I was going to write on the death penalty controversy in regards to the recent update of the Catechism of the Catholic Church made by Pope Francis. However, something very interesting came to my mind which I did not think could wait—interestingly enough in the popular film franchise Star Wars. I was actually pondering Jar Jar Binks (a character about whom I will not state my opinions out of fear of being cancelled), and how easily I think George Lucas could have fixed every problem people have with the clumsy gungan, when my mind came upon a common saying repeated nearly all the time in Star Wars—“May the Force be with you.” I may have made a number of pop culture references on this blog, primarily for the purposes of comic relief—I hope that I have not confused too many readers who are not denarian nerds such as myself. However, in this case, since Star Wars is slightly more important to the topic of my article, I might as well briefly summarize the basic spirit of the franchise, just in case any of my readers have been living under a rock for the past 45 years, since there is no other way anyone could not be aware of the blockbuster success which is Star Wars.
Star Wars, I admit, is a new and unique genre, such as it is difficult to determine whether it is science fiction or fantasy. This “space fantasy” could be argued to have been written before by C. S. Lewis, for example, in his Space Trilogy, but Lewis’ science is now quite obviously wrong (compare his Venus to the real one) and he does not take so much care to make it feel convincing. Lucas, however, in my mind, created what was among the first successful franchises which fully embraced both worlds—the science fictional and the fantastic. But between the many aliens and droids, wars and rebellions, there is one major theme which George Lucas introduces, the theme of the Jedi and the Sith, who stand on each side of the Force, the Jedi representing the “Light side” and the Sith the “Dark Side”. They even seem to be vaguely color-coded, many Jedi dressing in white or light brown and having lightsabers which glow green, blue, or purple, while the Sith seem to prefer black cloaks and red lightsabers. Supposedly, the Jedi are good and the Sith are evil, although I might seriously dispute that, considering that after ten years between Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and Episode II – Attack of the Clones, not one of them tried to go back and save Anakin Skywalker’s mother, despite his promise in The Phantom Menace, up until Anakin Skywalker is on his first solo mission and he can turn aside to go back to Tatooine and do so by himself, only for her to die into his arms (here, we run into a strange plot hole I noticed, by the way, where Luke Skywalker’s Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen turn out to have lived with C-3PO for years but never appear to recognize him in A New Hope). I rather sympathize with Anakin Skywalker’s famous line, “From my point of view, the Jedi are evil.” I wonder if these were the words inspired Obi-wan to make up his famous excuse for lying to him.
Now, aside from Star Wars tangents, I would like to talk about the concept of the Force. Needless to say, it is not quite in keeping with Christian theology. It seems to follow some version of Gnostic dualism, bridging onto pantheism. Supposedly, the Force is some sort of energy which binds all living things together, and some people are stronger in it than others, depending on their midichlorian count (and I know all the Star Wars fans will be angry that I mentioned midichlorians, but I do not know what to tell you! They are part of the Star Wars canon!). Anyway, it is well established that strength in the Force runs in families in Star Wars, and the Skywalkers are among the strongest Force-wielders in history. In The Phantom Menace, Obi-wan Kenobi says Anakin Skywalker has a higher midichlorian count than even Master Yoda. I would not be surprised if the same could be said of his son, Luke. So, basically, the Force is a non-personal, spiritual “energy” which binds everything which is alive. The Jedi and Sith can tap into it, which allows them to lift things with their minds and do flips and so forth (apparently, according to various training scenes in Star Wars, being a Jedi requires a lot of flips). The Jedi seem to believe in the Force with some sort of religious devotion. They often speak of “the will of the Force”, and as mentioned previously, “May the Force be with you” is almost the phrase linking Star Wars together, to such an extent that “May the Fourth” (the fourth day of the month of May) is considered to be “Star Wars Day”. The Sith also use the Force, but in an evil way, and even have some unique abilities, such as using the Force to choke people rather than doing mind-tricks and basically hypnotizing people as the Jedi do. They use what is called “the Dark Side”, which is the evil side of the Force. The Light Side is supposedly aligned with calmness, peace, and passiveness, and was used only for knowledge and defense, while the Dark Side indulges in raw emotions, such as passion, anger, and hatred. In other words, the Jedi deal in “balance” and the Sith deal with extremes. I am sure knowledgeable Star Wars fans could get more complicated than this, pointing out characters who defy classification, such as Gray Jedi, who are said to walk the line between the light and dark sides of the Force without surrendering to the dark side, or the Bendu, who claims to represent the center between the Light and Dark sides and also has the voice of the Fourth Doctor from Doctor Who.
However, this is all getting more complicated than necessary. What matters is that whatever the Force is—some form of “pantheistic dualism”—it is clear that this is not the Christian understanding of God or the Holy Spirit.
Now there are various memorable scenes where this line, “May the Force be with you”, is quoted. However, there are two which I would particularly like to point out. The first is a dramatic one toward the climax of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, and the second is Ezra Bridger’s tragic departure in the finale of Star Wars: Rebels.
The first scene is where Luke Skywalker is setting out to go destroy the Death Star. We see C-3PO bidding R2 farewell. Then Luke hears the voice of old Ben Kenobi (who is now usually known as Obi-wan), saying, “Luke, the Force will be with you.” This I found an encouraging moment when he is about to go off to possibly save the galaxy, but I immediately wondered why it was an encouraging moment.
As for the second, as mentioned above, it appears in the final episode of the animated series, Star Wars: Rebels embodies this well. The young protagonist, Ezra Bridger, is brought to an enemy star destroyer by the evil Admiral Thrawn. Ezra summons space-whales called Purrgills, using the Force. The Purrgills are about to pull them into hyperspace. Here Ezra bids his friends farewell, since he is about to sacrifice himself, being about to be pulled into hyperspace, saying, “It’s up to all of you now. And remember, the Force will be with you, always.”
Now these are often dramatic, even encouraging, scenes where the “Force” is invoked. I had thought this for some time, but it was not until recently when I realized how strange it was, since I do not believe in the Force and I repeat that I by no means associate it with God or the Holy Spirit. Obviously, this is not encouraging in the same way Spider-Man trusts in his web or Captain America trusts in his shield or even how Luke Skywalker trusts in, say, his lightsaber or Obi-wan as a cheeky mental walkie-talkie ghost who enjoys claiming he was not lying “from a certain point of view”, of course. There is something about the Force which seems to elevate all the characters and bind them together to new levels, which seems odd to me for a fictitious energy. I doubt this relates to the fact that I have an explicit belief in a higher “power”, whom we call God, who, although different from the Force, is also treated with a religious devotion. The reason I doubt this is because Star Wars is a massively popular franchise, including among atheists. George Lucas is a self-described “Methodist Buddhist” (which, in my mind, actually makes sense, considering his description of the Force). He seems to be something of a Deist. But Star Wars, in itself, is enjoyed by people of all different religions, including atheists (which, as many atheists will tell you, is not technically a “religion”, but nevertheless, my point stands).
So why is it encouraging to be told that some fictional energy is with you? It certainly seems strange, but considering the popularity of Star Wars, I imagine others might detect a similar effect. So I quickly realized: even if this is not related to an explicit belief in God, what if we are effected by an implicit belief in God?
It makes sense. We are apparently comforted, even grateful, by the idea that there is something above us—some sort of guiding force. Another way to look at this is by considering the “problem of gratitude”, as it were. When seeing what is good, we naturally have the feeling of gratitude, but the atheist does not know where to place it. In terms of Star Wars and other such things, man is made to worship God. Hence we are naturally drawn to anything with the appearance of God.
This does not only happen with Star Wars fans. Almost everyone is drawn to the awe and wonder found in the universe. Human beings have a natural impulse to find awe in the wonders of the world, whether we see the vastness of the sea or the innumerable stars in the heavens. I imagine atheists would say that this is some byproduct of the evolutionary process. I think this implausible, however, since the same is not found in animals. Remember, what the Jedi religion really is is nothing but a form of “universe-worship”, as it were. The Force is described as an energy which binds all living things together through midichlorians.
So whence does this attraction come? I think it can be illustrated by the love of any fantasy, but I choose Star Wars since it illustrates specifically a transcendent power. I also choose this franchise because this power is not even very similar to the Christian understanding of God, such that I might remove all bias.
So why do we want to escape this world and find something much more transcendent, such as the Force in Lucas’ franchise? Why should we be made in such a way—unless because deep down within us there is a longing for a true Force, a God who created all things and keeps them in existence. Here I can only quote the renowned fantasy author, J. R. R. Tolkien:
“Dear Sir,” I said—Although now long estranged,
J. R. R. Tolkien, “On Fairy Stories”
Man is not wholly lost nor wholly changed.
Disgraced he may be, yet is not de-throned,
and keeps the rags of lordship once he owned:
Man, Sub-creator, the refracted Light
through whom is splintered from a single White
to many hues, and endlessly combined
in living shapes that move from mind to mind.
Though all the crannies of the world we filled
with Elves and Goblins, though we dared to build
Gods and their houses out of dark and light,
and sowed the seed of dragons—’twas our right
(used or misused). That right has not decayed:
we make still by the law in which we’re made.”
To J. R. R. Tolkien, fantasy is something greater than simply something to expand the imagination. Tolkien calls fiction-writing, especially fantasy-writing, “sub-creation”. Man creates because he was created. To quote Tolkien again, “Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if, when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls? The world outside has not become less real because the prisoner cannot see it.” (ibid.)
Indeed, if we are encouraged by such things, whether it be by the vastness of the universe, a fictional Force which binds it together, or, of course, a God who created everything, does this not suggest that there is a transcendent power that does at all times watch over mankind? Think of the prisoner in Tolkien’s example. He lives and dwells within the four walls of a prison, but nevertheless, he can conceive that the prison is not all there is. So if we can conceive what is beyond our own prison of known universe and matter, does that not suggest that for us also there is indeed something beyond?
Bonum Certamen Certemus
I am the Catholic of Honor
Postscript: This was not something I have done much—taking some element of pop culture and showing how it suggests the existence of God, so I am interested to know if anyone would like more of these. Feel free to let me know.
Post-postscript: Star Wars fans, about referencing midichlorians, again, do not blame me. George Lucas is the one who decides such things. If he wishes magical microscopic lifeforms to be part of his lore, it is none of my business to change it.
Post-post-postscript: Finally, note that I referenced Tolkien at the end—obviously. I could not go a post on the fantasy genre without referencing one of the greatest Catholic fantasy writers of all time, even if this is a Star Wars article.
Post-post-post-postscript: Seriously, someone ought to figure out all these plot holes concerning the droids. Owen and Beru definitely ought to have recognized C-3PO in A New Hope. It must have been such a surprise to those watching The Phantom Menace to discover that Darth Vader had built 3PO. I still cannot figure out his purposes in the prequels, other than to add comedic banter alongside R2-D2, which was a very memorable part of the Originals, but I thought the was why Lucas added Jar Jar Binks. I rather doubt Lucas originally intended 3PO to have had any part of the story of Anakin Skywalker’s story before he turned to the Dark Side—just saying.
Chivalric Apologetics 