The entire saga as the story of a life

It already becomes apparent in this very last battle that, despite all the postmodern elements, the prequel trilogy can by no means be called a thoroughly and decisively postmodern work of art. As I mentioned before, postmodernism rejects absolutes and sees everything as relative and dependent on point of view instead. However, the Star Wars prequels seem somewhat undecided which of these standpoints to adopt. When Anakin is confronted by Obi-Wan Kenobi after pledging himself to Darth Sidious, he says to him, "If you’re not with me, then you’re my enemy." I would like to leave the obvious political implications aside and concentrate on the statement as such that demands of others to follow an absolute, as Obi-Wan also recognizes. However, he responds, "Only a Sith deals an absolutes", which is both a condemnation of absolutes in the best postmodern tradition as well as an absolute itself, indicating that there may be such a thing as absolute right or wrong after all. This impression is reinforced when roles are reversed later in the duel. "Anakin, Chancellor Palpatine is evil!", Obi-Wan shouts, to which Anakin responds, "From my point of view the Jedi are evil!" Now Anakin suddenly adopts a relative viewpoint, while it is Obi-Wan who – once more – makes an absolute statement. "Well, then you are lost!", he finally declares – another absolute which is proven to be quite correct in the end.

Looking at the way this scene is swaying between myth and postmodernism, the question arises if, at its core, the prequel trilogy might not be another rendering of the Monomyth after all. We do have the elements of Initiation as well as Separation as described by Joseph Campbell. However, the Return to the ordinary world is missing. This is not completely unheard of, since there are other examples of stories which follow the basic pattern of the Monomyth where the hero does not really return to the ordinary world in the end. The most prominent one in contemporary film and literature probably is Frodo, the hero of The Lord of the Rings, whose attempt to settle back into a normal life after defeating the arch-villain Sauron remain unsuccessful, so that he finally accompanies the mystical Elves into their undying lands beyond the sea. What is rare, though, is that the Return is missing because the hero becomes one of the major 'bad guys' himself. After all, Anakin's greatest trial is not the struggle with some other villain, but the struggle with himself – one that he ultimately loses.

However, one should keep in mind that the prequels were never meant to be the end of a complete story but actually only the first part. George Lucas has always resented the idea of separating the two trilogies, insisting that all six movies should be seen as one huge narrative. I would like to adopt George Lucas's viewpoint here, since it provides a unique perspective on the Star Wars saga. Taking all movies as one tale, Star Wars does not primarily appear to be the Heroic Quest of Luke Skywalker, but the life story of his father Anakin.

Now suddenly all the elements of the Monomyth are back in place: We have the Separation, which is Anakin leaving his home in pursuit of a greater destiny, we have the Initiation, which is Anakin becoming a Jedi and facing many trials and ordeals, the greatest being his struggle with himself and the Dark Side of the Force, and finally, with Anakin killing the Emperor and turning back to good, we have the Return to the ordinary world. As I mentioned before, the events in the Hero's Journey are symbols of universal life experiences and the whole journey is, at its core, a metaphor for life itself. In that sense, the overall Star Wars saga is, despite all the deviations into more postmodern realms in the prequel trilogy, as faithful to the Monomyth as a tale can be, telling its audience the story of a life, however tragic it may be.

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