Mythology of Star Wars with George Lucas and Bill Moyers

Distributed by Films for the Humanities and Sciences, Box 2053, Princeton, NJ 08543-2053; 800-257-5126Produced by Pamela Mason WagnerDirector n/a1999, VHS, color, 57 min. As George Lucas puts it, "I'm telling an old myth in a new way, that's how you pass down the meat and potatoes of your society to the next generation.." This program explores the meaning behind Lucas's phenomenally successful and influential series of Star Wars motion pictures and in doing so touches not only on the often-discussed topic of the use of basic mythological themes in the movies, but also on the place of religion in the Star Wars universe, the role of mentors and fathers both in the films and in Lucas's life, and the mysteries surrounding the creative process. But it is the discussion of the importance and impact of the underlying myths that inform and influence our culture and, especially, our storytelling that is at the heart of this interview. Time and again Lucas returns to the importance of retelling, modernizing, and making relevant the basic stories of a society to the next generation - the tales that demonstrate good and evil and the place of personal choice and responsibility, the stories of the hero's journey (a journey that is lived out each day by all of us in the countless moral and ethical decisions we constantly make), the fables that help us to examine the way that we lead our lives and how we find our individuality and our place in the world. Lucas is profoundly aware of the power that his cinematic storytelling wields in the socialization of children and speaks of his concern that this responsibility is not always handled well by filmmakers. Lucas responds to questions relating to his personal hero's journey by describing the mentoring that he received from Francis Ford Coppola on filmmaking and Joseph Campbell on pursuing cosmic questions. On a much deeper level, he speaks of his relation with his father, his first mentor, and his decision to follow his own dream and talents to pursue a career in the arts, rather than assuming control of the family business as his father desired. He also briefly discusses his religious beliefs. But Lucas is clearly more comfortable, and effective, in discussing his art. His genuine joy in the creative process of filmmaking is evident in his conversation about creating "a kind of immaculate realism in a totally unreal and fantasy world." Every detail in the Star Wars films, from developing a society for each alien culture to the careful use of color to suggest good and evil, must fit together convincingly in order to create a compelling story that is a retelling of our own society's basic myths. He is completely captured by the power of film, which he describes as taking the senses of all other art forms (e.g., the stories of literature and drama, the sounds of music, the sights of visual arts) and putting them into a whole, and is especially enthusiastic about the possibilities of digital cinema for removing more of the impediments to the creation of imagined realities. Although it is not the first time he has heard them, Lucas still expresses some surprise at interpretations of the Star Wars films as being profoundly religious. He answers that his intention was, once again, to distill religious issues from all faiths into bits and pieces that would be appealing and accessible to a new generation of viewers. For example, the Force was not meant to represent a particular religion or religions, and certainly was not meant to be embraced as a quasi-religion in itself, but instead was meant to awaken spirituality in young people, to stir them to ask questions, especially about faith, rather than to provide any particular answer. Bill Moyers was an inspired choice to act as the interviewer in this program, not only because of his well-known skills as a questioner and journalist, but also because he had, more than a decade earlier, collaborated on the series Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth. Moyers's familiarity with both the influence of mythology and the Star Wars body of work is evident throughout the presentation. The production values are excellent, Lucas and Moyers are engaging, and there are enough clips from the Star Wars films, especially the Phantom Menace, to keep things visually exciting. While certainly not an essential purchase, this video would be appropriate for junior high and above not only as a general interest purchase, but also as a tool targeted to beginning study in filmmaking or to generate basic level discussions in the areas of mythology, philosophy, religion, and psychology.