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I’ve put a lot of thought into this post (OK, about 5 seconds.) It’s the first thread on a brand new topic, and I’m its author. That’s a big responsibility. The weight is heavy on my shoulders. After much thought (now about 15 seconds) I’ve decided on this:
STAR WARS
In terms of pop culture for my generation, I don’t think anything can compete with Star Wars (Don, you know what I’m talking about.) It’s modern mythology. It’s a Greek tragedy/myth with elements of a war movie, a western, a Samurai movie, and eveything else. Pure gold.
Questions: favorite character, line, scene, theme, chapter. Have fun.
P.S. I almost made the first post a zombie post. Aren’t you glad I went with Star Wars?
I actually wonder how much Lucas was influenced by Greek poems in his writing of the original script for the movie. It certainly seems like there may have been. Think of a storyline like Oedipus – where O’s father kidnaps an enemy, the enemy’s father curses Oedipus, and Oedipus eventually kills father/marries mother. In Starwars, I don’t think it’s actually a tragedy since there is a heroic ending, though there are tragic events that pass in order to arrive at the heroism (i.e. Vader dies precluding father and son from permanent reunification and from partying together at the cheesy Ewok shindig at the end of ROTJ).
I suppose there’s also the prophecy in Starwars about Anakin Skywalker bringing balance to the force. This was akin to the prophecy of the Oracle at Delphi.
So where does Yoda fit in? I’m sure there are some parallels, but my knowledge of Greek poems has faded enough that I can’t draw any offhand. Nevertheless, best line – “Try not. Do… or do not. There is no try.”
I’m not much of an expert on Greek literature, but I think Star Wars could be fairly classified as a tragedy. A tragic character is someone who’s greatness or what have you is marred by his hubirs, ego, arrogance, and ultimately, humanity. Anakin was supposed to bring balance to the force (which he did, but not in the way everyone thought.) He essentially had to destroy both sides to give the Jedi a chance to return. He joined the dark side because of greed, lust for power, a misguided ambition, all the hallmarks of a classic tragic character.
As for the prophecy of Anakin, I think it bears a resemblance to the Oedipal prophecy: it was given, ,misunderstood, and untimately fulfilled, though in the least likely way possible. It’s also similar in that destiny could not be avoided; no matter what anyone did, it came to pass.
As to Yoda, I think he might be the Oracle you spoke of, but I’ll have to think about this a bit more.
So where does Yoda fit in? I’m sure there are some parallels, but my knowledge of Greek poems has faded enough that I can’t draw any offhand. Nevertheless, best line – “Try not. Do… or do not. There is no try.”
Yoda could either be Creon from Sophocles’ Oedipal Trilogy or old Nestor from the Iliad.
