The Literature Behind Star Wars

1. Oedipus, Sophocles

Oedipus was a mythical Greek king that fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother. Since Luke's mother was already dead and Lucas didn't want to go full incest, Luke ends up simply kissing his sister and then posing arrogantly about it afterwards. Laugh it up fuzzy Nerfherder. Oh wait, she really loves Han anyway. Still the fact that Luke and Leia didn't exchange "oh no we didn't glances" after he finds out Leia is not only his sister, but his twin sister was still fairly oooh gross.

No wonder why Anakin fell in love. Look at that blass-ter.

As Luke travels to Alderon he encounters Vader on an Imperial battleship. Then he journeys some more. Again he encounters Vader, who is his father. He searches his heart and knows it to be true. He ends up not killing him, but Vader dies anyways. Too bad Luke didn't make his way to Holland during his travels considering"vader" actually means father in greatest country in the world in Dutch. Vader's offspring don't kill each other now that he's gone. Instead they dance triumphantly with Ewoks on Endor. The End.

Later on Lucas provides further evidence that he suffers from what Freud called the Oedipus complex when we see Luke's mother and her bare midriff (apparently in the universe of Star Wars fashion sense is genetic, let's blame Midi-Chlorians, the Sith sure did). I bet if Luke had known his mom was so hot he wouldn't have kissed his sister and would have probably dispatched Vader out of envy long before Return of the Jedi.


2. The Greek Myths

When it comes to the Greek Myths, three books come to mind. Edith Hamilton's Mythology, Bullfinch's Mythology and The Greek Myths by Robert Graves. Unless you're intending to become a scholar of the Greek myths, I don't recommend Graves version. Start with Edith Hamilton's Mythology and if you're not sated then continue on to Bullfinch's, which is probably the most popular as it was intended for the general reader.

If you do chose Hamilton over Bullfinch (as I did), be sure to read another book of hers called The Greek Way.

Also, read one or all of these books before you read Campbell's book, which is number 3 on this list.

3. The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell

This books is Campbell's opus to the myth, specifically the monomyth (the word is borrowed from Joyce's book Finnegans Wake to which he wrote A Skeleton Key). The monomyth is based on the concept that every narrative regardless of the culture that it originated from display a basic pattern. There are 17 stages to this pattern with the first being the "Call to Adventure" - as Luke is called to adventure by discovering Leia's message in R2 while trying to clean him up and ends with "The Freedom to Live" - which not only Luke, the obvious hero in Star Wars secures for himself by beating the Dark Side, but also for everyone in that galaxy far, far away by defeating the Galatic Empire.

"The hero is the champion of things becoming, not of things become, because he is. 'Before Abraham was, I AM.' He does not mistake apparent changelessness in time for the permanence of Being, nor is he fearful of the next moment (or of the 'other thing'), as destroying the permanent with its change. 'Nothing retains its own form; but Nature, the greater renewer, ever makes up forms from forms. Be sure tnothing perishes in the whole universe; it does but vary and renew its form.' Thus the next moment is permitted to come to pass."

And if you've read this and raised an eyebrow, after I read the book and rewatched Star Wars I did too. Nothing about Luke convinced me that he would even comprehend what Campbell was saying and chances are if you tried to explain it to him he'd probably cut his hand off with his lightsaber and throw himself down a shaft except this time when he screamed like a bitch it would actually make sense.

Lucas and Campbell became friends after Star Wars came out because Campbell realised he just got the best publicity ever Lucas revived interest in his book. If you don't feel like reading the whole book, you can find a copy of the famous Memo written by Christopher Vogler here as well as the story behind it.

4. A Princess of Mars, Edgar Rice Burroughs

Before Burroughs gave us Tarzan, he gave us Dejah Thoris, the Martian Princess of Helium, who is courageous, resolute, and frequently in both mortal danger and the threat of being dishonored by the lustful designs of villains. Her main squeeze is a Virginian prospector/cowboy who is believed dead and entombed in a crypt only to be found alive later on in the story. Before he actually dies and gives the manuscript to Burroughs in the story, he relentlessly pursues Leia who can't seem to admit she loves him until its too late.



5. The Secret Doctrine; the Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy, Helena Blavatsky

Blavatsky's "Secret Doctrine" is an influential example of the revival of interest in esoteric and occult ideas in the modern age, in particular because of its claim to reconcile ancient eastern wisdom with modern science. I seriously doubt that Lucas read this two volume magnus opus, but even Blavatsky herself gave this wise advice regarding The Secret Doctrine:

"Reading the S.D. page by page as one reads any other book (she says) will only end us in confusion. The first thing to do, even if it takes years, is to get some grasp of the 'Three Fundamental Principles' given in the Proem. Follow that up by study of the Recapitulation - the numbered items in the Summing Up to Vol. I (Part 1.) Then take the Preliminary Notes (Vol. II) and the Conclusion (Vol. II)."  

So perhaps Lucas took her advice and read the book according to her instructions (which sounds more painful than trying to read Cortazar's Hopscotch) or someone said, "Hey Mr. Lucas you should read this great book that tries to reconcile eastern wisdom with modern science." Shortly after Mr. Lucas strangled the intern for making the suggestion while wearing an motorcycle helmet and some riding gloves. Never one to waste experience for the sake of his art, Lucas promptly edited his screenplay "The Journal of the Whills". Eventually this title would bring about the demise of other interns and be changed to Star Wars. When Reagan would later steal the name for his just as imaginary space program, Lucas would discover that Reagan had a force all his own that could not be defeated called "trickle down economics".

6. The Time Machine, HG Wells

Now those of us who have seen Star Wars know that the Millenium Falcon was the fastest thing in the universe, but even Han's baby (Imagine how badly you need to feel about your penis to hold such a grudge about losing your ship in a poker game. Yeah Lando, I mean you.) couldn't travel through time. What makes Wells' contribution to science fiction perhaps the greatest contribution of all time is that it was the first instance where a machine allowed its operator to travel purposely and selectively. Like the Falcon could do after Chewie would set the coordinates and Han goes down into a pit stupidly leaving tools on the edge of said pit while they're being blasted by TIE-Fighters and Imperial battleships trying to escape and finally R2 saves the day by fixing the coupling that had been sabotaged by jumping via lightspeed.

So yes, The Time Machine, though there is no time travel in Star Wars, made the Millenium Falcon possible and what would Star Wars and Han been without that bucket of bolts?

7. Memories, Dreams, Reflections, Carl Jung

Carl Jung was really into archetypes and by "really into" I actually mean obsessed.

"The archetype is a tendency to form such representations of a motif - representations that can vary a great deal in detail without losing their basic pattern ... They are indeed an instinctive trend".Thus for example "the archetype of initiation is strongly activated to provide a meaningful transition ... with a 'rite of passage' from one stage of life to the next such stages may include being parented, initiation, courtship, marriage and preparation for death."

According to Jung archetypes form a dynamic substratum common to all humanity, upon the foundation of which each individual builds his own experience of life, developing a unique array of psychological characteristics. Jung did not believe that people were born a blank slate, but instead possessed individual predestinies. Luke inherits Anakin's flying abilities, his Midi-Chlorians, and apparently his moodiness.

The idea of archetypes dates back to Plato, but Jung being obsessed and all had to go further. He went further to define the archetypes: hero, goddess, mother; but most importantly to Star Wars Jung proposed that:

"the archetype had a dual nature it exists both in the psyche and in the world at large. He called this non-psychic aspect of the archetype the "psychoid" archetype. He illustrated this by drawing on the analogy of the electromagnetic spectrum. The part of the spectrum which is visible to us corresponds to the conscious aspects of the archetype. The invisible infra-red end of the spectrum corresponds to the unconscious biological aspects of the archetype that merges with its chemical and physical conditions. He suggested that not only do the archetypal structures govern the behavior of all living organisms, but that they were contiguous with structures controlling the behavior of organic matter as well. The archetype was not merely a psychic entity, but more fundamentally, a bridge to matter in general. Jung used the ancient term of unus mundus; to describe the unitary reality which he believed underlay all manifest phenomena. He conceived archetypes to be the mediators of the unus mundus, organizing not only ideas in the psyche, but also the fundamental principles of matter and energy in the physical world."

Like Midi-Chlorians, light sabers, telekinesis, projecting yourself as a hologram from the realm of the dead, sending things, feeling the force, not feeling the force enough, and being able to telepathically communicate with someone because you need a ride and you no longer have a thumb to stick out.

Kidding aside, Jung's Collected Works in 20 volumes has some mind-boggling things within their numerous pages. Though it didn't seem to help Lucas much when it came time to create the psychology of young Vader.

8. The Golden Bough, Sir James George Frazer

This is not a book you read in a weekend. Considering it is a 12 volume study on mythology and religion, it's more like an encyclopaedia. In fact a case could be made that it is so extensive up to its 2nd printing when Frazer expanded it from 2 volumes to 12 that one could find anything they wanted to know about mythology and religion (specifically pagan, and Frazer did scandalise people by including the story of Jesus, implying Christianity was also a pagan religion). But if you're not a fan of books simply for reference sake, you might find Robert Graves The White Goddess an interesting read.
9. Mythologiques, Claude-Lévi Strauss

         Volume One: The Raw and The Cooked (Le cru et le cuit)
          Volume Two: From Honey to Ashes (Du miel aux cendres)
            Volume Three: The Origin of Table Manners (L'Origine des manières de table)
              Volume  Four: The Naked Man (L'homme nu)

I don't own all the volumes either in French or English of Strauss' Mythologiques, but I do own The Raw and the Cooked, widely considered the best of the four. The Raw and The Cooked contains almost 200 myths from South America, North America, and Europe. Strauss succeeded in presenting myths in a new light based on the idea that myths could not be understood in isolation, but rather had to be examined only as parts of a myth system. 

It's rather entertaining. Even more so if you read it, then watch Star Wars and realise that Lucas missed the point because when he set out to create his "myth" of the Jedis instead of presenting the myth system so that we could understand what was going on, he actually confused us more and more with every new Star Wars film.
10. Phantastes, George MacDonald

The story centers on the character Anodos (pathless or ascent in Greek) who is pulled into a dreamlike world. Anodos lives through many adventures and temptations (women in place of the Dark Side of the Force) while in this other world, until he is finally ready to give up his ideals.

I might be stretching it with this one, but it's worth a read anyway. If you don't believe me, then believe C.S. Lewis who said after reading Phantastes at the age of 16 that:

"That night my imagination was, in a certain sense, baptized; the rest of me not unnaturally, took longer. I had not the faintest notion what I had let myself in for by buying Phantastes."

Perhaps Mr. Lucas was visited by the same phantom menace (get it?) that possessed C.S. Lewis because we all know he didn't have the faintest idea what he was doing when he made The Phantom Menace and well we all hadn't the faintest notion what we had let ourselves in for by standing in line for eighteen hours to buy tickets to the midnight screening only to have the joy that Star Wars left in our childish hearts chased out by the grating voice of Jar Jar.

11. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien

Of all the books on this list #11 and #12 are by far the most influential, but the LOTR triology was the best fantasy novel of all time that inspired the best science fiction novel of all time.

Just read it, Lucas be damned.

12. Dune, Frank Herbert

The best science fiction novel of all time. I cannot say this enough. I might type it again later on down the page just because every time I write it my fingers rejoice in the ring of truth they have just typed. More so when I explain to them that these words will be on the Internet and perhaps read by others who might also know this to be true. At one point the original screenplay for Star Wars was pretty much Dune with a few names changed, while ironically Dune is sort of LOTR with a lot of names barely changed at all.

But read it because it is the best science fiction novel of all time. Sorry, my hands got carried away a little there.

13. Sha-seki su (Zen Flesh, Zen Bones), Muju

#17 Stingy in Teaching

A young physician in Tokyo named Kusuda met a college friend who had been studying Zen. The young doctor asked him what Zen was.

"I cannot tell you what it is," the friend replied, "but one thing is certain. If you understand Zen, you will not be afraid to die..."

Now I've added this book to the list because Lucas himself has admitted that Buddhism and Zen in particular was a big influence on how he came up with the concept for "The Force". This particular koan continues when the physician decides to seek out a master and be completely humbled by him, similar to Luke being humbled by Yoda; but also if you notice the Jedis, Yoda and Obi-Wan specifically show no fear of death because they believe in The Force and apparently being a Jedi master not only makes you less afraid of death than Jesus, but it also makes you able to reincarnate yourself in case your buddies who aren't dead yet are stranded in the freezing temperatures of the Hoth system.

14. Tao te Tching, Laozi

Knowing others is wisdom;

Knowing the self is enlightenment.

Mastering others requires force;

Mastering the self requires strength;

He who knows he has enough is rich.

Perseverance is a sign of will power.

He who stays where he is endures.

To die but not to perish is to be eternally present.

On Knowledge and Humility

Try not read those lines without hearing Yoda's wise words to Luke. Oh wait - Do or do not. There is no try.

But no seriously, imagine the Tao te Ching translated from Chinese by someone who speaks broken English and voila! But no seriously, read it. You too might become as wise as Yoda. And ever present you will be.



15. The Wizard of Oz, Frank Baum

This book makes the list for two reasons: one because it is [somewhat] universally acknowledged that the film was a big influence on Lucas, but I argue that the book had some influence on Lucas as well.

Dorothy, much like Luke is living on a farm with her aunt and uncle at the start of The Wizard of Oz. She has a faithful companion (Toto). She encounters a metal man, a lion, and a scarecrow with no brains. Likewise Luke has his faithful companion, R2 (though he does wander off, doesn't he?), C3PO, Chewbacca, and well, you know who the scarecrow is, but he was rather handsome one. Incidentally both "scarecows" get a little lip action, if we, and we should, assume that Luke and Leia being twins are basically the same person, i.e. different aspects of Dorothy.

Where Lucas diverged, and thankfully so is that unlike both Luke and Leia Dorothy didn't rescue the scarecrow from a carbonite slab that was hanging in a really fat alien's fortress. Good thing too because I don't know if those pigtails and ruby slippers would have gone so well with Leia's metal bikini outfit*.

* I stand corrected. Apparently anything goes with Leia's metal bikini outfit. Merci Monsieur Redacteur! I forget most men's fantasies don't have any fashion sense.