Nothing New Under the Sun?
Almost two years ago, I had a back and forth discussion with my youngest daughter on Facebook about the echoes of The Wizard of Oz had in the first Star Wars movie. This idea is not new.
And it doesn’t take a genius to work out the connections between the two, but it must have been a genius who made them. George Lucas based his story on ancient samurai legends, which is why a lot of the characters have oriental-sounding names. And, what is more astounding is his use of numbers in a few of the monikers:
Obi-Wan Kenobi (one);
R2D2 (two);
C3PO (three);
and “May the Force be with you” (four).
The Hero With A Thousand Faces
It seems so obvious now, but Luke Skywalker is George Lucas in his imagination. If you are going to launch yourself into an epic story, you would want your character to have your name.
Everyone thinks the Wizard would be represented by Yoda or Kenobi. But the illustration at the head of this post shows that Luke is the Wizard, and I would tend to agree with that thinking. The Force is always strong in him, and that is the mark of a hero.
As the series has continued to the present day, Skywalker is still here in some form or another. Long may he reign.
