Star Wars – A “Force” to Be Reckoned With

I have to admit I have already watched the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer more times than any non-geek would think is proper. (You might have already guessed at the level of my love for Star Wars from the countdown to the right.) Afterward, I always end up contemplating the uniting force (pun intended) that this movie has had upon at least the United States, if not a significant portion of the world. The pictures from the gathering at San Diego Comic-Con both astounded me and made me proud to be a lifelong Star Wars fan. Besides the fact that Star Wars is an amazing universe and deserves a second (or third, or fourth) chance, I can’t help feeling that something else is at work here.

The X-wing does look pretty fraking cool…

At first, I thought that the Disney marketing titan might be the reason behind it. While it is true that there is a lot more tie-in merchandise…well, everywhere, it seems to be more than the PJ pants or LEGO X-Wings. This is an intangible hype.

Is it J.J. Abrams influence, holding the information tightly under wraps? Maybe. I remember when the prequels were in production Star Wars Insider had new pictures and information about the movies in every issue. But then again, most people that I’ve talked to this time are trying to limit their spoilers so that they can have go in to the theater with no preconceptions or previous knowledge. So even if behind-the-scenes information was plastered everywhere, it would not necessarily have diminished the hype.

It could just be that we have been disappointed before and we want so badly to receive the sequel we’ve all been yearning for. (Sorry, Mr. Lucas.) The idea of the prequels was great, but let’s face it, I think most people wanted to continue forward, not dive into a tragedy for which we already knew the ending. Then again, if fans truly wanted to see the future of the universe they could go to the Expanded Universe, which is what I did, for a time.

In the end, I believe that the reason why the world seems primed for this movie is that we are hungry for heroes. The original trilogy gave us a modern mythology, something we hadn’t seen in decades. Look at how it has become so pervasive in our society. Have you met anyone who doesn’t recognize R2-D2, or who doesn’t know the phrase, “May the Force be with you?” It’s akin to Greek mythology, not everyone has heard, watched, or read the stories, but a typical person would know who Hercules or Zeus is. They probably would even understand a Mount Olympus reference. I have to say though, thinking of Star Wars as a mythology was not my idea, it came from Joseph Campbell.

Several years ago I read an amazing book that I recommend to all writers called, The Power of Myth. It is actually the transcript of a TV special by Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers. In it, Star Wars is mentioned quite a lot, and is described as a classic mythology. Myths are described as the world’s dreams, that open the audience up to a “dimension of mystery.” To me that is the same as bringing back a piece of childhood, because what is adulthood, if not the revealing of the truth of all the world around you?

These ‘dreams’ help those that hear, read, or watch them learn how to deal with problems in our world (i.e. The Bible) and are part of the search to discover what it means to be alive. So myths address the question the most essential question that we all get to when we have either stayed up way too late, or have imbibed a bit too much: what does it actually mean to be human? Mr. Data would sympathize, because he worked on it for years and never figured it out. Now that technology has a finger in almost every aspect of our lives, that has added another piece to this equation. Does what we do online really count as living? Can it be part of what it means to be human? Or are we just distracting ourselves from our real, offline lives?

I think that Star Wars has answered the question of what it means to be human for us before, and that we are all yearning for it to do so again. At a time when we were first venturing into space it was vital for us to look at just what exactly we were going to be sharing with the galaxy. Star Wars showed us the human side of space. Today, the mammoth that is the Internet is just another new frontier, where humanity can be sorely lacking. We need to be shown again just what it means to be human.

From another angle, with our world seemingly sinking to new depths of depravity, we need a shining kingdom on the hill to strive toward. Among all of the…let’s just say it…horrific events that have inundated the nightly news every day, we want to be reminded of what it is to be human, and how to make a difference in the world.

He’s somewhere just over that dune. Or was it that one? They all look alike…

Just like Luke Skywalker, we all want to be able to be the nobody that rises from obscurity and changes history, but the path to doing that has become less clear over the past decade.Not that I’m advising someone to go searching for Old Ben out in the the canyons of Tatooine in order to find that path. But what I am saying is that Star Wars once showed us that if we embraced nature and everyone around us, and believed in the good of others, we could save the galaxy. But I think we need to hear it again, because we humans tend to take things for granted unless we are confronted with them regularly and in new ways. I think that this new episode has the power to make a real difference in the world beyond box office sales, by reminding us to be mindful of the world and people around us, and to do, not try.

What do you think? Can this new Star Wars change the world, and give us the mythology we need to change the world for the better?

Stuck in Elsa’s Icy Shadow

Amid rampant reports that Queen Elsa, from Disney’s blockbuster “Frozen,” outsells her sister Princess Anna, I’ve found myself wondering why that’s the case. Besides the awesome dress, ice palace, and signature song, that is. While those things are part of why we love the movie, they are not actual character traits; they are the superficial aspects of her that Disney has been criticized for focusing on ever since they started making princess movies. And yet… Elsa is being heralded as a “giving young fans a Disney Princess with an independent streak.” (Entertainment Weekly, #1321/1322)

*Spoiler Alert* If you haven’t watched Frozen yet, the ending will be discussed at length, so be advised. And go watch it, ya slow poke!

Why is Elsa called independent? Her parents and her powers forced her to be alone as a child. After becoming queen, she only left when she was chased (or perceived herself to be chased) out of town by her citizens who saw her powers. Then immediately after she sang her iconic song that declared her determination to be herself and embrace her powers, she qualified that by telling her sister that she planned to remain isolated as she lived her new, free life. Independence does not mean isolation; it means being able to function and possibly even flourish on your own.

As a direct foil, look at Anna, her sister. As soon as Elsa ran away, Anna struck off into the wilderness after her to find her. Although it was a tad reckless, she managed to function, and indeed even flourish. She found supplies, a guide, and managed to find her sister even though Elsa was hiding on the top of the most ridiculously steep mountain possible. Then even after Elsa put ice in her heart Anna still managed to try everything she could to try to save her own life, as well as her sister’s.

To make this all worse, the article suggested that Disney has failed to make an independent princess before now. Saying that ignores the robust tradition of Disney princesses who strike off on their own and spark the adventures that make up some of the most beloved animated features in history: Ariel decides to leave everything she knows in order to become human, and succeeded in making a new life for herself. Mulan took her father’s place in the Chinese Army even though she was the wrong gender and wasn’t trained to fight, and she ended up saving her country as well as her father. Belle agreed to take her father’s place in a dungeon and give up life as she knew it, in order to save his life, and ended up finding a way to thrive in her new home. These are only a few of the many princesses (possibly excluding the original three, Cinderella, Aurora, and Snow White) who had enough independence to make life-altering decisions against their family and friends’ advice.

If somehow the definition of independent has been limited now to only mean that the character didn’t have a love interest, then by all means, apply it to Elsa. But if you use the real definition, the mere fact that there is a love interest involved does not mean that the princess didn’t act independently, and vice versa. Mulan, for example, took what she learned from her new friends (including, yes, the love interest, Shang) and using it, plus her own intelligence, saved the Chinese emperor. The plans were hers, and the final battle was hers alone. Only after she had shown how strong and intelligent she was on her own did her love interest actually act on his feelings.

There is nothing wrong, in fact, I believe it might be healthier, to show portrayals of princesses working through their problems and achieving success individually, while simultaneously getting to know a romantic interest. I agree that love is not a required part of a formula for success, but most people look for it in real life even if they don’t find it. Examples where love complements your life need to be shown, as opposed to those where the love eclipses everything in your life. Anna, for example, organized her sister’s rescue and then later saved Elsa by sheer force of will, all while getting to know her love interest, Kristoff. Kristoff helped her, but he was not the reason she succeeded. Anna’s independence was the only reason why Elsa was found, the bad guy was defeated, and Olaf found a home!

The whole point of “Frozen” is that Anna takes the initiative, to the point of recklessness, and that Elsa is cautious to the point of inaction, but when they work together and trust each other they can achieve more than they ever could individually. So to ignore that great message about the strength of a sisterly bond, and replace it with the incorrect assertion of Elsa’s independence is either deliberate misstatement or gross misunderstanding of the movie.

And, by the way, Sven agrees with me. *Hands Sven a carrot*