Before I continue, I ask that no spoilers for the new Star Wars be given in the post, out of respect for those who have not seen the new film. This post will thus deal strictly with the original trilogies.
Does anyone see any possible generational cycles in the original trilogies? Emotionally the original trilogy should be a crisis war, yet there seems to be know recent memory of a great war when the prequels begin, and the clone wars culminate in the fall of the Republic, the elimination of the Jedi Order and the establishment of the Empire. Could it be that the clone wars and subsequent fall of the empire were a crisis era war, leaving Anakin/Darth Vader and Obi-wan Kenobi as Hero types and Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Luke Skywalker as Prophet types, with the rebellion being an awakening civil war? I'm not well-versed in the expanded universe, which may shed more light on this.
Obviously generational dynamics does not necessarily fit works of fiction, but generational themes are strong in the Star Wars saga, so who knows?
Generational Dynamics in Star Wars?
Re: Generational Dynamics in Star Wars?
Justin,
I think this is an excellent question. Generally, I think works of fiction are most strongly shaped by the generation to which they are made for/by. So the original trilogy was made for an Idealist audience, evident by the emphasis on the distinction between good and evil, as well as strong philosophical tones such as the "force" being analogous to will. The prequel trilogy, I would guess, was intended for a Reactive audience, seeing how the distinction between good and evil are blurred as the Republic falls as a result of what Anakin thinks is the right thing to do. Since that time, however, there was a great shift to appeal to a Civic audience instead, hence the animated Clone Wars cuts out the morally ambiguous tones to instead focus on Anakin as a hero type.
That being said, works of fiction also tend to have a basis in generational theory within them as well. This is because writers base their story archetypes off of inspirations from the real world, such as the wise old master (Obi-Wan) giving instructions to the young hero (Luke), which is based on the real-world phenomenon of the Idealist giving moral instructions to the Civic generation during a crisis. Nestor, Moses, Samuel, Merlin, Muhammad and Obi-Wan are all legendary or fictional Prophets who give wise, moral advice to their respective Heroes, namely Achilles, Joshua, David, Arthur, Umar, and Luke.
Continuing on that train of logic, we would consider the rebellion against the Empire (known as the Galactic Civil War in the extended universe) as the crisis war, chronicled in the original trilogy, and being a climactic event that splits the calendar among the fan base (generally speaking, Star Wars timelines measure time as either Before the Battle of Yavin (BBY), or After the Battle of Yavin (ABY)). Along these lines, Luke, Han and Leia are all modeled as Hero types in the crisis, with Obi-Wan and Sidious as both Prophet types on opposite ends of the spectrum (good and evil). Vader, taking the role of a dictator in the war, fulfills the Nomad type, along with most other generals and commanders in the trilogy. The exact years of the Galactic Civil War are thought to be 2 BBY-4 ABY, climaxing with the Battle of Yavin in 0 ABY.
Now, when the prequel trilogy came out, with its own epic conflict of the Clone Wars, we are tempted to reevaluate the significance of the Galactic Civil War, especially as this conflict (the Clone Wars) still weigh on the minds of characters in the original trilogy as you said. However, this conflict came out very different. Our "hero" Anakin is corrupted with power and moral ambiguity, eventually killing those he loved and assuming control over the Empire under Sidious. Likewise, the generations older than Anakin are much more cynical and obstructive than what we see in the original trilogy. In fact, we can easily surmise that the reason Luke made the more noble choice than his father in the end is due to a generational divide: Luke as a Hero and Anakin as a Nomad.
What about the conflict itself, the Clone Wars? The Clone Wars are generally dated as 22-19 BBY, placing this conflict at the beginning of the Crisis Era that ended with crisis war in the form of the Galactic Civil War. Now, although the Clone Wars were not the crisis itself, there is no doubt that it served as a direct cause of the war. That is, if not for the Clone Wars, the Galactic Civil War would not happen the way it did. As it turns out, this is very typical of crisis eras in history, as one war serves as a cause of the crisis war. In American history, the Seven-Years War aggravated the colonists to the point of rebelling in the American Revolution. The Mexican-American War created controversy in the western territories that led to the Civil War. World War I led to World War II, and the Gulf War led to the Iraqi-American War. So the Clone Wars was a non-crisis war that led up to the Galactic Civil War.
Additionally, the Great Jedi Purge in Revenge of the Sith is meant to parallel Hitler's seizure of power in the 1930s, or Augustus' seizure in the 40s BC. Both taking place before the crisis war itself.
I think this is an excellent question. Generally, I think works of fiction are most strongly shaped by the generation to which they are made for/by. So the original trilogy was made for an Idealist audience, evident by the emphasis on the distinction between good and evil, as well as strong philosophical tones such as the "force" being analogous to will. The prequel trilogy, I would guess, was intended for a Reactive audience, seeing how the distinction between good and evil are blurred as the Republic falls as a result of what Anakin thinks is the right thing to do. Since that time, however, there was a great shift to appeal to a Civic audience instead, hence the animated Clone Wars cuts out the morally ambiguous tones to instead focus on Anakin as a hero type.
That being said, works of fiction also tend to have a basis in generational theory within them as well. This is because writers base their story archetypes off of inspirations from the real world, such as the wise old master (Obi-Wan) giving instructions to the young hero (Luke), which is based on the real-world phenomenon of the Idealist giving moral instructions to the Civic generation during a crisis. Nestor, Moses, Samuel, Merlin, Muhammad and Obi-Wan are all legendary or fictional Prophets who give wise, moral advice to their respective Heroes, namely Achilles, Joshua, David, Arthur, Umar, and Luke.
Continuing on that train of logic, we would consider the rebellion against the Empire (known as the Galactic Civil War in the extended universe) as the crisis war, chronicled in the original trilogy, and being a climactic event that splits the calendar among the fan base (generally speaking, Star Wars timelines measure time as either Before the Battle of Yavin (BBY), or After the Battle of Yavin (ABY)). Along these lines, Luke, Han and Leia are all modeled as Hero types in the crisis, with Obi-Wan and Sidious as both Prophet types on opposite ends of the spectrum (good and evil). Vader, taking the role of a dictator in the war, fulfills the Nomad type, along with most other generals and commanders in the trilogy. The exact years of the Galactic Civil War are thought to be 2 BBY-4 ABY, climaxing with the Battle of Yavin in 0 ABY.
Now, when the prequel trilogy came out, with its own epic conflict of the Clone Wars, we are tempted to reevaluate the significance of the Galactic Civil War, especially as this conflict (the Clone Wars) still weigh on the minds of characters in the original trilogy as you said. However, this conflict came out very different. Our "hero" Anakin is corrupted with power and moral ambiguity, eventually killing those he loved and assuming control over the Empire under Sidious. Likewise, the generations older than Anakin are much more cynical and obstructive than what we see in the original trilogy. In fact, we can easily surmise that the reason Luke made the more noble choice than his father in the end is due to a generational divide: Luke as a Hero and Anakin as a Nomad.
What about the conflict itself, the Clone Wars? The Clone Wars are generally dated as 22-19 BBY, placing this conflict at the beginning of the Crisis Era that ended with crisis war in the form of the Galactic Civil War. Now, although the Clone Wars were not the crisis itself, there is no doubt that it served as a direct cause of the war. That is, if not for the Clone Wars, the Galactic Civil War would not happen the way it did. As it turns out, this is very typical of crisis eras in history, as one war serves as a cause of the crisis war. In American history, the Seven-Years War aggravated the colonists to the point of rebelling in the American Revolution. The Mexican-American War created controversy in the western territories that led to the Civil War. World War I led to World War II, and the Gulf War led to the Iraqi-American War. So the Clone Wars was a non-crisis war that led up to the Galactic Civil War.
Additionally, the Great Jedi Purge in Revenge of the Sith is meant to parallel Hitler's seizure of power in the 1930s, or Augustus' seizure in the 40s BC. Both taking place before the crisis war itself.
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