Star Wars: The Creation of Visual Rhetorical Myth

Star Wars: The Creation of Visual Rhetorical Myth

 The Star Wars saga is one of the most impressive stories in recent history.  The canon includes six live-action feature films, three seasons of an animated TV show on the Cartoon Network and over three thousand years of narrative history chronicled throughout hundreds of books, video games and comics,[1]  A New Hope also marked the rise of a true blockbuster with audience members seeing the film twice or three times in a row on the same day.[2] The subsequent five films have a combined gross of over $4.5 billion dollars, making it the highest grossing series in history.[3]

            Clearly, The mythology of Star Wars encapsulates ideals and themes far greater than the simple battle between the forces of good and evil, and yet this galactic tale enthralls people the world over. What makes the Star Wars mythology the immensely popular story of good and evil that it is today? What makes people call the Star Wars saga the myth of the modern generation, and "the most popular space adventure of all time"?[4] 

Throughout this paper I will make the case that Star Wars represents a new rhetorical  genre, which I will call visual rhetorical myth. In support of this argument, I will first discuss how the Star Wars mythos redefines the idea of myth, which Joseph Campbell presents through the structure of "The Hero's Journey."[5] Second, through the redefining of the hero's journey I will suggest that the Star Wars saga, while it follows the structure of the hero's journey quite stringently,  also stretches far beyond the normal constructs of the mythic structure, thereby creating a new rhetorical genre.

Star Wars and the Hero's Journey

Obi-Wan Kenobi is to Anakin Skywalker as Joseph Campbell is to George Lucas. In fact, it is said that Campbell referred to Lucas "As the best student he ever had."[6] It is intriguing how stringently the Star Wars films and expanded universe follow Campbell’s structure of the hero's journey. Lucas does not merely copy the ideas of Campbell; he expands upon them.  Still, they are arguably the best examples of the mythic structure within the medium of film.

            There are some who might say that the Star Wars films simplify the idea of myth in order to be easily accepted by the mass-market.[7]  Though this notion is true, in no way does it lessen the impact of the Star Wars mythos. Take, for instance, the reoccurring archetypal relationship between father and son. This relationship repeats itself several times throughout the mythos of the Star Wars universe. It would be safe to assume, therefore, that the theme would lose its impact each time it appears. Interestingly, this is not the case.  For example, the connection  between Darth Vader and his secret apprentice, Starkiller, in the Force Unleashed video game franchise foreshadows the relationship between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker.[8] In both of these relationships, Vader has a father-son connection with the respective characters. However, the Vader-Starkiller relationship strengthens the core bond of Vader and Luke because of where the story takes place within the timeline of the Star Wars saga (between episode III and episode IV) and not solely because of its existence.

            That is Lucas's strength: structure. He not only uses the basic archetypal structure of the hero's journey- that of the hero's denial of the call to adventure, acceptance of the call and search for wisdom - but Lucas also allows this archetypal structure to change over time into different archetypal images. Take, for instance, the character of Anakin Skywalker and his journey throughout the Star Wars saga.  At first he represents the archetypal image of the eager learner.  Yet as the saga continues he begins to represent the archetypal image of the evil empire.  He then concludes his journey as the heroic hero. Lucas's ability to use these archetypal images in an effective manner shows that he has great respect for the mythical structure, and yet he is not afraid to evolve said structure to create a mythology all his own. 

 Even though Campbell's mythic structure explains the structure of the Star Wars universe, it does not explain why the mythology is so universal. Even Campbell suggests that myth is not universal in its nature, but that myths only belong to the cultures that create them.[9] Star Wars, however, defies this notion, reaching far beyond the boundaries of a singular culture. Why is this the case? In the next section I will explain how visual rhetoric answers some aspects of this question.

Star Wars and Visual Rhetoric

In the case of the Star Wars mythos and visual rhetorical in general, rhetoric is. The use of symbols be they verbal or visual to convey a particular message. [10] Lucas uses this simple idea of rhetoric to convey the basic structure set by Campbell. Some argue, however, that most rhetorical messages are meant for a particular audience, and not mass consumption. Interestingly, both the rhetorical theorists and Campbell did not take into account the visual media of TV and films, whereas Lucas does.

The Star Wars films are rhetorical by their very nature. Both the mythic and rhetorical aspects of the films strengthen the themes and ideas that Lucas tries to convey. Consider the theme of imperialism, which appears throughout the saga. Lucas presents the Empire as something that is inhuman, void of any life or feeling. He does this by taking vibrant colors out of anything that is imperial, such as uniforms and spaceships. He thereby emphasizes the fact that the Empire is evil and lacking any real humanity. If Lucas were to present all of this information in dialogue it would not be as emotionally impactful as it is.

 Lucas is also able to use a singular image to convey several different themes and ideas. The Imperial symbol is one of these particular images. The symbol consists of an inner circle attached to an outer circle by way of spokes, representing power and unity. Throughout the first three films the symbol represents the Galactic Republic whereas in the original trilogy it represents the Empire. Though this transformation from good to evil is simple it is effective in conveying the idea that something that is good always has the ability to be evil.

Continuing with this idea, The character of Luke represents all that is good and right in the galaxy. However, as the films progress his costumes begin to reflect his struggle with the dark side of the Force. Luke's major costume in Episode V, for instance is gray. Episode VI continues this idea with a black costume. Though these costume changes, Lucas seems to suggest that even Luke has the ability to turn to the dark side if given the chance. The changes also suggest that Luke is more like his father then he would care to admit

            The mythic nature of the Star Wars mythology is certainly evident. In combination with rhetoric they represent a new rhetorical genre, visual rhetorical myth. Visual rhetorical myth is a genre that is equal parts mythical structure and visual rhetoric.  In other words if a film or TV show uses Campbell's structure of a hero's journey as well as conveys its messages through visual means, it is a visual rhetorical myth in its simplest from.  

Conclusion

The Star Wars mythology stands as the foremost example of visual rhetorical myth.  It is at all times both simple and vastly complex in the way that it combines the simplest forms of the mythic structure and visual rhetoric. Some might argue that the Star Wars mythos is perhaps too vast to be an effective example of visual rhetorical myth, but that is not the case. Lucas creates a universe that thrives on simplicity. Yet it is this simplicity and ease of entry into a galaxy far far away that ultimately makes it so complex and universal.

Others may argue that there is no need for visual rhetorical myth. Again, Star Wars is the response to that argument because it shows that visual myth is indeed universal instead of dependent on a particular demographic and thereby it is an effective rhetorical tool to convey ideas and messages to a global community.

Further research will bring to light even more examples of visual rhetorical myth such as the film The Matrix, The Prince of Persia: The Sands of time video game trilogy, and countless other video games, movies and TV shows besides. So it is as Joseph Campbell writes "One knows the tale it has been told a thousand times.”[11]

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[1] StarWars.com | Home Page. (n.d.). StarWars.com | Home Page. Retrieved March 9, 2011, from http://www.starwars.com

[2] Hidalgo, P., Wallace, D., & Windham, R. (2010). Star Wars:  Year by year : A visual chronicle.. London: dk.

[3] Pomerantz,, D. (n.d.). 'Harry Potter' Catching Up To 'Star Wars' Franchise - Forbes.com. Information for the World's Business Leaders - Forbes.com. Retrieved March 30, 2011, from http://www.forbes.com/2010/09/29/star-wars-harry-potter-business-entertainment-movie-franchises.html

[4] Becker, E. (Director). (2004). Empire of Dreams: The Story of the 'Star Wars' Trilogy [Documentary]. United States: A&E.

[5] Campbell, J. (1968). The hero with a thousand faces (2nd ed.). Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.

[6] Ibid

[7] Ibid

[8] Blackman, H. (Director). (2008). Star Wars: The Force Unleashed [Video Games]. United States:  LucasArts Entertainment Company.

[9]Ibid

[10] Herrick, J. A. (2009). The history and theory of rhetoric:  an introduction (4. ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

[11] Campbell, J. (1968). The hero with a thousand faces (2nd ed.). Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.