Blog 4

Hello. Well...being someone that likes to pick things that are less mainstream, I tried as best as I could to avoid using Star Wars as a media text, but I couldn't resist.

Star Wars is basically a combination of a bunch of different myths and stories from different time periods all put together. It has been a while since I have seen the films, but Luke Skywalker, the main character at least for the first film (or 4th episode) grew up on a desert planet called Tatooine unaware of his importance in the big scheme of things. He eventually meets Ben Kenobi, which takes him to an academy. He eventually ends up destroying the Death Star, which was the evil Empire's planet sized base.

The myths I will be applying:
1. Wisdom of the Rustic-An older uneducated man, looked down on by society helps the hero overcome his or her biggest obstacle.
2. Coming of Messiah- A society hopes for the return of its messiah.
3. Eternal Return-A return to the way a community was before. A return to a community's prime.

The Wisdom of the Rustic fits into Star Wars wonderfully. In Episode 4, Ben Kenobi is the guy that no one trusts, and writes off as a loony. Luke is warned by his uncle about ever getting involved with Ben Kenobi. Kenobi is in fact called a hermit. But he ends up being the man that propels Luke into his role as a hero. Luke discovered the force through Kenobi, which helped Luke through almost every obstacle that he faced in the rest of the trilogy.

Luke Skywalker is looked upon as the Messiah in Star Wars. There are even prophecies that many characters in the film thought Luke fulfilled. Someone was supposed to rise up and bring balance to the force, and Luke was seen as this individual.

The members of the rebellion that are against the evil empire all hoped for an eternal return to the way things were before in the galaxy...before the rebellion, and before Annikan Skywalker became Darth Vader. They were hoping that someone like Luke could help restore what was lost years ago, and bring peace to the galaxy by getting rid of the members of the Empire and all that submit to Emperor Palpipatine.

Star Wars, is, of course, set in a Galaxy far far away, so the general idea of all these myths is changed somewhat from how they are usually perceived. But in another way, each myth mentioned is magnified. Ben Kenobi isn't from a hut out in the desert, he's from a hut-type home in a desert planet! Luke isn't supposed to save just a community, but the entire galaxy! And of course, the eternal return isn't supposed to make one small society or community turn back to its old ways, but lots and lots of planets return to their old ways!