Onyx
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- Apr 24, 2018
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Since there was a suggestion to start a thread about this topic, I thought I would share why I don't Star Wars qualifies as fantasy.
First, movies tell visual stories. What a novel would have to explain about, a movie can demonstrate. There is no doubt that Star Wars deals with advanced humans and non-terrestrial beings with technological jobs (vapor farmer, interstellar freighter captain). The most common weapon fires a bolt of energy. Most man-made objects are made of highly processed materials like plastic and metal alloys.
The setting is not a quasi-Medieval place. The standard of living is relatively high - characters are not shown to be physically laboring or hungry. There is no local political structure in place collecting taxes or suppressing the masses. There are no castles or fortifications. There are no roving bands of armed men. The Storm Troopers are initially shown to be acting most like UN Peacekeepers or cops.
While classic titles like "Lord", "Emperor" and "Princess" are used, they are used alongside contemporary titles like "General", "Commander" and "Administrator".
There are no magical or sacred objects or animals. Luke never regrets the loss of his or Ben's lightsabers. The loss of ships, installations, weapons, tauntauns, speeders are never spoken of in reverent tones. Stuff is deemed as disposable and treating that way.
Luke is not a peasant. He is the affluent heir to a farmer. He has the disposable income to own his own speeder and have access to light fighter craft. He and his friends aspire to attend a military academy to continue his education. He is sure of himself, expected to be self sufficient in the dangerous wastes, brave, able to fix advanced technology. In other words, unlike any Medieval fantasy young man in that he has property and choices without being part of a social caste.
Luke is not "chosen" to go on a "quest". Luke, who happens to be the son of Jedi, decides to accompany Ben on his mission to deliver a droid to Alderaan as much to get away from Tatoonine as to have an adventure. No calling, no prophesy. He's just homeless and fancy free. He doesn't go to rescue a princess, her faithful droid tells them of the coincidence of her incarceration on a space station that they have to infiltrate anyway. Luke does it for fun and Han does it for reward money while Ben shuts off the tractor beams. After safely escaping, Luke then Han choose to go on the next mission against the Death Star out of loyalty to other characters and the justness of the cause. Luke had lost a father, aunt uncle and friend to the Empire and has every reason to want to bring it down.
Luke is not "the One". Luke has an innate feel for the Force, as one might expect of a Jedi's son. HIs sister has it as well, and at one time hundreds of people were known to be able to use the Force. He accidentally becomes involved and the abilities he subsequently develops through study and training make him of interest to the Emperor as a youthful replacement for his aging Sith. There is no prophesy about his future at work. He becomes involved by the accident of the droid's escape pod.
The Force is understood to be akin to a belief system, probably more like the Chinese "Chi" than an energy system like magic. The force does not confer the ability to control nature, but appears to be primarily used like clairvoyance and telekinesis - powers that are commonplace in SF but are less common in fantasy (see Star Trek, Dune). Jedi might be best compared to the elusive powers of ninjas or Shao Lin monks rather than wizards.
The major conflict in Star Wars is political. The Empire isn't completely evil, it is totalitarian in its governance. The Empire has no desire to transform the galaxy into a dark place, it just seeks political power over its territory. There is no Mordor-like transformation in the works. Like the Emperor of Dune, power is the only motivation for wrongdoing.
While fitting most of the basic bones of Campbell's Hero's Journey, many normal elements are completely missing:
1. There is no particular Call to Adventure
2. There is no Refusal of the Call.
3. There is no temptress.
4. There is no point when Luke despairs and loses faith.
5. There is no return to home.
Star Wars was marketed as a "Space fantasy" at a time when SF was largely dystopian, so this is arguably a move to differentiate it from things like Logan's Run or drier stories like 2001 or Star Trek. Aside from that, the main motivation for people labeling it fantasy comes from the inclusion of the Spock-like powers of the force, which I can only conclude are deemed magic because the characters understand the use of the Force in a semi-mystical way. But attaching spiritual belief to martial or other physical powers is normal in many Eastern traditions - Yoga, Kung Fu, Bushido. So I think it is either the adventuresome spirit of SW that throws people off, or a desire to be contrarian.
First, movies tell visual stories. What a novel would have to explain about, a movie can demonstrate. There is no doubt that Star Wars deals with advanced humans and non-terrestrial beings with technological jobs (vapor farmer, interstellar freighter captain). The most common weapon fires a bolt of energy. Most man-made objects are made of highly processed materials like plastic and metal alloys.
The setting is not a quasi-Medieval place. The standard of living is relatively high - characters are not shown to be physically laboring or hungry. There is no local political structure in place collecting taxes or suppressing the masses. There are no castles or fortifications. There are no roving bands of armed men. The Storm Troopers are initially shown to be acting most like UN Peacekeepers or cops.
While classic titles like "Lord", "Emperor" and "Princess" are used, they are used alongside contemporary titles like "General", "Commander" and "Administrator".
There are no magical or sacred objects or animals. Luke never regrets the loss of his or Ben's lightsabers. The loss of ships, installations, weapons, tauntauns, speeders are never spoken of in reverent tones. Stuff is deemed as disposable and treating that way.
Luke is not a peasant. He is the affluent heir to a farmer. He has the disposable income to own his own speeder and have access to light fighter craft. He and his friends aspire to attend a military academy to continue his education. He is sure of himself, expected to be self sufficient in the dangerous wastes, brave, able to fix advanced technology. In other words, unlike any Medieval fantasy young man in that he has property and choices without being part of a social caste.
Luke is not "chosen" to go on a "quest". Luke, who happens to be the son of Jedi, decides to accompany Ben on his mission to deliver a droid to Alderaan as much to get away from Tatoonine as to have an adventure. No calling, no prophesy. He's just homeless and fancy free. He doesn't go to rescue a princess, her faithful droid tells them of the coincidence of her incarceration on a space station that they have to infiltrate anyway. Luke does it for fun and Han does it for reward money while Ben shuts off the tractor beams. After safely escaping, Luke then Han choose to go on the next mission against the Death Star out of loyalty to other characters and the justness of the cause. Luke had lost a father, aunt uncle and friend to the Empire and has every reason to want to bring it down.
Luke is not "the One". Luke has an innate feel for the Force, as one might expect of a Jedi's son. HIs sister has it as well, and at one time hundreds of people were known to be able to use the Force. He accidentally becomes involved and the abilities he subsequently develops through study and training make him of interest to the Emperor as a youthful replacement for his aging Sith. There is no prophesy about his future at work. He becomes involved by the accident of the droid's escape pod.
The Force is understood to be akin to a belief system, probably more like the Chinese "Chi" than an energy system like magic. The force does not confer the ability to control nature, but appears to be primarily used like clairvoyance and telekinesis - powers that are commonplace in SF but are less common in fantasy (see Star Trek, Dune). Jedi might be best compared to the elusive powers of ninjas or Shao Lin monks rather than wizards.
The major conflict in Star Wars is political. The Empire isn't completely evil, it is totalitarian in its governance. The Empire has no desire to transform the galaxy into a dark place, it just seeks political power over its territory. There is no Mordor-like transformation in the works. Like the Emperor of Dune, power is the only motivation for wrongdoing.
While fitting most of the basic bones of Campbell's Hero's Journey, many normal elements are completely missing:
1. There is no particular Call to Adventure
2. There is no Refusal of the Call.
3. There is no temptress.
4. There is no point when Luke despairs and loses faith.
5. There is no return to home.
Star Wars was marketed as a "Space fantasy" at a time when SF was largely dystopian, so this is arguably a move to differentiate it from things like Logan's Run or drier stories like 2001 or Star Trek. Aside from that, the main motivation for people labeling it fantasy comes from the inclusion of the Spock-like powers of the force, which I can only conclude are deemed magic because the characters understand the use of the Force in a semi-mystical way. But attaching spiritual belief to martial or other physical powers is normal in many Eastern traditions - Yoga, Kung Fu, Bushido. So I think it is either the adventuresome spirit of SW that throws people off, or a desire to be contrarian.
