George Lucas, the director of the Star Wars saga, wanted to write a modern myth that would be more acceptable for our times. To complete this task he decided to look back on classical myths and legends focusing on heroes. During his research he came across Joseph Campbell’s “Hero of a Thousand Faces,” which became increasingly important to him, especially Campbell’s theory about the monomyth (Moyers). The monomyth revolves around archetypes, focusing intently on the hero archetype and his quest for good. There were many Jungian influenced archetypes that existed throughout the Hero’s Journey, including the hero, mentor, threshold guardian, herald, shape shifter, shadow and trickster. In Jungian archetypes, the hero could be interpreted as a combination of the “self” and the “hero,” the mentor as the “sage” (wise man) and the shape shifter is the “persona” (Moyers) These Jungian influenced archetypes, as well as his anima (Leia) and animus (Luke) are all noticeable in the Star Wars Saga and have greatly contributed to the popularity of the films. Other Jungian concepts are also vividly displayed through the characters of the films, most notably the collective unconscious and development of the personal conscious. To complete your training as a Jedi you have to recognize your shadow and then suppress it to the best of your ability. The other task a Jedi must complete is to control and manipulate the ‘force’ an entity that exists everywhere. The ‘force’ could be related to Jung’s notion of the collective unconscious and the ‘psychic’ mind.
Luke Skywalker begins his journey in a similar way to all archetypal heroes, in the ordinary world of Tatooine. He lives a very average life. He doesn’t, for instance recognize his shadow and you can often see him sinking into his type 2 personality. This is evident during the beginning of the film, his personality would drastically change from carefree to aggressive in moments. Luke’s character is also more creativity based than logical, he builds model spaceships, spends time working on his ship and maintaining droids.
Luke receives the call to adventure when he sees a message from his R2 unit about Princess Leia, a princess who needed to get some plans to Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Wiseman. After meeting his mentor, Luke begins to cross into the threshold when he travels to Mos Eisley Spaceport, where he meets new allies including Han Solo and Chewbacca. The four of them, and Luke’s two droids R2-D2 and C-3P0 travel to the planet of Alderaan and Obi-Wan begins to train Luke. They descend to the depths of the labyrinth / underworld when they enter the Death Star where they rescue the princess.
Obi-Wan sacrifices himself in a battle with Darth Vader to help Luke become the needed Jedi. The group then undergoes the supreme ordeal where they destroy the Death Star. The team is then rewarded for their heroism. They continue on this ordeal, where they are continuously tested with the battle at Hoth and the loss of more friends. This is followed by the team entering the belly of the beast, a space slug in an Asteroid field. Around this time Luke Skywalker departs form the group to go to Dagobah to learn from the Jungian wizard archetype otherwise known as Yoda. During his training Luke sees a projection of his shadow; he lets his anger overcome him and kills this projection.
Princess Leia, Han Solo, C-3P0, R2-D2 and Chewbacca end up in Cloud city where the meet the Jungian “fool” archetype Lando Calrissian. Lando betrays the group, and uses Han Solo as a scapegoat when he freezes him in Carbonite. Luke departs on the road back to Cloud City to save his friends and continue the quest to bring good back into the universe. Luke is resurrected after he confronts his father, Darth Vader (the shadow). Luke then Returns to Tatooine, where he meets Jabba the Hutt and battles for Han Solo’s life. Luke battles the monster Rancor and then narrowly escapes the jaws of the Sarlacc. The group then departs to the planet Endor where they furiously battle along side the Resistance against the Empire. Luke confronts his father and the Emperor (Darth Sidious). Luke is nearly destroyed by the Emperor after he refuses to fight, but is saved by Darth Vader. After this, Vader once again transforms into Anakin Skywalker and his shadow diminishes into the background; however, it is too late for Anakin and he passes away. The team then returns with the elixir, the freedom Empire.
An interesting aspect about the films Star Wars is the power of the force. Although George Lucas didn’t intently study or base his films directly off of any Jungian ideas, the Force seems to share a lot of similarities with the collective unconscious. There is both a personal aspect of it, and one that is collective amongst everyone, and even everything in the world. According to Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Force is something that flows through everyone, and can be controlled if willed to. Although Carl Jung often describes the collective unconscious as something that cannot easily be controlled, or even recognized in most people, he does state that “…it is highly probable that we are still a long way from the summit of absolute consciousness (Jung 1971, 135).” Perhaps the Force is what Jung is describing. A great deal of the times, Jedi and Sith act upon their feelings. They can feel other people and what they’re truths are. Luke would often describe feeling Darth Vader, or knowing that what someone said was true simply by feeling it. In the Empire Strikes back, Yoda describes the force as his ally; “Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us.” The Force is constantly growing and changing. It has existed forever and within it are all those who were once strong with the Force. When a Jedi dies, their body disappears and becomes one with the Force, giving their knowledge to this entity.
Carl Jung defines the shadow as the dark archetype, a “moral problem that challenges the whole ego personality (Jung 1973, 145).” He continues by claiming that the shadow is emotionally based and when one is ruled by emotions they tend to act more like a primitive who is incapable of moral judgment. These qualities are evident in the Star Wars theme of “the dark side of the force.” Jedi are forced to drive their shadow into the deepest pits of their self and suppress it to the best of their ability. It is a very dangerous task and only a select few can achieve this. Which is why in episode 1, the Phantom Menace, you see a Jedi council that has to interview and filter all the potential padawans (Jedi apprentice), to make sure the selected ones will be able to control and suppress their shadows. Anakin Skywalker as a child barely makes it through due to the sheer amount of anger that resided in his shadow. The absence of the shadow in the Jedi’s self is evident through the Jedi Code:
There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
(There is no chaos, there is harmony.)
There is no death, there is the Force.
Everything that is absent from the Jedi’s way of life are qualities of the shadow. A Jedi has to do everything in his power to rid himself of these qualities. Apposed to this code is the Tenet philosophy of the Sith.
Fear leads to anger.
Anger leads to hate.
Hatred leads to power
Power leads to victory.
Let your anger flow through you.
Your hate will make you strong.
True power is only achieved through testing the limits of one’s anger, passing through unscathed.
Rage channeled through anger is unstoppable.
The dark side of the Force offers unimaginable power.
The dark side is stronger than the light.
The weak deserve their fate.
The Sith’s code is much more intertwined with the workings of their shadow. Unlike the Jedi, the Sith are supposed to let their shadow control them and return them back to their primordial instincts. This could occur because the Sith replace their anima with the archetype of the shadow which unlike the anima, is the same sex of the individual. People need to have characteristics of the opposite sex (anima or animus) flow through them to keep their self balance (Jung 147). When this balance is destroyed, it is possible that the person is driven completely by their shadow and lose all contact with themselves. Jung exclaims that people can be driven into the malevolence of their shadow when they don’t recognize the projections that it creates. To learn how to control your shadow one must understand these projections, accept them then find a way to coexist and suppress them. “The more projections are thrust in between the subject and the environment, the harder it is for the ego to see through its illusions (Jung, 147).” The Sith don’t even attempt to notice their projections, they completely ignore them so they can let the hate flow through them and triumph in their selves. An example of this can be witnessed through the development of Anakin Skywalker.
Anakin Skywalker was trained by Obi-Wan Kenobi throughout the first three films. In the Revenge of the Sith Anakin’s battle with his Shadow reaches the pinnacle point. When his mother Shmi Skywalker was stolen from her husband by Tusken Raiders, Anakin raced to save her. He was too late. He rescues his mother to have her die in his arms. At this point in time Anakin completely loses control of his Shadow and allows his emotions and instincts to rule him. He went out and destroyed the entire group of Tusken Raiders, and as he explained to his wife Amidala “even the women and children.” His decent into darkness is marked by the change in his garb, he goes from wearing the typical beige robes of the Palawan to dawning black robes. After this Emperor Palpatine (Darth Sidious) began to take an interest in Anakin leading him towards the dark side. By encouraging Anakin to participate in such events such as beheading the Sith Dooku. He then began to meet with Palpatine who urged the seed of the anger inside Anakin to grow. He eventually ended up using the fear Anakin had of losing his wife Amidala to bring Skywalker over to the dark side where he became the infamous Darth Vader. Vader ended up battling Obi-Wan on the planet Mustafar and getting immolated alive. The remains of his body were then cybernetically enhanced and reconstructed. And he began to serve the emperor.
A Jedi isn’t supposed to be run by his emotions in any form. Yoda even went so far to tell Anakin to “Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose,” in reference to losing a loved one. According to the Jedi way you have to completely destroy your Shadow, leading you to an unhealthy life where one cannot even participate in love and happiness. These are two opposing ends in a continuous battle. The ways of the force up until this point are black and white, dark and light, or good and evil. And although good and evil are necessary in the world, there should be a gray area that exists between the two. Jung comments on this by stating:
“And just as the conscious mind can put the questions, “Why is there this frightful conflict between good and evil?,” so the unconscious can reply, “Look closer! Each needs the other. The best, just because it is the best, holds the seed of evil, and there is nothing so bad but good can come of it. (Jung 133).”
Both good and evil are needed, you cannot have or understand what good is without having the opposite. The same is indeed true for our ‘soul.’ A person cannot live a happy and healthy life unless they have a balance of good and evil, where the shadow (evil) is controlled but does exist. This is where both the Jedi and the Sith were wrong in their ways of teaching. This becomes evident in the later trilogy where Luke Skywalker is the first to train in the ways of the force and come to a healthy balance. He does not attempt to completely eradicate his shadow from his self.
In George Lucas’s film “A New Hope” you are introduced to the character of Luke Skywalker. During the beginning of this film you get the sense that Luke is an ordinary person. He shows a great deal of teenage angst towards his aunt and uncle, and has a great deal of ‘typical’ teenage characteristics. For instance, when his uncle Owen wanted Luke to maintain their new droids purchase, and Luke complained stating that he wanted to “go to Tosche station to pick up some power converters,” but in the end he stayed home to help out. His character is more creative than logical, for instance he builds spaceship models and repairs droids. Luke has a decent balance of his shadow and his self, but he doesn’t have any control over either of the archetypes. Instead, his personality is blindly ruled by his self conscious and doesn’t understand how to maintain a logical outlook. This is evident when he first sees he hologram of Princess Leia, rather than show concern for a damsel in distress, he is more interested her in a sexual nature (A New Hope, 00:23:34). This displays his lack of control over his emotions.
When Luke meets the Wiseman of the film it was evident that he had no control over his shadow. Obi-Wan Kenobi realized that only when he recognized that he had both good and evil mixed in his soul, would he be able to separate and control the feelings. Obi-Wan attempted to open Luke’s mind and get him to start thinking about himself and making his own decisions in life. After Luke met up with Obi-Wan, the two traveled back to Luke’s house where they discovered that his family had been killed. This is the first time that it is evident that the shadow plays an important role in Luke’s being. He is driven by emotion to get back to his Aunt and Uncle without thinking that he might be in danger by doing so. Luke then decided to join Obi-Wan on his quest to bring the plans Leia put in R2-D2 to Alderaan. The four of them travel to Mos Eisley Spaceport to find a ship. They meet two mercenaries, Han Solo and Chewbacca, who are both driven by instinct and lust for accumulating wealth. They decide to captain their ship. It is an interesting view of opposites that exist in the newly formed group. Luke is a bit clueless and still maturing and driven by emotions and feelings. Han Solo was driven by selfishness and his ego. This is evident when he shoots Greedo without batting an eyelid. Then on the opposite side hangs Obi-Wan who has full control over his entire consciousness.
On Hans’ ship the Millennium Falcon, Obi-Wan begins to teach Luke the ways of the Force. Obi-Wan stresses that the Force is found all around us, and only when you let go of thought and let your feelings guide you will the Force flow through you and let you take control. It is a difficult concept for the young Palawan to grasp. Obi-Wan feels a disturbance in a force, and when they reach Alderaan they understand why. The planet had been destroyed by the Death Star which soon used its tractor beams to lure them aboard. Luke and Han recue Leia and narrowly escape the Stormtroopers on their way back to the ship. Right before boarding, Luke witnessed Obi-Wan sacrifice himself to Darth Vader’s light saber. It is possible that Obi-Wan did this to help Luke grow through understanding sacrifice. This plot seemed to work because Luke began to recognize his shadows existence, and then begins to accept it and repress it. Luke and Han then join Leia and the resistance in a battle to destroy the Death Star. Luke is successful in destroying the Death Star by using the force and freeing his mind.
In The Empire Strikes Back, the group settles on Hoth with Leia and the resistance. They have a battle with the Empire that they all flee. Luke travels to the Dagobah System where he meets Yoda. Yoda begins to teach Luke how to control his anger and suppress his shadow, other wise known as the dark side of the force. When being asked to train Luke Yoda exclaims, “A Jedi must have the deepest commitment. The most serious mind. This one a long time have I watched, all his life as he looked away to the future to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. What he was doing. Adventure. Excitement. A Jedi craves not these things. You are reckless.” This is all about controlling the consciousness, and using your will to both suppress the shadow and allow your subconscious to take root in your self. Emotions aren’t something that a Jedi strives for, he actually wishes for the opposite. If he rids himself of his emotions then he will see through a more clear and unbiased lens.
During this training, Luke faces one of his most dangerous foes; himself. During his training Luke feels something dark and disturbing. He wanders off in search for what has been bothering him when he comes across a waking dream of his shadow. This projection takes the form of his adversary Darth Vader. Luke battles him and wins, but then discovers that this image of Darth Vader was really a part of his self. He let his emotions rule and didn’t recognize that he was in battle with his shadow. Similar to Jung, Luke tried to “extinguish No. 2, but could not succeed, (Jung 1973, 74-75).” This is not the right way to go about controlling your shadow. As Jung would say, it is about recognizing it, and realizing it exists. Even though Luke battles this progression, he still doesn’t understand the importance that his shadow holds within his character.
Later, while crawling deeper into the Force, Luke sees his friends Leia and Han in a great amount of pain. Against Yoda’s wishes, he travels to rescue them. Yoda believes that you should suppress your shadow so it doesn’t infringe on what your goal is. The only way to be purely good is to not have an emotional attachment to anything in the outside world. Jung may say that the Jedi are attempting to become “god-like.” In ‘Answer to Job’ Jung makes a clear distinction that God doesn’t have emotions because he doesn’t have an unconscious. Although the Jedi use their unconscious (the force) very frequently, they, like Jung’s God, attempt to rid themselves of emotional attachment to worldly things. Their way of life is for the greater good, and their own personal happiness is of no importance.
Luke then travels to Sky City to rescue his friends and ends up battling Darth Vader, who he discovers is his father. After his revelation Luke becomes more entwined with his shadow and his archetypes begin to further develop under the control of his consciousness. This displays, again the importance that suffering can have on the soul and development depending on the control you have on your shadow. When Anakin was encompassed by emotional states he succumbed to his shadow and let it rule him. Luke, however; ended up listening to his shadow and recognizing its existence which allowed him to develop into a powerful being. This is followed by Han Solo being frozen in carbonite and taken by Boba Fett to Jabba the Hutt.
In the last film, Return of the Jedi you see a enormous change in Luke’s personality. He is no longer run by his emotions, instead he has taken full control over his shadow and uses it to better his fighting chance. Unlike most Jedi’s who balance their fighting skills solely of intuition and feelings, Luke also lets his shadow escape while in battle. While battling the Rancor Luke seems to be in an emotional high, helping to him to defeat the alien. The group then rescues Han only to be threatened to be thrown into the Jaws of the hungry Sarlaac. Luke shows more control over his emotions in this battle and uses logic rather than anger to defeat Jabba and his minions. Luke then returns to Yoda, who moments before his death tell Luke that his training is complete and he is almost a true Jedi. All he needs to do is battle his father, otherwise known as his shadow. Luke states that he cannot battle his father, and Obi-Wan’s spirit exclaims that if this is true then the emperor has already won. This is similar to the battle that is going on in his conscious. The Jedi before him controlled his shadow, the Jedi want him to kill his father. Luke allows his shadow to exist on the surface, and needs to attempt to get his father to find the good in himself. Luke understands, like Jung, Luke understands that it is impossible for someone to exist with only darkness in them, similar to how it’s impossible to exist with only good residing inside.
After these events Luke begins to show a great deal more confidence in himself. He has begun to mature and develop into a Jedi. For instance, when the group is captured by Ewoks, Luke explains to them “it will be alright.” Luke feels like he can control his shadow, and use logic over emotions to persuade Darth Vader to come back to the good. The Emperor sees that Luke still keeps his shadow at bay in case he needs to use it, and thus, the emperor attempts to get Luke to expel his anger. To achieve this, the Emperor and Darth Vader threaten to kill Luke’s friends and even more frightening, Vader states he’ll get Leia (Luke’s sister) to join the dark side of the force. Out of fear for his sister, Luke releases the potential of releasing his shadow and lashes out at his farther. But when he dismembers his fathers hand he realizes that he needs to take more control of himself and he tosses his weapon to the side. The Emperor strikes Luke and attempts to kill him, but Luke is saved by Vader. This shows that Luke was right about Vader, and that good could still reside in his soul. In this scene, not only did Luke fully understand and unite himself into perfect balance with his shadow, but he also unlocked the goodness in his father which extinguished Vader’s shadow.
George Lucas fashioned the Star Wars films after the hero’s journey, even though the first film was done through his own research of myth, he came to a similar belief as Joseph Campbell, a contemporary of Carl Jung. These films have an endless source of Jungian concepts, from archetypes, to different types of consciousness and even the study of dreams. One could argue that because George Lucas came to these conclusions himself, that there must be truth surrounding the Jungian theory of collective unconscious. Lucas saw the strength behind the Hero’s Quest, and created a fantastic trilogy based off of this concept. In doing so he has refashioned a great deal of Jung’s famous archetypes, and portrayed them in a modern manner. This way, people of today can understand ideas such as the power of myth, and Jungian theories without even realizing it.
References
Brandt, Libby. “Joseph Campbell.” Minnesota State University. 18 March, 2009. < http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/abcde/campbell_joseph.html>
Jung, Carl. Memories, Dreams, Reflections. New York: Random House, 1973.
Jung, Carl. The Portable Jung. New York: Penguin, 1971.
"Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth." Power of Myth. Prod. Joan Konner and Alvin H. Perlmutter. Star. Joseph Campbell, George Lucas. March 21, 2009. DVD. Bill Moyers 1988..
“A New Hope.” Star Wars. Dir. George Lucas. Pref. Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher. 1977 DVD. Lucasfilm, 2004.
“The Empire Strikes Back.” Star Wars. Dir. George Lucas. Pref. Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher. 1980 DVD. Lucasfilm, 2004.
“Return of the Jedi.” Star Wars. Dir. George Lucas. Pref. Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher. 1983 DVD. Lucasfilm, 2004.
“The Phantom Menace.” Star Wars. Dir. George Lucas. Pref. Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor, Jake Lloyd. 1999 DVD. Lucasfilm, 2000.
“Attack of the Clones.” Star Wars. Dir. George Lucas. Pref. Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen. 2002 DVD. Lucasfilm, 2002.
“Revenge of the Sith.” Star Wars. Dir. George Lucas. Pref. Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen. 2005 DVD. Lucasfilm, 2006.