Christian Allegory in Star Wars

George Lucas wrote the scripts and directed movies with the intent to entertain.  That is all.  The primary focus audience is that of a twelve year of boy.  But the series of films has become so much more; the creation quickly surpassed the vision of the creator. Delving into the work, it’s easy to find Christian allegory.

Lucas intended to represent a rather generic religion, something sanitized to appeal to all.  He makes no qualms declaring it a religion.   Han Solo cynically calls it a “hokey religion” and states he doesn’t believe in it though his companion, the Wookie Chewbacca, clearly does.  Lucas wrote the script with grandiose themes based on a hero’s epic journey.  Luke became the ultimate hero of the Galaxy (blowing up Death Star in the first movie) with lauds later shared by Han, Leia, Lando and Wedge.  In Christian theology, who is the greatest hero of earth? The God-man Jesus Christ who gave his life that man might have eternal life. Yet Luke is not the Christ figure in this work.

There are those making a strong argument for the case that Anakin Skywalker is the Christ figure.  There are similarities. He had a loving mother (Shmi for Mary) who had a miraculous birth.  Shmi told Jinn that there was no father but I believe clues were provided in episode three during the opera discussion between Palpatine and Anakin that indicate Darth Plagueis may have been involved in the conception of Anakin when experimenting with midichlorians. Palpatine recognized Anakin as the subject of these experiments early on and kept a close watch over the boy. Anakin had an extraordinary capacity in the force, with a higher midichlorian count than Yoda. This strength reminds me of Samson, the judge from the Old Testament with phenomenal strength (until his hair was cut).  Anakin was believed to be the one to fulfill the prophecy – to bring balance to the force.  The mention of a prophecy recalls the Old Testament prophecy of the Messiah.  Anakin was born into slavery. Christ was born free. Old Testament Moses, however, was born into slavery in Egypt, was hidden and then raised by Pharaoh’s daughter in the palace. This is similar to Anakin being saved from slavery by Qui Gon Jinn and raised in the Jedi Temple.  Moses also fulfilled a prophecy in that he saved his people and led them to freedom.  

Anakin, as Vader, sacrificed his life to destroy the evil Emperor. Palpatine represents the Great Adversary, the Devil. Not only Christ sacrificed himself, Samson did as well.

Anakin could never represent the Christ.  Christ never fell to the dark side.  Jesus resisted temptation. Anakin became Darth Vader for twenty-four years. He lived evil. He lived a life in living hell with his respirator and feeding tubes and monitors. He had four artificial limbs. His black mask inspired fear in the hearts of whoever looked upon him. Anakin could not be the Christ figure, despite his eventual redemption.

Anakin is so much the prodigal son. He had promise.  He was loved, cherished and spoiled.  He willfully follows temptation and went to the dark side, the evil side.  He lived a life of passion. He married though it was forbidden. He loved though it was forbidden.  He loved his wife so much that his fear for her death drove him to seek dark knowledge, ally with a Dark Lord of the Sith and turn against his mentor.  In the end, he repents.  He kills the evil one.  He returns to the light side of the force and embraces his son. 

Fiction works frequently cited with a central Christ figure which we commonly believe the authors intentionally created characters to represent Christ.  Prominent trio:  First, Lord of the Rings, second Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe from Chronicles of Narnia, and third, Harry Potter.

The representative of Christ is generally one who is well-liked, knowledgeable, a teacher who guides the main character, is betrayed and, facing evil, dies sacrificing himself so that the main character and assorted other characters can live. He then returns in some form to continue to advise the main character.  The return is key as it points to the resurrection of Christ after his death on the cross. Examples of Christ figures: Aslan in Narnia after confronting the White Witch; Gandalf in Lord of the Rings after confronting the Balrog; and Dumbledore in Harry Potter after confronting Beatrix and Snape, minions of Voldemort.

With this analysis, there is a character in Star Wars who fits the description. There is one, a teacher for the main character who sacrifices himself facing the bad guy and returns after his death to further advise the main character: our only hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Virtues and Vices

Reviewing the seven Star Wars movies with the seven virtues and vices in mind, the following characters make an apt pairing:

VIRTUES:

Moderation: Obi-Wan Kenobi

Justice/Morality: tie between Padme Narberrie and Princess Leia Organa

Prudence: Yoda

Courage: Han Solo

Chastity: Ahsoka Tano

Diligence: Luke Skywalker

Kindness: Qui Gon Jinn

VICES:

Pride: Moff Tarkin

Gluttony: Jabba the Hutt

Greed: Nute Gunray

Envy:  torn between Greedo and Asajj Ventress

Sloth: Ziro the Hutt

Anger: Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader

Lust: Emperor Palpatine

Kenobi always keeps his cool, always figures out what to do in a situation. He was called the Alliance’s Only Hope by Princess Leia. He single handedly took out major threats Darth Maul and General Greivous.

Both Padme and her daughter Leia strive for justice in the world via politics yet also are comfortable using a blaster (aggressive negotiations). They see the heart of a situation and understand the farther reaching implications.

Master Yoda instructed jedi for nine hundred years and was revered for his wisdom and knowledge of the force.

Solo often acted without thought. He created a diversion for Luke and Leia to by-pass storm troopers by putting himself at risk chasing a company of storm troopers down the corridor.  He even came back with the Falcon to clear the way for Luke’s destruction of the Death Star.

Young padawan Tano has a lot to learn about the world yet, as a true jedi, does not indulge in worldly pleasures and temptations.

Luke, the new Hope for the Galaxy, went from farm boy to international hero.  His training in force perception began on the Falcon with Kenobi, whose apparition sent him to Dagoba where he continued learning under Yoda. By the end of the series, he has become a jedi master.

Jinn had a soft heart and tendency to pick up stays (Jar-Jar and Anakin).

Tarkin was confident that his Death Star was the ultimate power of the universe, that he could control the angry Sith Lord on board, and that the destruction of Alderaan would cripple the Rebel Alliance.

Jabba the Hutt was constantly eating, feeding his enormous gut, sitting with rolls of fat.

Neimoidian Gunray sought to increase his own wealth and power first by blockading Naboo, then by making a deal with a shadowy Sith Lord, and by encouraging regulation favorable to the Trade Federation in the Galactic Senate.

Greedo was envious of Solo and Jabba’s fondness for the Smuggler thus he had no compunction about killing the Corellian. Ventress was jealous of Dooku’s dark side powers and wanted to become a true Sith.

Ziro the Hutt didn’t want to budge from a cushy life on Coruscant and hired others to meddle in Jabba’s family life.

Vader often strangled an officer who displeased him, be it a Rebel officer or Imperial officer. Even before he fell completely to the dark side, in a blind rage after the death of his mother, he slaughtered an entire village of Tuskan Raiders.

Palpatine lusted after power and control. He manipulated his way into the seat of Chancellor, duped citizens to surrender personal rights and declared himself Emperor.

Musing on Dathomir

You’ve come a long way baby

An exotic forest world, home to the rancor and located in the Outer Rim, the Dathomir System was not part of the Old Republic even though it was not far off the much traveled Hydian Way  on the way to Toprawa (where Leia optained the Death Star plans), Serenno (home of Count Dooku) and the Corporate Sector.

Dathomir was first introduced to the Star Wars expanded universe in The Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton (Bantam Books, Apr 1995). The politically powerful young princess receives a proposal of marriage from a handsome prince of the Hapes Consortium, a matriarchal society.  Of course Han Solo wants her to have nothing of it and whisks her off to an obscure planet that he believes he won gambling. The Hapan Prince also arrives on the distant planet in pursuit of Leia.

On Dathomir the small group (trio plus prince) find a primitive matriarchal society of force users known as the Witches of Dathomir.  There are good witches and bad witches.  We learn the history of the witch women from Old Mother Rell who is about 300 years old at her telling.  The colony began with the exiled Allya, a rogue jedi banished to Dathomir and who died when her eldest daughter was only sixteen years old. Of course the force wielding girls born of Allya were raised without guidance and easily took over the local human Paecian colony.  (Adaptable humans colonize just about any carbon based planet).

As I calculated, Rell was born about 290 years before the Battle of Yavin. The Battle of Yavin is the measuring stick for everything in the expanded universe. The Star Wars Atlas indicates that Allya was exiled there 600 years before Yavin. In the aftermath of the Galactic Civil War and establishment of the New Republic, Imperial Warlord Zsinj seized control of the sector and used Dathomir as a base until he died in battle with the Hapans.

Since their inception, nightsisters (the evil witches of Dathomir) have appeared in other subsequent stories, novels, graphic novels, both before and after Yavin. There is an appeal to sexy, powerful, female dark force users as foils to the virtuous jedi. These women have appeared solo, isolated and alone, mysterious.

Fast forward to 2011 and the television series Clone Wars.

After she is left to die by Count Dooku, Ventress retreats to her birth world (formerly unknown but possibly Rattatak) of Dathomir. She plots her revenge. Admittedly it is difficult to fit all new stories into an existing framework but a Ventress back story in Clone Wars gives a nod to her youth with a flash back to training by Jedi Nerec and his death.

Dathomir was originally portrayed as a forgotten colony on a distant world, inaccessible. Society was primitive with inhabitants riding rancors. A small Imperial outpost was the only link to the outside galaxy.

Now the leader of the Nightsisters, Mother Talzin, is regal and civilized.  She has her own starship. She has her own hololink and converses with Count Dooku shockingly treating a man as an equal.  This is still a matriarchal society.  Men are kept apart.  This time the men aren’t human male concubines but are near human Zabraks (like Sith Darth Maul and Jedi Eeth Koth, Agen Kolar). The women are hooded and robed.  Are they human or near human?

Yet the exciting thing is that DATHOMIR is now part of the official CANON. This planet, which first existed in Wolverton’s mind and then in the EU, has made the leap to be cemented as a bona fide part of the galaxy by the film team, by none other than Katie Lucas herself! Like Aayla Secura, the blue Twi’lek jedi. Movements like these make the Star Wars universe a dynamic place. The galaxy so far, far away seems much more friendly, accessible and interactive.