How ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ added to the Star Wars mythology

Editor’s Note: This article continues themes sketched out in the previous article Star Wars: A New Hope – A look at Joseph Campbell and The Search for the Holy Grail

I saw The Empire Strikes Back on VHS at a friend’s house sometime in the mid-late 80s. I’d guess 1987, but I’m not absolutely certain. I already knew the majority of the plot twists: that Darth Vader was Luke’s father, that Luke and Leia were siblings, and that Han gets frozen in carbonite at the end of the film.  It was good to finally see what everyone else talked about- but it was also nothing new or revolutionary for me.  I wish I’d seen Empire in the theaters, but that wouldn’t have worked since I would have been three at the time.  Since then, Empire has become my favorite of the original three.

It has a ton of good action- from the opening battle on Hoth to the closing swordfight between Vader and Luke.  It has lots of good drama; with Han, Leia, Chewie and the droids trying to escape and Luke struggling to decide between staying with Yoda or rescuing his friends.  It also has none of the uncertain, first film jitters of Star Wars or the overly commercialized cash-grabs (*ahem* Ewoks *ahem*) of Return of the Jedi.

It’s also chock-full of material to discuss, as Empire is where much of the mythos for the series is presented.

Campbell revisited

Empire continues Lucas’ quest to create a modern mythology. However, he didn’t direct the movie and the screenplay for Empire passed through a variety of hands, Lawrence Kasdan and Leigh Brackett, among others. Fans have theories about why this is, but a partial reason is the studios wanted to speed the process up and increase quality & profitability by involving skilled writers.  This means Lucas’ vision was modified to suit the business side of things, and that the Campbell influence was diluted.

Developmental psychology

That said, Empire significantly develops the character of Darth Vader. It is true that Vader does appear in Star Wars: A New Hope, but his presence was minimized in that film and viewers were shown little of who or what he is.  Empire shows that Vader has emotions: he vents his frustrations on a string of short-lived generals, and negotiates with Emperor Palpatine to preserve Luke’s life.

Vader serves as the central villain of Empire and, most importantly, as the father figure Luke must confront. This final point comes from developmental psychology, especially adherents of Freud’s teachings. The idea is that as the child develops, he or she passes through several stages where they separate themselves from those who have supported them. One of the final confrontations is between the child and his/her parent. For a boy, the confrontation between him and his father is key. To quote from my youth, “to be the Man you got to beat the Man.”

This doesn’t work for Christians, who are taught to “Honor thy father and thy mother” and to “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Jesus Himself taught us to depend on God the Father and to trust and depend on Him. Confronting and defeating the Father isn’t an option for Christians.

Vader doesn’t work as a representation of Satan, either, since 1) he’s human and 2) Luke’s related to him. So what are Christians to do with Darth Vader? There’s a good answer, but it comes in Return of the Jedi, which I will discuss in my next article. In the meantime, let’s move on to…

Asian Culture and Religion

Lucas was heavily influenced by Japanese and Chinese culture and cinema. It’s well known that he patterned Star Wars after Kurosawa’s Hidden Fortress and that he had a deep love for the Samurai film genre (Jidaigeki). Some fans believe he named the Jedi after the genre. Designs for ships, armor (especially Stormtrooper and Darth Vader), the light sabers, etc… come in part from Asian sources.

The same goes for some of the philosophical foundations of the trilogy, most notably the Force. The Chinese concept of Qi, or life force or energy flow. From the Wikipedia page on Qi:

The ancient Chinese described qi as “life force”. They believed it permeated everything and linked their surroundings together. Qi was also linked to the flow of energy around and through the body, forming a cohesive functioning unit. By understanding the rhythm and flow of qi, they believed they could guide exercises and treatments to provide stability and longevity. 

Much can be said about the Asian inspirations that Lucas incorporated into the trilogy. What Christians need to know is that all of it is thoroughly non-Christian. Christianity is not part of Chinese or Japanese cultures in the way that it is in the United States. Asian culture and religion do not think in Christian monotheistic terms, and so a film inspired by Asian culture is going to have some deficiencies in this area. This can be seen in all three original films, but in Empire you can see it in Luke’s training with Yoda. Yoda teaches Luke to shun the dark side, which is envisioned simply as the light’s opposite. As long as the light exists, there will be dark. The difference, for the Jedi, is found in how one chooses to use it.

I know I’m repeating myself, but this is insufficient for Christians.  Which brings us back to…

The Grail Myth

Picking up from where we left off in the previous article, Parzival had just fought his first battle and satisfied the requirements for knighthood. Parzival rides away before receiving the honor and meets the noble Gurnemanze, who teaches him basic Christianity and proper courtly behavior. Parzival leaves Gurnemanze’s court to pursue adventure, and eventually comes to the court of a wounded king. This king presents Parzival with gifts and mysterious artifacts, but Parzival, in an attempt to follow proper courtly behavior, misses the point, offends his host, and misses the Grail. To summarize, Parzival receives his training and then makes a grand mistake, which causes him to miss the Grail.

Luke’s arc follows a similar pattern. After defeating the Death Star in Star Wars, he eventually goes to Dagobah to train with Yoda. Luke cuts his training short to go rescue his friends. The “rescue” is a trap, and Darth Vader defeats Luke, who barely survives the encounter. To summarize, Luke receives his training and then makes a grand mistake, which nearly causes him to lose his goal.

An astute reader will object here and point out that Empire splits its plot between Luke and Han & company, and that Parzival adventures alone.

The same reader will also point out that Luke does not seek an object or talk about God in any way, shape or form throughout the trilogy, where Christianity pops up repeatedly throughout Parzival.

Both objections are valid, and the answers to both guide us towards the nature of Luke’s grail. Yes, Luke does have a grail. It is different than Parzival’s, but it is no less worthy. What is it? Stick around for article three: Return of the Jedi for the answer!