The prequel trilogy

Unlike the old Star Wars films, the new 'prequel' trilogy, which is set before the events of the original movies, is no longer a tale of clear-cut good versus evil. As George Lucas has repeatedly stressed, it is the story of how Anakin Skywalker, despite his best intentions, turns into the merciless Darth Vader.

I would like to argue that these prequels retain the basic plot structure of the Monomyth only to limited extent. George Lucas has indicated that he sees the entire trilogy as one big tragedy, i.e. the tragic fall of Anakin Skywalker to the Dark Side of the Force. While I would tend to agree with that sentiment, this is not what I want to concentrate on in this short paper. Instead, my focus for the next pages will be on how the Star Wars prequels combine the Monomyth with elements of postmodernism.

Postmodernism

Before I come that that topic, however, I have to answer one not so simple question: What is postmodernism? After all, it is a word used in such almost ridiculous abundance these days and in so many different, often contradictory contexts that one has to wonder if it means anything at all or if it is just one of those fashion-terms writers sprinkle into their texts here and there to make themselves look more 'cool' or 'sophisticated'. Since a comprehensive description of postmodernism could easily fill books which put the bible to shame in terms of volume, I will focus only on the small sub-chapter of postmodernism as a cultural movement, and even here pick out only aspects relevant to the fields of literature, theatre and cinema.

According to the French theorist and philosopher Jean-Francois Lytoard, postmodernism is characterized by "incredulity towards metanarratives". This means that stories and paradigms such as religion, which claim to provide universal truths, are no longer accepted. Also, postmodernism rejects these metanarratives' tendencies to present their 'truths' in terms of simple binary oppositions.

Looking back at what I said about the Monomyth earlier – that it is trying to convey universal truths about life in a simplified way – it is not difficult to recognize that the Monomyth is exactly the kind of metanarrative which postmodernism rejects. Instead, it employs more complicated plots that do not follow a single line towards resolution. There usually is no clear 'good versus evil' in these stories, but just a multitude of conflicting viewpoints and agendas. As a result, the characters of such plots are not 'black' or 'white' as they usually are in myths, but only different shades of grey, possessing both positive and negative qualities. Instead of the all-out fight to save the galaxy from evil we know from the original Star Wars trilogy, postmodern plots focus on interpersonal conflicts and political intrigues. Mythic icons are usually only present in the form ironic allusions.

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