Star Wars Philosophy

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Have you ever thought about the underlying philosophy in your favorite series? I often think about the philosophy in everything, but this is especially true in the realm of my favorite series such as Game of Thrones, The Matrix Trilogy, The Spawn Universe, and to a great extent the Star Wars Universe. I did a pretty in depth post about the philosophy of Spawn previously which you can find HERE if you are also a fan of that series. Today I want to dive into Star Wars and I'll touch lightly on some of the "expanded universe," as it just adds to the themes I want to discuss, but I'll try to stick to the movies and games that are most well known.

If we look at the overall theme of the Force and how it's portrayed, there is the obvious fight between good and evil going on, but there is much more to it than that. It's explained between the movies and games that the force is essentially a living being in and of itself and it's presence is felt by those sensitive to it. I draw heavy distinctions between this and the energetic balance between all living things in our own universe, and if you don't know, I find that morality and right and wrong or good and evil are all matters of perspective. That being said, we can see some of the cultural stigma associated with spirituality and morality play out through the grandiose and dramatic space opera.

If you notice the cycles and patterns that repeat between the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy, there's a theme of the "good guys" being tempted and falling to the dark side of the force. The way they discuss the light side and the dark side would almost lead us to the conclusion that they are two different things, but that is just the illusion of duality. Essentially the back and forth or push and pull dynamic between the Sith and Jedi is just the ever present power struggle that we see present in society today. The Sith are viewed as cold and driven by power, whereas the Jedi are viewed as warm and natural, themes which are carried over into their characters looks, speech, and even the color of their light sabers.

We can draw a comparison of the degrees of corruption that Lucas wanted to portray in the colors of the light sabers of the force users. Red, green, and blue are the basics, but then we get introduced to Mace Windu and his purple light saber. This can be taken one of two of ways, but ultimately I feel it's the same thing. If we base it off the color spectrum that we know, then Windu would be an extremist to the Jedi, but we can also mix red and blue to make purple as well. I personally don't dwell too much on which of those two it is, because the end result is the same and it's a stark comparison to our own societies and how religious extremists will violently reject those of other beliefs. In the end, as far as we know for certain, Windu disregards his own beliefs because he would rather kill Palpetine than risk him getting away on a technicality. This act actually pushes Anakin Skywalker over the edge to the dark side who defends Palpetine and thus accepts that he is now a "bad person" that has done an unforgivable thing for someone he loves.

Considering how modern society and religion forces people into situations where they feel there is no right answer, it's clear that there is more to Star Wars on a philosophical level than is spelled out in the movies. Looking into the expanded universe we can find characters like Kreia and the gray Jedi that don't strictly adhere to either code. Kreia is a whole philosophy in herself, but the general idea is that these are Force users that were at some point "good" or Jedi, then fell to the "bad" or Sith side or at least studied it extensively, and then found a happy balance in the middle. I find this the most interesting facet of the Star Wars universe's philosophy, because it has the perspective to look at both sides and see that ultimately they are both a push for power to wipe out the other. The Gray Jedi then become a neutral force trying to counteract both extremes and bring actual balance to the Force.

I feel that this could realistically be an ongoing series in itself, but my intention is to explore other popular fantasy universes in the future and discuss their philosophy. Perhaps I'll revisit Star Wars again in the future, but for now I just wanted to go over the basics of what I see as the foundation for the philosophy and perhaps encourage some of you to explore it for yourself. Have you noticed any of these themes? Do you agree or disagree? Let me know your thoughts and I'll start thinking up which fantasy universe I'll try to tackle next. Namaste.

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