When All the Galaxy Was Young
There is an arresting shot in Attack of the Clones, the latest of the Star Wars prequels, in which Anakin Skywalker both literally and visually begins his descent into the abyss of the dark side. Going in search of his mother who has been captured by Tusken Raiders on Tatooine, Anakin is shown on the side of a cliff overlooking their encampment. The shot pulls back and reveals him crouching against the backdrop of the night sky, which is filled with stars. When he goes to rescue his mother - an action that will eventually lead him into committing a revenge massacre - he dives down to the desert below, his black cloak billowing in the wind. The symbolism should be obvious to those raised in the Occidental tradition. Anakin is literally falling out of heaven.
Curiously, no critic has brought this up in their review. While the reviews have been more positive than they were for The Phantom Menace three years ago, the critics have yet to really come to terms with the Star Wars saga. They frequently use the word "myth" to describe it, but they pass it among themselves like something of a hot potato, never pausing to hold it for more than a second - much less to analyze it. Yet as George Lucas has always insisted, his space opera is a modern myth, and therefore it is interesting to actually review it as such.
The Greek poet Sallistius wrote that "Myth is something that never happened, but is happening all the time." This is the way it will be discussed here. The word myth comes from "mythos," which means "stories." So first and foremost, a myth is a story, but one of a particular kind. Once it was assumed that myth was simply primitive man's way of interpreting the phenomenal world. It was about answering certain questions, and giving meaning to a meaningless universe. Yet the renowned scholar Joseph Campbell - who had a tremendous influence on Star Wars - argued that myth was rather a metaphorical language. It was aimed not so much at describing historical events or giving meaning to the universe, but was a metaphor for the experience of life. All the fabulous tales of gods and goddesses, men and mortals, were really representing internal psychological states and conflicts.
When interpreted literally, myth is always going to look somewhat shallow, trite, and even nonsensical. Star Wars is no exception. Yet so many critics interpret it that way, as if it were prose. When read in the language of poetry, however, the symbolism in the saga becomes quite dense and rich, and there is something new to be found with every viewing. Campbell argued that myth was experiential, and so the real concern of this review is whether or not Attack of the Clones qualifies as a genuine mythic experience.
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