Skywalker: Mind, Myth, and The Force

Philip Sheegog

Abbreviations

TPM Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

AotC Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

RotS Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

ANH Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

ESB Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

RotJ Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Looming large over the past four decades, the Star Wars franchise has transformed from a humble sci-fi flick into a generation-spanning, culture-dominating presence that has had immeasurable impact on current society. When boiled down to its most essential elements, the story of Star Wars seems to be the un-extraordinary tale of good versus evil. And yet, despite its simplicity, George Lucas crafted a universe that has for decades captured the hearts and minds of fans worldwide. When asked about his creation of the universe, Lucas replied, “With Star Wars I consciously set about to re-create myths and the classic mythological motifs...The more research I did, the more I realized that the issues are the same ones that existed 3,000 years ago. That we haven't come very far emotionally” (Time). By building Star Wars on mythological foundations, Lucas taps into an ancient instinct that seems to be just as captivating and insatiable as it has been for all of recorded history. Myths passed down from ancient cultures have survived into the present era because of their intrinsic value; there is an element in them that man feels obligated to save. John McDowell, author of The Gospel According to Star Wars, hones in on this necessity:

[Myths demand] that [the audience] be more than mere readers or spectators. Instead they are to become imaginatively and emotionally involved so that the story told becomes their story and the narrated world becomes their world. This is not so that one can escape from their world and lose themselves in another one, but rather so that they learn to identify possibilities for thinking and feeling different about and in their own. (The Gospel According to Star Wars, 14)

Myths by their very nature demand attention and deep connection with the audience because they contain deep within them nuggets of truth about reality. If Star Wars is a true modern myth, then there are also likely to be layers of wisdom and insight woven into the fabric of the storytelling. One of myth’s most powerful tools is the archetype: a type of recurring character who has key, defining attributes. Among these archetypes, and possibly the most complex and fascinating, is that of the trickster.

One of the most well-known mythological tricksters is Norse god, Loki. Snorri Sturluson, the 12th-century Icelandic historian, describes Loki in his Prose Edda:

Also counted among the Aesir is one whom some call Slanderer of the Gods, the Source of Deceit, and the Disgrace of all Gods and Men…Loki is pleasing, even beautiful to look at, but his nature is evil and he is undependable. More than others, he has the kind of wisdom known as cunning…He constantly places the gods in difficulties and often solves their problems with guile. (Prose Edda, 38-39)

Arguably the most interesting character in the cast of Norse mythology, Loki is the ever-present force of chaos, unpredictability, and intuition that both endangers and saves the gods on multiple occasions. Although Loki was responsible for such reckless actions as bargaining the goddess Freyja away to a giant in exchange for Valhalla, stealing Idunn’s apples of youth, and slaying Baldr the Good, he also devised crafty solutions to the problems he caused and aided the Aesir in their various conundrums (Prose Edda, 51, 66, 81). Although the gods tolerate his presence through many misadventures, the death of Baldr is the tipping point after which the Aesir turn on Loki, imprison him, and subject him to endless torture until Ragnarok (Prose Edda, 69-70).

Loki’s relationship with the other gods is complex and a foundational element of his character. The offspring of both giant and god, Loki, the hybrid, fits into neither circle perfectly (Prose Edda, 38). While Thor and Odin are the instigators of adventure, Loki merely accompanies them, sometimes aiding in the quest or else causing mischief (Prose Edda, 51, 55, 81). The Aesir, for their part, treat Loki as an outsider and as one who must continually earn the right to stay in their presence. In the mishap with the building of Valhalla, it is described that “It became clear, as in most other things, that the one who had advised in this matter was Loki...They attacked Loki, and when he became frightened he swore oaths that, whatever it cost him, he would find a way to keep the builder from completing his part of the bargain” (Prose Edda, 51). It is perhaps this abusive and ostracization which fuels Loki’s betrayal and vengeance against the Aesir at Ragnarok.

Odin are the instigators of adventure, Loki merely accompanies them, sometimes aiding in the quest or else causing mischief (Prose Edda, 51, 55, 81). The Aesir, for their part, treat Loki as an outsider and as one who must continually earn the right to stay in their presence. In the mishap with the building of Valhalla, it is described that “It became clear, as in most other things, that the one who had advised in this matter was Loki...They attacked Loki, and when he became frightened he swore oaths that, whatever it cost him, he would find a way to keep the builder from completing his part of the bargain” (Prose Edda, 51). It is perhaps this abusive and ostracization which fuels Loki’s betrayal and vengeance against the Aesir at Ragnarok.

Perhaps more culturally influential than any other films in history, the six Star Wars films by George Lucas are monumental in their scope, character, and drama—similar to other mythologies and legendary stories. The two trilogies collectively tell the tale of the rise, fall, and redemption of Anakin Skywalker. Raised on the backwater desert planet of Tatooine, Anakin is found by two Jedi, guardians of the Galactic Republic, to be prodigiously gifted in the ways of the Force and is taken to the galactic capital, Coruscant, to be trained in the ways of the Jedi. With his phenomenal natural abilities and youthful hubris, Anakin finds himself constantly challenging and stepping over the strict guidelines of the Jedi Order. When war breaks out and he is offered a chance at instant power, Anakin betrays the Jedi and rules the galaxy with his master, Emperor Palpatine. Rechristened as Darth Vader, the fallen hero works to purge his Empire of an upstart rebellion—a rebellion in which his estranged son, Luke, has become a hero and leader. Father and son eventually confront each other and, just as his puppeteer master is about to kill Luke, Vader once again turns on the one who trusted him and saves his son. Although mortally wounded in the process, Vader spends his last moments reunited with his son, redeemed and at peace (Star Wars: Episodes I-VI).

Although they may appear dissimilar at first blush, the characters of Loki and Anakin share a wealth of similar relationships, experiences, and motivations. At the forefront of these similarities are their common identity as a boundary-crosser and shapeshifter. Both Loki and Anakin bridge the gap between disparate groups by their unique identity or by changing their form. Loki is the hybrid god, the being who connect the heavenly Aesir to the earthly giants (Prose Edda, 38). He is accepted into the Aesir culture even though he comes from outside their usual boundaries. In addition, he also commonly solves the Aesir’s woes through his shape-shifting, as witnessed by his transformation into a falcon to rescue Idunn and by his transformation into a mare to lure aware the stallion Svadilfari from finishing Valhalla (Prose Edda, 51, 82). Likewise, Anakin is brought into the Jedi Order, but at an older age than usually allowed and also from a background beyond the usual scope of the Jedi (TPM). Literally speaking, Anakin’s transforms into Darth Vader, a change that coincides with an upheaval of galactic regime, and upon his redemption “transforms” back to Anakin Skywalker, also coinciding with an upheaval of galactic regime.

Another important trait these characters share is their unpredictable and uncontrollable rule-breaking nature, as described by author Helena Bassil-Morozow in The Trickster and the System, “[Among] the most common structural elements of trickster narratives [is] boundary-breaking” (12). As with Loki’s stealing of the apples and killing of Baldr, so Anakin breaks the Jedi Code by marrying his beloved Padme, committing genocide on the Tusken Raiders who killed his mother, and executing the villainous Count Dooku (Prose Edda, 51, 56; AotC; RotS). Being connected to, but not accepted by, their respective cultures, both Loki and Anakin have ample time and provocation to develop a mistrust of their peers; mistrust that in both cases festers from a gradual turning away from their society into open treachery and the destruction of their former allies. In one of Revenge of the Sith’s most provocative and heart-wrenching scenes, Anakin leads a legion of soldiers to destroy both the Jedi Temple, his former home, and his former Jedi friends within (RotS). The parallel between this scene and the Edda’s description of Ragnarok is striking: “Amid this din the sky splits apart and in ride the sons of Muspell...As they ride across Bifrost, it will break, as was told earlier. Muspell’s sons advance until they reach the plain called Vigrid...Then Loki arrives...while all of Hel’s own [troops] follow” (Prose Edda, 72). A final striking analogous experience involves these tricksters’ mutilation and torture at the hands of their former friends. Loki, after being blamed for the death of Baldr, is hunted down by the same Aesir who he had adventured and journeyed with and, after being caught, is bound with the entrails of his sons and abandoned underneath the dripping venom of a poisonous snake to suffer until Ragnarok (Prose Edda, 70). Similarly, the end of Revenge of the Sith sees Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin’s former master and friend, hunting down the fallen Jedi to the fiery world of Mustafar where, after a lengthy duel, Obi-Wan prevails, dismembers Anakin, and leaves him to burn in a river of lava (RotS).

The significance of Loki and Anakin’s connection has more depth than merely shared experiences, however. Hollywood executive Christopher Vogler, in his book The Writer’s Journey, comments on the nature of the trickster archetype: “Tricksters relish the disruption of the status quo, turning the Ordinary World into chaos with their quick turns of phrase and physical antics. Although they may not change during the course of their Journey, their world and its inhabitants are transformed by their antics.” Loki and Anakin’s most obvious connection is that they transform their respective worlds. Through disruption of the established order, these characters serve as both catalysts and agents of change, an idea on which Bassil-Morozow expounds:

The mythological trickster serves as a chaos-inducing element intent on challenging the existing order of things. As such, it is neither good nor bad but is a weapon that can be used to modify a rotten order or to destroy a good one. Dealing with the trickster is like a balancing act... [he] does not respect rules, restrictions, and regulations. (The Trickster and the System, 11)

Loki, the archetype of the archetype, aligns with these statements as a figure who is characterized from the start by cunning and deviousness. Far from being intrinsically “evil,” Loki forces the Aesir to question their conception of reality through his unpredictable actions, as can be seen with the slaying of Baldr (Prose Edda, 65). He first only challenges the Aesir’s order, but does not seek to destroy it outright until after his torture at their hands. As author Lewis Hyde states, in describing the nature of the trickster through the Greek god Hermes, “[Depending] on which way he is moving across the threshold, I call him Hermes of the Dark or Hermes of the Light...Hermes himself is neither one of these alone but both at once. He is neither the god of the door leading out nor the god of the door leading in—he is the god of the hinge” (Trickster Makes This World, 202). Transformation is the keyword when dealing with the trickster; his identity of trickster is neither objectively good nor evil, but merely of change.

Unlike Loki, Anakin’s relationship with the archetypal characteristics of the trickster is less apparent. The entirety of the first three Star Wars films follow Anakin’s growth and manipulation by Palpatine through seemingly harmless conversations, subtle twistings, and masterful guile. Anakin’s immense power is indeed a tool, one that is honed by Palpatine into the weapon of terror that is Darth Vader. Confronting Anakin on Mustafar, Obi-Wan laments, “You have allowed this dark lord to twist your mind until now you have become the very thing you swore to destroy” (RotS). In a slight deviation from Vogler’s assertion, Anakin is not a character who begins by relishing chaos and change. Anakin’s tragic fall, on the other hand, is actually the ironic result of his insatiable need for stability and control that leads to chaos and instability (TPM, AotC, RotS). As Bassil-Morozow concludes, “The ‘end result’ of trickster narratives is invariable: forced transformation of the protagonist via chance and loss of control” (The Trickster and the System, 12). Although Lucas inverts the typical narrative by making the trickster and the protagonist the same character, Bassil-Morozow’s observation still holds true within the Star Wars saga.

Another one of Hyde’s deep observations is that, as harbingers of change, tricksters prove their wisdom through their ability to create and manipulate contingency. As he says, “To speak of ‘contingency’...usually connotes a more or less meaningless convergence...More conservative minds deprive coincidence of meaning by treating it as background noise...but the shape-shifting mind pesters the distinction between accident and essence and remakes this world out of whatever happens” (Trickster Makes This World, 97, 100). Anakin and Loki, the crafty ones, are both aware of and introduce contingency into their respective narratives. Loki’s ever-mischievous mind creates multiple examples of contingency, such as when he allows the giants to obtain Idunn’s Apples, or when he convinces Hod to shoot Baldr with the mistletoe (Prose Edda, 67, 82). Although the Aesir see the giants as contingency, an accidental, mere background noise, Loki’s crafty mind sees beyond the gods’ oversight and allows the accidentals to suddenly become very essential by having them steal the Aesir’s youth. Hyde remarks, “Loki is not unsympathetic to [the giants], not just because his family includes giants, but because the Aesir sometimes treat him, too, as if he did not belong among them. Treat someone that way and you will foster skepticism about the shape of things” (Trickster Makes This World, 100). Not only does Loki have the eyes to see the potential of the giants, but he also has the provocation of being mistreated, giving him ample reason to exert his hidden powers against the Aesir.

As before, Lucas takes the archetypal standard and flips it. Throughout his evolution in the first three films, Anakin both introduces contingency while also attempting to control contingency. The fall of Anakin Skywalker is primarily initiated and motivated by two relationships: that with his mother and that with his forbidden lover, Padme Amidala. After Anakin’s premonitions about his mother’s death come true, he vows to prevent the same from happening to Padme, becoming susceptible to Palpatine’s temptations of unimaginable power over death. Anakin attempts to control contingency in a series of events that harken back to Frigg’s obsession with protecting Baldr (Prose Edda, 65). Unlike the traditional trickster that Hyde describes, Anakin senses the “coincidences,” in this case his nightmares, but instead of being willing and creative enough to manipulate or work with the results, he attempts to smother the contingency completely. In a move befit of a trickster, Anakin flips the tables again and becomes the source of deadly contingency. Upon discovering that the seemingly benign Chancellor Palpatine is actually an evil Sith Lord, Anakin confides in a senior Jedi, Mace Windu, and requests to be a member of the party sent to arrest the rogue Chancellor. Denying his request, Mace explains, “For your own good, stay out of this affair. I sense a great deal of confusion in you, Skywalker. There is much fear that clouds your judgement” (RotS). His own senses being keen, Mace can perceive the fear, anger, and confusion brimming inside of Anakin. Anakin has now become the agent of contingency. The trickster prevails over the established order and, in the pivotal next scene, Anakin kills Mace in order to save Palpatine and, with him, the power to save Padme from “certain death,” setting off a chain of events that leads to galactic upheaval and another trilogy of films (RotS). The dynamic character of Anakin, then, involves two simultaneous approaches to contingency, ironically, introducing it while trying to contain it at the same time.

Beyond their identity as rule-breakers and agents of contingency, the trickster also goes beyond traditional ties to morality. Returning to Hermes, Hyde guides the discussion of the trickster to moral realm:

Such willing immorality brings us back to questions of shame...communities often establish shame thresholds to mark their internal boundaries; for those contained in them, a network of such boundaries is either empowering or confining, depending. For Hermes the net confines—or, rather, it would confine but for the shamelessness by which he cuts the knots of its authority. (Trickster Makes This World, 204)

Relating Hermes back to Skywalker, Lucas makes it clear that Anakin likewise feels confined by the ‘net’ of the Jedi Order and of his master, “It’s all Obi-Wan’s fault! He’s jealous, he’s holding me back!”(AotC). He also suffers from the pressures of societal shame, revealed when he confides in Padme, “I’m not the Jedi I should be. I want more. And I know I shouldn’t” (RotS). In the same way as Hermes, the net of moral confinement cannot hold back Anakin from creating his own moral path. It is not surprising that the trickster, the boundary-crosser, should be the one who breaks away from the moral codes that mark the boundaries of communities. Loki, too, regularly commits morally dubious actions, such as mating with both an ogress and a horse, and auctioning off the heavens to giants (Prose Edda, 39, 51). Loki appears to be free even from the shame that Anakin suffers from; he is a completely free spirit who cannot be controlled by the morals of Aesir society.

Tricksters not only free themselves from the shackles of common morality, but transform the moral code to a new paradigm that they create. Through the example of Hermes once again, Hyde addresses the trickster’s precarious relationship to morality:

Hermes willingly submits to being seen as a thief in local terms, even if in his own amoral space or by some different morality the term does not apply. When the local code is insufficient to describe the situation...the creative person is the one who will readily endure that insufficiency and, from an ‘immoral’ position, frame a new set of rules. (Trickster Makes This World, 203-204)

Being agents of change, the trickster’s natural reaction to a broken system of morality is change. This is the principle the ultimately lurks behind Loki’s schemes against Baldr. Snorri records, “Baldr and the Aesir took to amusing themselves...Whatever was done caused him no injury, and all thought this remarkable. But when Loki...saw this, it angered him that Baldr was uninjured” (Prose Edda, 65). Although the uninformed reading might interpret Loki’s anger as being spawned of jealousy, looking at the myth in holistic context of the entire Edda can produce a different conclusion. Loki perceives that something is intrinsically wrong with Baldr’s unnatural, coerced immortality. Even if the Aesir are naturally immortal, this subjugation of all nature to protect Baldr is off. Despite Frigg and the Aesir’s thoughtless acceptance, Loki rejects this wrong-ness and, introducing contingency with the mistletoe, asserts his own set of rules by killing Baldr. Upon breaking free from his bonds at Ragnarok, Loki finishes the work that he began with Baldr, making plain his morality: the gods can die (Prose Edda, 65-73). Through this more comprehensive view of Loki, it can be seen that he finds the Aesir’s ideals insufficient and, breaking free from those burdens, makes his own rules. Likewise, after Anakin finds fault with the morals of the Jedi, far from bowing to the established Jedi Order, he breaks away and follows his own sense of right and wrong. When questioned by Padme on whether Jedi are allowed to love, Anakin plays with semantics in order to justify his own dissident values, “Attachment is forbidden. Possession is forbidden. Compassion, which I would define as unconditional love, is essential to a Jedi’s life...so you might say that we are encouraged to love” (AotC). Anakin takes this seed of dissidence and carries it to fruition by eventually marrying Padme, a strictly forbidden action, rejecting the morality of his Order and creating his own.

This complex archetype’s implications extend even into the realm of the psychological. Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces, a book that significantly influenced George Lucas’ creation of Star Wars, shares via video interview a psychological interpretation of the trickster:

There is a figure in…myths that represents the power of the dynamic of the total psyche to overthrow programs. This is the negative aspect, called the trickster…There’s a very special property in the trickster: he always breaks in, just as the unconscious does, to trip up the rational situation. He’s both a fool and someone who’s beyond the system. And the trickster represents all those possibilities of life that your mind hasn’t decided it wants to deal with. The mind structures a lifestyle, and the fool or trickster represents another whole range of possibilities. He doesn’t respect the values that you’ve set up for yourself, and smashes them…The fool is the breakthrough of the absolute into the field of controlled social orders. (Campbell Foundation)

In layman’s terms, the psychological manifestation of the ‘trickster’ is the unpredictability, absurdity, and sometimes chaotic element that lingers on the fringes of the mind; the invasive thought that, especially when you are trying most to banish it, returns stronger than ever, captivating the rest of the mind in the process. Related to a phenomena known as the ironic process theory, “deliberate attempts to suppress certain thoughts make them more likely to surface” (Wikipedia). Just as trickster characters become increasingly volatile and disruptive the more they are suppressed or agitated, so the psyche’s trickster element responds to suppression with its own retaliation. The trickster psyche is also responsible for the seemingly random, socially incorrect, and sometimes outright horrific thoughts that enter the mind. Ignoring the established system of values and morals, the psyche’s trickster, like Loki killing Baldr, imposes its own ideas regardless of the rest of the psyche.

Layering this psychological analysis of the trickster onto the story of Anakin Skywalker allows for a much deeper and freshly informed understanding of the epic. Anakin, like everyone else, has a psyche that is plagued by the trickster element; his mind is suspect to random thoughts, “accidentals,” and also the unspeakably absurd and horrific. The unspeakable, such as “what if I avenged my mother by committing genocide?” or, “what if the Jedi are actually the evil ones?” or, “what if I betray my friends to learn at the feet of a megalomaniac?” The difference with Anakin, however, is that this volatile part of his psyche comes to dominate his entire psyche, and the established order of his mind is brought to ruin. As Revenge of the Sith so clearly illustrates, the battle for Anakin’s mind only intensifies as he becomes more aware of it and attempts to suppress his “wrong” thoughts, a suppression which only accelerates the process. Just as the dynamic power of the trickster psyche results in the overthrow of Anakin’s mind, so the dynamic power of Anakin as the trickster character results in the overthrow of a galactic regime.

Taking this connection even further, Anakin is the fulfilment of an ancient Jedi prophecy of the “Chosen One,” a figure who will restore “balance to the Force” (TPM). Although the Jedi interpret this to mean the destruction of their longtime enemies, the Sith, another less accepted philosophical interpretation was that of the “Unifying Force.” Whereas most Jedi believed that the Force consisted of a “light” and “dark” side, and that the Chosen One would eliminate the power of the “dark” side, the concept of the Unifying Force asserts that the Force is a single entity (Wookieepedia). The fulfillment of the Chosen One, then, lies in Anakin being the convergence point of both light and darkness, a unification which results in the the end of a multi-millennia long conflict between Jedi and Sith (RotJ). Just as Jung describes the trickster as the “dynamic power of the total psyche,” Anakin is the manifestation of the dynamic power of the Unifying Force (Campbell YouTube).

A final level of insight into the trickster psychology revolves around the trickster’s final, and perhaps most surprising, role as culture hero. Carl Jung famously explains the psychological purpose of the culture hero in terms of light and darkness:

As bringers of light, that is, enlargers of consciousness, [culture heroes] overcome darkness, which is to say that they overcome the earlier unconscious state. Higher consciousness, or knowledge going beyond our present-day consciousness, is equivalent to being all alone in the world. This loneliness expresses the conflict between the bearer or symbol of higher consciousness and his surroundings. (The Collected Works of C.G. Jung, 169)

Although candidates such as Beowulf or Odysseus may seem at first glance to be more fitting of the title of ‘culture hero,’ Anakin and Loki prove themselves to be more like culture anti-heroes. As has been described, Loki and Anakin both break out of the confinement of their respective societies in order to assert their own ideas and values. Although their peers see them as renegades in need of suppression and punishment, it is actually these tricksters who understand and see more clearly than their culture. The trickster is the negative corollary to the traditional culture hero; whereas a figure like Beowulf is respected for his great skills, heroic leadership, and prodigious understanding, the trickster also brings heightened understanding to society, but their new insight is rejected and they are despised for their contribution. Loki brings to the Aesir a stark view of reality that includes decay and death, while Anakin brings to the Jedi an unwelcome manifestation of the Unifying Force. These unwelcome contributions make the tricksters isolated from and eventually brought into conflict with their surroundings. Even if their insights are rejected, however, Anakin and Loki bring to the table an expanded awareness, an increased consciousness, that perceives reality more clearly.

The trickster is a complex archetype that is as deep as it unpredictable. The character of Anakin Skywalker, the centerpiece of George Lucas’ film saga, aligns himself with many elements of the trickster on a narrative, moral, and psychological level, all of which grant further insight into his nature and complexity as a character. Through such deep analysis of the character, Star Wars further solidifies its position as a true modern myth, a story that will continue to speak to the hearts and minds of generations to come.

Works Cited

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Heaney, Seamus. Beowulf: A New Verse Translation. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2000. Print.

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Jung, C. G. The Collected Works of C. G. Jung. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1970. Print.

Moyers, Bill, and George Lucas. "Of Myth And Men." Time. 18 Apr. 1999. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.

McDowell, John C. The Gospel According to Star Wars: Faith, Hope, and the Force. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2007. Print.

"Skywalker the Trickster (or, Thoughts on Norse Mythology and Star Wars)." Web log post. LiveJournal. 5 July 2011. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. <http://fialleril.livejournal.com/225106.html>.

Sturluson, Snorri, and Jesse L. Byock. The Prose Edda: Norse Mythology. London: Penguin, 2005. Print.

"Unifying Force." Wookieepedia. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. <http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Unifying_Force>.