Summer Journals

I haven't been updating recently, just because I've been working ready hard to finish up the research portion of my project; the last time I posted, I explained how I was going to be looking more into Lucas' earlier influences, and the work has actually proved to be the golden nugget of truth I was looking for, to turn my research into something really unique. No one has ever really looked into the monomythic themes in Kurosawa's works, specifically The Hidden Fortress, Seven Samurai, and Yojimbo-mainly because those works weren't supposed to be illustrating mythological journeys-- and yet the archetypes and motifs are there. Every night, for the past four or five weeks, I have been writing reflections to keep up with my research, and quite recently I spent time physically writing through all of these parallels I found. And now that my research is seemingly finished up, I've begun stringing all of my (useful) reflections together into my first draft of my paper.

And, since you're reading a blog about Star Wars, I'm assuming that many of you will get this geeky little joke, when I say that my first draft, as of today, is 42 pages long.

42. I'll not say more.

With the help of James Murray, I'm also going to start on a little video project, which isn't part of the big, culminating presentation, but more of a interesting visual representation that sort of illuminates what the monomyth trajectory is, as a kind of literature review of one of my primary resources.

The last two days I've spent mulling over the first few drafts of The Star Wars, which was originally planned to simply be one entire movie--not a trilogy. The most poignant discovery I made here was that Lucas did not begin to consciously reference Campbell in editing his drafts until the third draft- which means that the drafts preceding it had unconscious parallels between it and the monomyth. This is extremely important, because, not only does this allow me to drive away from redundancy in creating parallels already found over and over again, but suggests that not only did Lucas unconsciously write the heroic cycle into his story, but that his true original influences (namely, Kurosawa and Westerns) perhaps had the monomyth embedded in them as well. 

And so, my former desire to discover whether or not Star Wars can serve as a mythology is nil, because Campbell's theory of myth is not the single theory out there. However, the fact that Lucas used Campbell before actually knowingly referencing him suggests more strongly that it is Campbell's theory of myth that is most important in American film- and perhaps of other societies, as well. This argument will hopefully be bolstered by my upcoming exploration into the monomyth in Kurosawa's samurai films, and the Westerns influenced by them. I may also take a look at Lucas's previous films, such as American Graffitti and THX 1138 to see whether or not the heroic cycle is present in these films. If this is the case, then these explorations serve as a stronger backing for discovering that Campbell's heroic cycle isn't simply a vague structure, but a trajectory that not Lucas unconsciously used throughout his career even before he actually read The Hero with a Thousand Faces, but other American filmmakers and possibly Kurosawa, as well.

Hopefully this turn of events will lead me down a narrower field of research--and hopefully, one that hasn't been done BEFORE, which was my problem originally. 

Advice for those wanting to do a SURF in the future: do your research BEFORE your research. Extensively. You know what? Just go ahead and do your own SURF project before you actually apply for one. ;)

I spent the first two days re-watching the original trilogy, along with re-reading Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces, and applying the monomythic themes to Star Wars. I then went back and did the same for the Odyssey, and wrote an almost 30 page reflection on the parallels. A good word for what this is called is "comparative mythology": tracing the similarities of mythology from two different cultures.  The next day I went about tackling an interview between Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers that was scribed in a book titled The Power of Myth, which traces Campbell's theories in the idea behind myth, as a whole. The most resonating definition he gives, in my opinion, is that myth expresses the "life potentialities" of an individual, of a culture. 

Here's a generic outline of what I've done this week and last: weaving the parallels through the ancient myth and the proposed modern one, but writing loads more reflections on The Power of Myth series, taking notes on basis Jungian psychology for the "archetypes" present in Star Wars, reading another one of Campbells books, The Inner Reaches of Outer Space, M. Kieth Booker's Alternate Americas (which is about the place of science fiction in American society), and then today, looking at film's reception of classical stories in various classical journals on the subject, which reflected the various pedagogical functions Star Wars has teaching the classics, like the Odyssey.

I'll leave you today with a snippet of one of the reflections I've wrote thus far:

                     Chapter I: Myth and the Modern World

Power of Myth is doing an excellent job in putting Campbell’s theory of all myths into perspective for me, outside of the context of the heroic journey; it’s one thing to understand how Star Wars, or how the Odyssey, embodies the symbols and archetypes that all different culture’s myths possess, but another, deeper thing entirely to go about exploring why myth is of such importance, and why it is imperative that we have one for our current society. A lack of mythology is not America’s own loss—though it is undoubtedly a bigger problem for all industrialized cultures than some indigenous ones, perhaps—but to an extent, the world’s loss, for around it, education has changed, and with it, the importance and general knowledge of the Occidental mythological information has been washed away. Myths are no longer in the minds of people as they once were, and so through my findings, I will possibly understand whether or not Star Wars can serve as the symbolical reflection of the myth that will once again renew it in the minds of the current society, and for younger generations to come.

Campbell’s first description of myth is one of the most resonant things he says in this chapter: “Myths are clues to the spiritual potentialities of human life.” What he means by this is that we attach the archetypes found in myths to our subconscious selves, and through the fantasy and evolvement of the heroes and archetypes found in the stories, we are inspired to believe that we can also evolve in such a way; that we can look inward and find within ourselves the transcendent, like the heroes of the myths do. This sort of relates to the fact that our two main heroes of Star Wars are rooted initially in the mundane lives. Because so are we. Through them, we realize the potential within ourselves—perhaps not consciously, but that is why they stick with us, and why they resonate so profoundly with so many people. One of the most basic ways we see this ascension to the “transcendental” is through the maturity of our heroes; all humans have the same growth the same stages of beginning, initiation into maturity, and then death. 

Campbell and Moyer’s discussion leads on to the seeming replacement of myth by television and movies, for through these main outlets, younger generations are looking for life models. I found it interesting that Campbell claims that television cannot completely reflect for us the sanctity of the life models myths create, because we receive these stories through our homes. Movies, however, can be watched through a “special temple”—the movie theater— that allows us to engross ourselves in the story being told, and emphasizes the god-like personalities of the actors as characters that we seemingly worship in our modern society.I am reminded of all of the documentaries that interview people on their first viewings of Star Wars: how people jumped out of their seats and cheers for the heroes they witnessed. I myself have never been in a movie theatre, and felt such a way, but it just goes to show that there is a certain spiritual connection some people have with the original trilogy that relates to the spiritual connection Campbell is discussing on our original myths.

Of course, one of the simplest differences to make between the trilogy and original myth is the science fiction element—but as Campbell simply puts it, lightsabers, starships and droids are simply “different instruments [that] take over the roles that earlier instruments no longer serve.” I can’t help but wonder if there isn’t any more of a significant to the role of technology in Star Wars that transcends the mere connotation of a more modern “instrument.” The Death Star, Luke and Anakin’s mechanical hands, droids that appear more human than the humans that created them; all of these seem to allude to a main concern of modern society—obviously not one that any classical culture would have had to worry about. But does this have any importance as far as justifying Star Wars as a modern mythology? “Certainly Star Wars has a valid mythological perspective. It shows the state as a machine and asks, ‘Is the machine going to crush humanity or serve humanity?’” Then, according to Campbell, it does. Even though it is a different type of “instrument,” it still has its ethical roots in mythological concerns.

One of the biggest questions I’ve drawn thus far, and one that keeps resonating within all of the notes I’ve taken and books I’ve read is the extreme emphasis on a divisive Western and Eastern influence in the films. Campbell also seems quite inherent on picking up the differences, especially within the religions, and how mythology relates to each. For him, the West has this “imperialistic thrust of a certain in-group culture" that separates it from the rest. However, he does seem to stress that it needs to amalgamate itself with the cultures of others. He sort of generalizes into the West being dominated by Christian beliefs, but he is more or less just speaking specifically of Western religion and Eastern religions—not the people within those vicinities. Western ideals, therefore, lean towards nature being something that serves the people (as with biblical ideas that nature is wild and barbarous), whereas Eastern reflects the combination of the industrial and the natural, the natural being within (i.e, although the current Eastern societies, like Tokyo, for instance, seem lorded over by industrialization, they are still rooted to very spiritual existences).This simple discussion is interesting to me, because there seems to be a divide such as this within Star Wars: the Jedi, and more importantly, the Force, embody the “looking inward” of the Eastern philosophies, and the oneness with nature, whereas the Western ideals seem more strong with characters like Han Solo, and Lando, and of course, the world itself seems to be at odds with the Jedi’s purpose, steeped in industrialization. Campbell says that “the only mythology that is valid today is the mythology of the planet—and we don’t have such a mythology.” Campbell goes further to say that the closest religion to grasping at this ideal is Buddhism—one of the most popular Eastern religions, and one that obviously influenced Lucas. I find it interesting that Campbell believes that, in order for there to be a modern mythology, they must essentially learn to draw from both the Western ideals that are more sociological, and the Eastern ones, that are more mystical. It is almost as if Star Wars itself is not only a representation of a modern mythology, but a society’s own narrative in discovering such a modern mythology.

 I’m not sure if any of this reflection will be of any import to justifying it as a mythology in itself, but Campbell also brings up validity in the fact that modern society has lost an essential element to the myth that may be unable to resurface: the sociological function. This is the proposed modern myth’s ability to “support and validate a certain social order” within the society that begot it.  Campbell says that this function is “out of date” . However, three other functions seem to still stand and serve the modern world: the mystical function, the cosmological function, and the pedagogical function. Star Wars most certainly functions fully with the first two; as far as the mystical function goes, Star Wars “addresses the transcendent mystery” that we are constantly seeking out by giving it a seemingly ambiguous form—the Force. Countless times in the interview, Campbell speaks of myth’s ability to show a society that it is not trying to find the “truth” behind the mystery, but to accept the awesomeness of it. This is the way of the cosmological function, and by making the Force as ambiguous as it is, Star Wars projects this function as well. Lastly, there is the pedagogical function, which brings me back to the idea that perhaps Star Wars not only serves as a mythology in itself, but as the story of a society discovering mythology once more: “We have today to learn to get back into accord within the wisdom of nature and realize again our brotherhood with animals and with the water and the sea.” This is what Eastern philosophies still believe, and it is interesting that Lucas would put such an emphasis on this. To open the eyes of the Western audience? But is Star Wars able to do this? Is Lucas’s derivation from Eastern ideals good enough to do such a thing, or is it simply good enough to symbolically emphasize, through the teachings of the Jedi and the force, that it’s better to contemplate something that we know inherently to be a part of us, such as the earth, that we should adhere to. And, according to Campbell, this isn’t only a Eastern ideal, but seems to be a key element in creating a modern myth.

I guess this is the part where I tell you about my research. Well. Let me just start off by saying that when I told my mom I was doing a research project funded by the school, she was completely stoked, and went off and told everyone. And then I told her my research was on Star Wars, and she promptly said, "I....don't think I'm going to let anyone actually know what your project is about."

Lovely. What a confidence boost.

I assume that will be many of my reader's reactions when I explain what I'm doing; for most, it might seem like I'm simply watching a lot of cool movies. And I am. But just because my research is actually entertaining doesn't mean it isn't insightful and academic! Because believe you me,  it is.

I will be exploring the ancient mythological influences on the original Star Wars trilogy, to discover whether or not the films can serve as a "mythology" for an American society that is not only demythologized--but has no mythology of its own to base its ideals and values upon. And, as Joseph Campbell describes, that is the essence of a myth: to serve as a "life model" for the society that has created it. It is evident that in our current state, we are striving to find the sort of "cultural consciousness" that cultures with their own myths have claim to. Is it possible that, since Star Wars essentially "rips off" the idea of Campbell's monomyth, and conforms almost directly to the trajectory that every other mythology from any other culture has, that Lucas was looking to bring about a away for America to regain its own cultural consciousness?

I guess we shall see. I will then spend time listening to Campbell’s “Power of Myth” lectures to further understand his philosophy of how these archetypes—specifically, the ones present in Star Wars and the Odyssey—are a part of the human experience, as preliminary research into exploring just how these archetypes may appeal particularly to the American experience. In looking at the archetypes that Lucas chose, I can compile a list of what remains as important components of an American mythology. Next, I will study the influence of the Western on Star Wars, as it is the most prominent representation of an early “American Myth,” and because Lucas was inspired by these films during the creation of the trilogy. I will view and take notes on Stagecoach, A Fistful of Dollars and The Magnificent Seven—and also watch the films that inspired the latter two movies, Akira Kurasawa’s Yojimbo and Seven Samurai, to understand which elements of the eastern films remained prevalent to the American audience, and to emphasize the universality in the monomythic ideas present in both Kurosawa’s films and George Lucas’. I will then compile my results, and exploring various journals and books to discover why these gathered elements of mythology and Western film appeal to the American audience, and what they and Star Wars reveal about our culture.