Comments on: George Lucas Says He Made ‘Star Wars’ To Explore “Psychological Motifs In Mythology”

By: Daniel

Daniel — Mon, 23 May 2016 05:09:20 +0000

"Hero With a Thousand Faces" didn\’t really become a Lucas guidebook until he started writing "Empire," before that "The Golden Bough" has arguably more influence on the writing of \’Star Wars.\’ And just because Campbell was able to point out how the story coincides neatly with a template he had outlined — of course he would make a case for it, who wouldn\’t want to be linked to the biggest pop cultural phenomenon of the moment, sell a few more books in the process? — doesn\’t mean it\’s "cookie cutter." Hollywood is littered with the corpses of would-be franchises that follow the Hero\’s Journey faithfully, *none of which* would be valued at $4 billion (as per the Disney acquisition). Those are the "cookie cutter" examples. It\’s reductive and silly to ascribe the success of \’Star Wars\’ to one book; if Joseph Campbell\’s teachings are the ONLY thing you need to create a billion-dollar franchise, then how come no one\’s been able to replicate that level of success in the 40 years since? Sorry for the rant, I\’m not even a fanboy, but this is simple common sense.

By: Zinjo

Zinjo — Mon, 23 May 2016 05:09:20 +0000

He did and he was a close friend of Joseph Campbell. In "The Power of Myth" series of interviews, Campbell all but points out that Star Wars was a cookie cutter example of Campbell\’s thesis on heroes and myth. Well executed in theatrical form, but it followed the "formula". In so doing, it tapped into the pop culture like few films had at the time.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Mon, 23 May 2016 05:09:20 +0000

@ Petaire – Yup, all he had to do was read Hero with a Thousand Faces. That\’s why everyone who has read that book has gone off and made a billion-dollar movie empire. They write themselves!

By: Duder NME

Duder NME — Mon, 23 May 2016 05:09:20 +0000

AND he studied anthropology AND psychology at USC.

By: petaire

petaire — Mon, 23 May 2016 05:09:20 +0000

OR, he read the Hero with a thousand faces.