The Spirituality of Star Wars

The latest Star Wars installment has been viewed by some as political comment. Epics are sweeping enough in scope to encompass many grand themes. There is no "proper" way to view Star Wars. The essence of drama is a union between maker and viewer and each experience is unique in that consummation. To some minds, Star Wars can easily be viewed as religious allegory.

George Lucas likely did not set out to make a film about spirituality. But how we process narrative as human beings derives from biblical storytelling. In the early days of Christianity, it was not uncommon to see tales of military conquest infused with Christian symbology. The transmission of the new faith was subtly achieved by layering narrative structure with saviour references. The structure - good, evil, betrayal, redemption and reward - has become hardwired into our secular brains. This is the tale and legacy of Star Wars.

In Episode 1 much attention is paid to Anakin's extraordinary gifts, his predisposition to greatness and goodness. He is the only human who can handle the pod races. Within his blood is a high concentration of the elements which reveal his uniqueness. His mother says "You brought hope to those who had none." His slavemaster adds, "I have great faith in the boy. He's a credit to your race."

Even the name 'Skywalker' conjures up images of the heavens and an individual not of this earth. We should remember that Lucifer was the brightest angel. Any fall is made more dramatic for its beginnings and not for its destination. Anakin is born a slave. These may be traditional hero beginnings but they also echo those of Moses and Jesus.

Star Wars always showed a religious orientation with its use of, "May the Force Be With You." The force - something unseen which binds us all together, which is felt inside, which is ignored at one's peril but, when harnessed, is limitless in its possibilities - sounds an awful lot like faith. In Revenge of The Sith, Anakin goes so far as to refer to Padme's pregnancy as a "blessing."

Science fiction has never been known for reflecting the spiritual. Yet one need not delve very deep in order to find the overt religious symbolism. The Phantom Menace implies the virgin birth of Anakin. His mother, Shmi Skywalker, is filmed in desert backdrops wearing clothing that would not have been out of place in a passion play. She is often framed alone in the shot - her face an open expression of a mother's sadness at witnessing a son whose destiny demands he leave her.

This parallel culminates in Attack of the Clones, with Anakin witnessing his mother's death and then placing her limp and lifeless body across his knees. It is an unmistakable visual nod to Michelangelo's Pieta. This is a reverse Pieta with son cradling his fallen mother. As Christ's journey resulted in his ascension from death, Anakin's journey - his descent - truly begins at this moment. He slays everyone - women and children included. The perversity of slaying children will be repeated in Revenge of The Sith. Anakin chooses the path to darkness. He gives in to anger, resentment and revenge. His passions rule him. Thus, his fate is sealed.

But Anakin is not a comic book villain. He struggles to do the right thing and recognizes his failings. "To be angry is to be human," Amidala reassures him. "Im a Jedi I know I'm better than this," he responds. The source of human sadness lies in our awareness of our own transgressions.

The entire Jedi order is made to sound monkish. They do not make war - they preserve peace and seek justice. Jedi Knights are forbidden attachments, possessions and are encouraged only to compassion. Celibacy is implied. Anakin's growing adolescent infatuation with Padme Amidala tortures him. He wants her, he wants to be a Jedi. He cannot have both. He must choose.

Revenge of the Sith shows the result of his choice. A secret marriage to Padme and babies on the way do nothing to ease Anakin's path. He is haunted by a vision of her death in childbirth - a loss he cannot and will not bear. How far he has journeyed from Episode 1 is evident in his own confusion at wanting to take a path he knows to be right but being seduced by a darker one which promises an immediate and more tangible reward.

The treatment of good and evil in Star Wars relies on biblical archetypes. Sith warrior Darth Maul has horns on his head. Evil doers are shrouded in black and filmed in shadows. And, in the case of Vader himself - he is eventually completely covered head to toe in black with a mask where the face of Anakin used to be.

Evil in our cultural history is made more disturbing when it comes in a pleasant form. Anakin is a handsome and almost feminine appearing young man. Light colored hair as a child gradually becomes darker in each film.

Anakin's first suffering in Episode 2 is to lose his arm. The tangibly human - the physical body - begins to disappear. Christianity is nothing if not an emphasis on the body. Christ becoming man and adopting a body is reversed with Anakin gradually losing his human form - almost literally in a baptism of hellfire - until eventually he is a black mask of evil.

Anakin is sinner and saint...as are we all. We become each of these things every day and with every decision. His path is not marked nor his fate sealed. He does not become evil through a singular act of malice but through a series of small decisions and choices which bring him so far that the way back is no longer available.

Who among us can say with certainty that we would not waver in our devotion to any faith given the opportunity to prevent the death of a loved one?

Anakin Skywaler is not so much a character as a mirror. His temptation and eventual seduction by the dark side of the force is a personal journey. Indeed, Anakin's journey is our own - the ultimate example of free will exercised into despair.

His path is our own.