Marco António Couto Sousa Star Wars
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Universidade de Aveiro Departamento de Línguas e Culturas Ano 2012 Marco António Couto Star Wars – Escape to Myth Sousa Star Wars – Fuga para o Mito Dissertação apresentada à Universidade de Aveiro para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Estudos Ingleses, realizada sob a orientação científica do Dr. Anthony David Barker, Professor Associado do Departamento de Línguas e Culturas da Universidade de Aveiro. 1 2 o júri Presidente Prof. Doutor Kenneth David Callahan Professor Associado da Universidade de Aveiro - presidente. Prof. Doutor Anthony David Barker Professor Associado da Universidade de Aveiro – orientador Prof. Doutor Joaquim João Cunha Braamcamp de Mancelos Professor Auxiliar da Universidade da Beira Interior – arguente 3 4 agradecimentos I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Professor Anthony David Barker, the real-life equivalent to Master Yoda in both knowledge and wisdom, if not in size or color. Without him the roller- coaster which has been writing this thesis wouldn’t have been half as much fun or as educational. Many thanks are owed to all my friends, colleagues and co- workers who have shown interest and commitment in following my academic career. Thanks to Olivia Soares for discussing historical episodes in which monetary reasons are the ulterior motives for war. Thanks to Teresa de Jesus for discussing Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious with me. A thank you is in order to Maria Ricardo, who was at the time the Portuguese equivalent for the figure of Principal in the school where I presently teach, and who took the pains and troubles of combining my school timetable with the classes I had in the University of Aveiro. My gratitude also goes to Alice Pinto, for caring and supporting me every step of the way. A particularly special thank goes to my mother, who on a lighter note fronted up the money for this Masters about ten years ago (which at the time helped me get a sweet SUV), in reality how can I begin to express my gratitude to the person who has always remained over time a pillar of strength for the entire family? How can I thank someone who has always shown unconditional love and support? Sometimes simple words are the most effective ones: Thank you. Thank you to my father who taught me much more than I ever gave him credit for in due time. Last and most certainly not least if some people are truly blessed with a soul mate I count myself lucky enough to be one of them. For my wife, my girlfriend, my lover, my friend, my confidant, the one who I’m proud to have started building a family with, the one whose face is the first thing I see when I wake up and the last thing I see when I fall asleep, Carla: Thanks for being there for me every step of the way. 5 6 palavras-chave A Guerra das Estrela, saga, género cinematográfico, mito, personagens arquetípicas /arquétipos, ficção-científica, space- opera, Western. Resumo Esta tese propõe-se a procurar explicações para a popularidade da saga de filmes levando em linha de conta o contexto cultural e histórico no qual A Guerra das Estrelas encontrou a sua génese. Desde os primeiros anos de vida do mentor da saga, George Lucas, fontes de inspiração para a série de filmes são exploradas, e ligações são estabelecidas com outros objectos culturais previamente existentes ou posteriores à saga. Premissa central a esta tese é a de que A Guerra das Estrelas veicula, por parte do seu autor uma leitura alternativa à história recente dos Estados Unidos, particularmente à participação norte-americana na guerra do Vietnam. O caminho proposto foi o do Mito como fator regenerador. Seguindo a uma abordagem teórica relativa ao contributo de diferentes disciplinas para o estudo do Mito tais como antropologia, história, psicologia, religião, semiologia ou sociologia; é abordada a forma como são endereçadas política e ideologia na saga de filmes. Uma análise relativa ao género cinematográfico, tendo em consideração a fluidez do conceito, ajuda a identificar a saga de filmes como transcendendo género, englobando elementos relativos à ficção-científica, ao Western ou mesmo à telenovela. O derradeiro capítulo discrimina personagens arquetípicas (heróis, vilões e mentores) que fortalecem o argumento de que a saga de filmes alcançou o estatuto de mito na sociedade contemporânea. 7 8 keywords Star Wars, saga, cinema genre, myth, archetypal characters, science-fiction, space-opera, Western. abstract This thesis aims to search for explanations for the popularity of the saga of films taking into consideration the cultural and historical background in which Star Wars had its genesis. From the early years in the life of its creator, George Lucas, sources of inspiration for the space opera are explored, and connections to other previously exiting or posterior cultural objects are made. Central to this thesis is also the idea that Star Wars elicits on behalf of its creator an alternative reading of recent American history, particularly of the Vietnam War. The route proposed was that of Myth as a significant healing factor. Following a theoretical approach to the contribution of different subjects to the study of Myth such as anthropology, history, psychology, religion, semiology or sociology; the way ideology and politics are addressed in the Star Wars saga are the focus of attention and study. An analysis of film genre, bearing in mind the fluidity of the concept, helps to identify this saga of films as transcending genre, encompassing elements from science-fiction, to the Western or even soap opera. The final chapter discriminates archetypal characters (heroes, villains, mentors) who are consistent with the argument that the saga of films has itself achieved the status of influential myth in contemporary society. 9 10 Star Wars – Escape to Myth Index Introduction ................................................................................................................................. p.13 Chapter I – Lucas’s biography and early body of work ......................................................... p.15 Lucas – The man behind the story ......................................................................................... p.15 Lucas’s earlier films ............................................................................................................... p.17 Lucas’s full-length feature film THX-1138: Whose bleak future? ......................................... p.20 American Graffiti: Recapturing America’s lost sense of carefree youth ............................... p.23 Star Wars – The beginning of a saga ..................................................................................... p.26 The business end of Star Wars ............................................................................................... p.27 Chapter II – The Rediscovery of Myth ..................................................................................... p.29 Myth and Semiology .............................................................................................................. p.30 Myth – origin, function and subject matter ............................................................................ p.31 Myth and Religion .................................................................................................................. p.33 Myth and Ritual ...................................................................................................................... p.35 Myth and History .................................................................................................................... p.36 Myth and Psychology ............................................................................................................. p.37 Chapter III – Politics and Ideology in the Lucosmos ............................................................... p.41 The Force – Spirituality in a distant galaxy .......................................................................... p.41 Dictatorship in the stars ......................................................................................................... p.45 Corruptive Power .................................................................................................................. p.46 Conservatism in the Star Wars universe ............................................................................... p.49 Destiny vs. Free Will ............................................................................................................. p.53 11 Chapter IV – Star Wars: Myth and Genre ................................................................................ p.57 Han Solo – The Fading Gunslinger ....................................................................................... p.61 Bounty Hunters ....................................................................................................................... p.68 Chapter V – Character Archetypes: Heroes, Mentors and Villains ....................................... p.73 Luke Skywalker – Idealist, hero and redeemer ..................................................................... p.73 R2-D2 and C-3P0. Much more than a comic relief ................................................................ p.81 The Role of mentor in the Star Wars saga ............................................................................ p.87 Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi ................................................................................................... p.87 Yoda ..............................................................................................................................