What Star Wars Teaches Me

I love Star Wars.

I've seen each of the six movies at least a dozen times, and watched most of them again this past weekend.

I love both trilogies with my whole heart. Prequel haters don't stand a chance with me. Anyone who truly understands the scope and grandeur of the complete story knows why Episodes 1, 2 and 3 need to be very different from 4, 5 and 6. George Lucas' storytelling is rich with nuance and subtleties, and the movies beautifully portray many nonverbal elements of his complex narrative.

I enjoy everything about the Star Wars universe.

I totally get into all the science fiction-y, battle-driven elements of the plot. If futuristic action adventure is the question, Star Wars has all the answers. Bring on those blockade runners, attack cruisers, and assault ships.  Pump up my adrenalin with an X-wing attack on the Death Star, a chase around the skyscrapers of Coruscant, a hard-core pod race over the sands of Tatooine. And please, knock me out with some extreme lightsaber duels.

Care for some political intrigue and Machiavellian plotting? This story offers a roller coaster ride of motivations, and backstories with so many twists and turns that I'm still working to sort them all out. As Queen Amidala, Padmé sends her bodyguard to play the role of queen while she prowls around Tatooine with the guys. Palpatine feeds Anakin lies to convince him that the Jedi have turned against him. In turn, Darth Vader uses an unprincipled gangster like Jabba the Hut to achieve his own strategic purposes.

Give me weird planets and exotic life forms. I crave those long-necked creatures on the planet of Kamino who are building a secret clone army based on the genetic template of Jango Fett. Torture my ears with the goofy Gungans who live in watery isolation on the planet of Naboo. And let me feast my eyes on those teddy bear warriors who roam the forest moon of Endor, the Ewoks.

But if I had to choose, I would say that my favorite aspect of Star Wars is the group of interesting and well-developed human characters that propel the story.  They draw us into this fantasy galaxy and make it all seem (somewhat) believable. 

Of course, there's Luke Skywalker. At first, he comes off as a whiny little brat stuck in a boring life on a moisture farm in a remote corner of the galaxy. But Luke soon realizes that it is his destiny to master the Force, lead the Rebel Alliance to victory, and restore the Republic. Over the course of the second trilogy, he comes to terms with his identity as Darth Vader's son and possible heir to the Dark Side. He learns to put aside his fears, use his powers for good, and resist the temptation to give into his anger. In the end, he becomes the classic hero.

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Princess Leia is a straight-up warrior woman. She is fierce, devoted and willing to stop at nothing to achieve her goals. Her tumultuous relationship with Han Solo provides some love interest and comedic energy to the story, but her feelings for him take the back seat to her duties to the Republic. In fact, Leia and Han's relationship tends to work most smoothly when they are in the midst of battle, mowing down Imperial Stormtroopers and accomplishing their objectives as a team.

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Han Solo is an accidental hero. Starting out as a two-bit gunrunner whose bad debts draw him into the galactic showdown, he eventually lets go of his "me first" attitude and lends a skilled hand to the Rebel forces. The fact that he's crazy about little Miss Cinnamon Buns may influence his desire to cooperate at first. But he risks his life and saves the day so many times that his motives are clearly unselfish.

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Padmé represents the glory of the Republic in its heyday. At a very young age, as Queen Amidala, her wisdom, maturity and sense of the greatest good led her to political success. As a senator, she continued to serve with conviction and bravery, despite the political chaos that was breaking in all around her. Her own personal world collapsed as she regretfully conducted a secret relationship with Anakin, which ultimately led to her emotional unraveling and her death.

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And then there's Anakin slash Darth Vader. Oh, what could be more compelling than a misunderstood bad guy. The second trilogy shows him at the height of his uncompromising power. He is completely lacking in compassion, driven only toward ruthless domination. It's only in his dying breaths that he provokes even the slightest hint of sympathy from others. But then the story loops back to his childhood and shows him as an adorable underdog in a pod racer. And a fledgling baby Jedi saying goodbye to his mother forever. And a sappy sweet teenage boy who flirts with his girl in the meadow and misses his mommy so much that he has bad, sweaty nightmares. The tender-hearted Anakin summons compassion and empathy, and it's only when his feelings turn to the Dark Side that we see the monster he has allowed himself to become.

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Such profoundly complex and dynamic characters. But what they teach me is very simple: 

Principles matter. Knowing who you are and what you stand for means that in any situation, you will know how to respond. 

Emotions are important, too...but when one indulges their feelings ahead of their principles, life loses focus and dangerous choices are made. 

Two short, simple truths. On paper, they seem obvious, even clichéd. 

But the Force of our culture presents us with a very different version of the truth. In our world, we are taught to value feelings above all else. Being nice, being sensitive, being non-judgemental and selfless, and above all, being happy - we are taught that these things matter most. Especially in the world of women, decisions are made and actions are chosen based on what will or will not hurt people's feelings rather than what can truly considered to be right or wrong. I see it happen every single day.

Just to be sure you hear me, I'll say it again: feelings do matter.

But Star Wars teaches me that principles matter most.

Poor Padmé and her tragic Anakin reveal an important cautionary tale. When we allow our emotions to overtake our principles, as they did, the fabric and foundation of our lives fall to pieces, and we are ruined.

By contrast, Luke, Leia and Han teach me of the extraordinary power of principles. When we know what is important to us, and we lay our feelings aside to live by our principles, our lives come into balance, we do the right thing and ultimately, our emotions are satisfied as well.