause, for taking on enemies much more powerful than himself – and winning! He goes up against a dozen storm troopers in ANH, and he single-handedly takes on the whole imperial fleet in ESB. In ANH, his passionate loyalty to his friends is awakened, and at the end of that film, he puts aside his own personal interest to protect his friend Luke and help advance the whole Rebel cause of freedom for all.

Princes Leia
Princess Leia is noted for her courage and steadfastness to her cause, and the strength of her mind in resisting all attempts to make her betray the Rebel alliance. She is a political leader of unwavering commitment to her cause. She is a prime organizer and mover of the Rebel alliances fight against the Empire. The love she shared with her friends, and with Han Solo, showed the depth of the feelings in her heart. As with all the characters, the fire of love burns in their hearts – love for each other, for their personal purpose, for the good of all and for higher principles.

Darth Vader
Even Darth Vader, the powerful and dominating villain, has a certain qualities which are admirable. Despite his dark mind and his work in extending the oppression of the Empire, he is notable for his clarity of purpose and his strength and steadfastness in achieving it. In this way, he is possessed of strong will. And everything that Darth Vader does is very deliberate. He keeps his emotions very much under control, channeling them towards the increase of his power. One thing can be said, Darth Vader is not trivial. The evil aspect of his nature lies primarily with his commitment to using force in every situation. He cannot tolerate deviation in his external environment. This obviously would create a great tension in any human being who takes such a path, due to the inherent conflict with spirit, but no doubt this tension becomes a source of energy that can be channeled towards increasing his power with the dark side of the Force. However, in real life, such tension may provide an increase in power for the ego, but ultimately it subsumes and brings the mind down to a more primitive level.

One might think I am reading too much into these characters, but that would be missing the point. The point is in identifying and amplifying heroic traits that could technically exist in anybody, and which are latent in the human race as a whole. My observations are based on what I experience within me as a result of the films, and are, as such, based on much more than simply the films themselves. Good art evokes an inner awareness of aspects of life that are at once personal and collective at the same time, the experience of which exceeds the specific art itself.

The Sense of Wonder and Imagination
The early Star Wars films had this sense of purpose, mystery, and imagination. They were inspiring to so many people because of the power with which they evoked these qualities. And the thing about Star Wars was not just in what it expressed, but what it didn’t express. This is why someone like me can even fill in the meanings of the story based on his own subjective interpretation. It’s because Star Wars allows room for this creative interplay of imagination. It doesn’t just tell you everything, matter of factly. It inspires the imagination. It inspires the mind to fill in the unknown parts with its own inner sense of life. And that’s what makes Star Wars fun and memorable. It gives you a chance, however vicarious, to feel and live such principles to some degree within. This is not just partly because Star Wars has certain mythological elements that speak to something larger than itself.

How The Force Awakens Compares
Now turning to the new film, The Force Awakens, which was created not by the original creator of Star Wars, but a giant, well-established corporation interested in making as much profit as possible. This no doubt stands in contrast to the motivation of George Lucas when he created the first Star Wars film. Lucas was more interested in realizing his personal vision and enduring the risk of failure than in guaranteeing profits. Perhaps this is why his films were actually so profitable – it’s because they were sincere. Films that are made with motives other than art for art’s sake are never memorable in the long term.

The spirit of TFA is an altogether different beast. All the films taken together, TFA corrupts the original inspiration of Star Wars in manys ways. For one, it draws its plot and character elements almost exclusively from the original Sar Wars films, which shows its own lack of imagination and originality (outstanding special effects aside). But there is also a more insidious distorting of the original Star Wars spirit. The following will attempt to describe some of the ways in which this happens.

The Happy Ending of the Originals
At the end of Return of the Jedi (ROJ), there was a great feeling of hope and victory because the great power which was oppressing humanity (symbolized as all intelligent life of diverse forms) was destroyed. This represents a happy ending to the original three Star Wars films. The resonate elements of Star Wars, the fight against a harming power, the rise of personal empowerment and freedom, are given positive conclusions. The Empire is destroyed, the Galaxy is free again, and the noble Jedi – protectors of dharma – have returned and are empowered. Listen to JRR Tolkien speak of the importance of a happy ending in any tale (i.e. “fairy story”):

“It is the mark of a good fairy-story, of the higher or more complete kind, that however wild its events, however fantastic or terrible the adventures, it can give to child or man that hears it, when the “turn” comes, a catch of the breath, a beat and lifting of the heart, near to (or indeed accompanied by) tears, as keen as that given by any form of literary art, and having a peculiar quality.”

But in TFA, the happy conclusion of the original Star Wars trilogy is upended. With nary a respite, the evil Empire has immediately risen up again in a new and even more cruel form.

Destruction of the Republic
And what’s worse, instead of the Republic being strengthened and prospering again, it is completely destroyed outright in the new film, in a few seconds, at the push of a button. And its destruction is done without forethought, without foreboding, as if an almost relatively minor plot point in the general flow of the film. This is an extremely cynical move on the part of the creators of the film.

The Jedi Are In Exile
What’s more, the Jedi have not “returned” but have gone back into exile – by their own choice! – as Luke Skywalker has apparently done, running away and hiding himself on an unknown planet. This is, of course, completely contrary to Luke’s character in the original films, in which he is someone who never gives up on his cause and never abandons his friends. The Jedi are shown to be relatively weak in that one pupil who turns to an evil path can destroy them all and defeat the Master and cause him to go packing away into exile (for an example of how the Master is truly superior and unbeatable by the student, see Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon). Is it ironic, then, that towards the end of the film, he is defeated by one who is even less experienced and less taught than himself).

Whatever hope there was for the re-emergence of the Jedi – the ones who could protect freedom and justice for all – is lost in that the only remaining Jedi is in exile, unable to handle a situation created by someone who is not even his equal. The hope of the noble warrior, the Jedi –which was kindled in the original film trilogy – is marginalized in order to bring back the Empire and rehash the events of the earlier films. This is a somewhat arbitrary move which, though it makes a pretense of being a homage to the early films by following a similar structure, actually diverges profoundly from them in that it lacks all originality, and originality is part and parcel of the original films and their appeal.

Han and Leia’s Offspring Is a Monster
Another corrupting plot point: the passionate love of Han and Leia, as portrayed in ESB, has, apparently, given birth to a monster (Really? They do?), a monster which destroys the newly-awakened strength of good in the Galaxy. In this way, their relationship goes from being blessed (in that they both are fighters for freedom greatly advancing their cause) to being cursed (in that their relationship gives rise to a powerful and evil force which not only destroys freedom but destroys them as well – or at least Han Solo). For a son to cruelly kill his own father in a moment of trust and opening is an evil act which harms the sense of innocence of the viewer. Its casts a shadow in the mind of the Star Wars fan who would take in such an image and try to make sense of it in the context of a world which he has grown to love and was inspired by. Furthermore, it is a most ignoble and meaningless death for a revered character.

Being a Jedi Comes Easily
In TFA, the nature of the Jedi is trivialized in that the main heroine of the film, Rey (which is actually a man’s name if you haven’t actually read the name and don’t know the spelling – being short for Raymond), because she begins to gain mastery of the force without effort and without first learning to master her own mind. Part of the noble nature of the Jedi is possessing the self-control and faith necessary to remain on a long path of spiritual awakening and control of the mind. It is only through this kind of sacrifice that one could, theoretically, gain an increase in personal empowerment.

But Rey attains these things without having earned them, simply because she comes from a certain bloodline. Are the parents of the most talented people in the world as talented as their children turn out to be? Ultimatey, there is no relationship between inherent ability and ancestors. An ancestor may influence, but genes alone cannot pass along the vital spiritual nature of a human being. He or She acquires them from a source beyond our understanding.

That the Jedi powers rise in this manner – without sacrifice, without self-control, without insight or knowledge as to the nature of the mind – devalues the theoretical capabilities of a Jedi and thus weakens the whole notion of a Jedi and their early need for a certain amount of guidance, support, and self-discipline. It’s not powers that make a Jedi noble – it’s the arduous pursuit of the spiritual path and the control of the mind which do (at least that’s how I would understand the idea of a spiritual warrior).

Conclusion
The movie itself does not pause long enough to create a background of mystery and imagination. It essentially goes from one action scene to the next, and resurrects one old notion from the original films after another – which in the end may be seen as a kind of manipulative pandering to the audience.

If watching a good film is akin to enjoying a delicious and nutritious meal, watching TFA is akin to eating a box of tasty but over-sweetened donuts which only leaves one feeling empty afterwards. There’s no food for the spirit in the new film, there’s no mythological elements, there’s no room for depth of imagination. Everything is depicted in vivid detail, and the plot basically serves to string together the numerous action sequences. Once the thrill is over, there’s not much to take away. This was not true with the original films – whose legacy continues to endure and inspire, which is a rare thing for a film to do.

It’s doubtful that today’s children will be inspired by TFA enough to still feel the fire of that special magic into adulthood, as was the case with Lucas’ original films. Again, the power of a film to do this comes not solely from the content of the original Star Wars – it comes from the kind of context, the kind of space they created, the kind of things they leave out and leave open to the imagination. The original films provide fertile soil for the inspired imagination, so that the viewer can fill in the gaps with his own self. This is less true of the new film, which leaves little to the imagination and gives little by way of mythological inspiration. It’s a thrill without much originality or substance. And because it removes the sense of the happy ending which occurred at the end of ROJ, it also puts a dark shadow in the mind of all those for whom the Star Wars universe has a certain life of its own within.

The task now should be to separate the spirit of the original Star Wars from the new and to re-affirm its spirit. This can be done by imbibing other great mythologies and stories, and also by seeking a more personal and meaningful relationship to the Universe within, one based on one’s own sense of wonder and imagination, and the aspiration for a better world.

~O~