Why Star Wars Is Important Today
Star Wars has always been about hope and rebellion.
Star Wars is one of the most important and influential stories of the last decades. It’s wildly popular and loved around the world. It’s ultimately a silly story about space wizards and talking bears. Yet, it’s also important to billions of people and it carries a message that is important today.
The Original Trilogy – Hope
The Original Trilogy is, and always will be, at the core of Star Wars. It is what kicked off the whole shebang and the focal point around which the rest revolves. It is the reason the other trilogies are referred to as prequels and sequels. Lucas always claimed that he had at least some broad plan for Star Wars, including the prequels in mind, yet there was a reason he chose to start in the middle of his supposed grand plan.
The message of the Original Trilogy is about hope–the first movie is, after all, called a New Hope. In this case, it’s not just a generic type of hope, but hope in a better future. It’s hope against an oppressive fascist state, against injustice, slavery, and racial discrimination. Hope that by resisting and fighting tyranny we can overcome the worst that humanity has to offer. It’s no coincidence that the Empire is a human government and that all the Imperials shown in the movies are humans. This is a powerful message and one that people have latched onto. It’s a story about a rebellion and the power of revolutionaries to change the world, or galaxy.
It’s also a story about how rebellions and evil transform people. It is something we witness through the movies and in the different ways people interact with the rebel movements. Luke initially wants no part in the rebellion–he actually wishes to join the Empire. It is only when witnessing first hand the injustices of the government, and how state brutality knows no bounds and can strike anywhere, that he is radicalized. Han, the jaded outcast, is a drifter without any real goal. He finds purpose and a measure of redemption for his past apathy in the Rebellion. Leia of course has always been a freedom fighter. She undergoes the least change because she already exists as an example of the best humanity can be. Even more minor charterers like Lando learn that you can’t bargain with evil. In the end, the Rebels win, proving that evil can be beaten and the world can be made a better place. Their resistance was not futile–it was how they grew.
The Prequels – A Warning
In contrast to the OT the Prequels are not hope-filled but rather serve as a warning. The prequels are a tragedy showing how a noble society can fall. We see this in the growing corruption and division of the Old Republic. It’s highlighted in how the Republic fails to protect the most defenseless among itself. The Republic cannot act to defend the natives of Naboo against the predatory tactics of large corporations nor can it act to protect the slaves of the galaxy. It is an image of a nation that was once great but has fallen and a warning that complacency in the face of evil is a slow death.
The Jedi stand as a strong example of this. They were once revered as guardians of peace and justice; protectors of the people. These wandering sages did good works across many worlds. Yet, over time, they transformed from mediators to law enforcement. They became part of the Republic’s judiciary and acted as a police force. Later, shortly before their fall, they were increasingly militarized eventually acting military commanders.
The Jedi choose to follow their oath to the Republic and, in particular the Supreme Chancellor, over their own ideals. Many failed to even notice that they were comprised. Ultimately, this leads to them following the orders of their greatest enemy and even defending the type of person they had sworn to oppose. The Jedi let politics trump their beliefs and were destroyed for it.
All of this is to say that the Prequels, the most political of the Star Wars movies, stood as a warning. Originally they mirrored the fall of Wiemar Republic and the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party. However, after 9/11, the final movie Revenge of the Sith, took on a more immediate warning. Despite its warnings and tragedy the Prequels only reinforced the message of the OT. They showed that failure to resist an evil will only lead to greater tragedy. That sacrificing morals for political expediency is a dark path.
Yet it also told us that all is not lost; that even in the darkest hours things can be fixed. The Rebels were the Alliance to restore the Republic–their symbol is based on the phoenix after all. By learning from the mistakes of others and taking a stand, rather than being distracted from internal evil by outside “others”, democracy and freedom could be restored.
The Sequels – The Fight Never Ends
Until the release of the Sequels Star Wars always had a hopeful message–one that said things can better and even if evil rises we can rebuild what was lost. The Sequel Trilogy, muddled mess that is, does manage to build on this theme in new and relevant ways. The message of the sequel trilogy, to a degree, is that evil never really goes away and that it is a constant fight to stop evil. It’s a fight that needs dedication from each generation. 
The New Republic, the shining hope, is an abject failure. From the get-go it has failed to provide peace or stability and proved too weak to survive. It does not seem to have engendered any real loyalty with no one coming to its aid when it is attacked. Every hope and dream from the OT is crushed; everyone and everything is a failure. The movies say, “Rebellions don’t lead to anything better; they lead to more chaos and a downward spiral.” It’s enough to force some people to even argue that, ignoring all the horrible unforgivably things it did, the Empire could have been right in comparison. That is something we never would have argued before.
This is not due to any inherent failing in democracy but a commentary on half measures and complacency. Too many people felt that winning one big war was the end of things. As humans we tend to try to find climaxes to events so that we can move on. However, like the abolition of slavery and the end of the American Civil War didn’t settle the issues of equality in the US, nor did the passing of the Civil Rights Act end racism, the defeat of the Empire at Endor and later Jakku didn’t fix all the galaxies problems. The takeaway is that too few people kept up the fight. Too few people kept working towards their goals. The victory brought peace for a time but justice needs work. In the end Leia, always the best of us, saw this and chose to fight and to resist injustice in all forms.
The message of the Sequels is two-fold. On the one hand, it’s that each generation needs to keep the fight up and keep moving forward. Victories won by the previous generation can be undone if the current generation is not willing to fight. Both Finn and Rey are initially apathetic to the plight of the galaxy and are motivated by selfish wants. Over the course of the Last Jedi both are shown that apathy only leads to more darkness and both chose to fully embrace the resistance and make the fight their own.
On the other hand, the return of Palpatine argues that the same evil old white man is the root of a lot of major issues. Ultimately the galaxy does choose to come together and evil is once more defeated. Hope reigns. The galaxy learns that apathy towards evil will only empower it. In the movie we see it leading to the point where evil literally holds a gun to the galaxies head. The message is clear. You must always fight evil.
Star Wars Is Good
From the beginning and all through the last 40 years, even when it was messy, Star Wars was about doing good. The core message is that we must always fight evil, we must rebel, and we must hope for a better tomorrow. There are various ways to rebel: through the hands-off support of Yoda on Dagobah, the political and materiel support Leia provided before the movies, to the front line direct action of the Rebels. Even non-violent aid such as Luke provided in the Last Jedi are relevant forms of resistance.
Star Wars tells us again and again that apathy, appeasement, and seeking to bargain and compromise with evil will never work. It shows that even those with noble intentions can be corrupted when they ignore morals and blindly support a government. It shows that resistance against tyranny is the way forward and that Rebellions are built on hope. It tells us the John Boyega is a hero and that we all can be, too. It tells us to be and do better. It’s a powerful message and one of hope (and if you don’t like it you were never really a fan of Star Wars). It’s a message we could all use right now.
Star Wars, political from the start, remains just as political and relevant today.
Want to a real hero and make Luke proud? Here are some ways you can support the cause and further the discussion of diversity and inclusion.
National Lawyers Guild Mass Defense Program
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