She let me borrow her 2017 Star Wars Calendar. Remember these guys? Yoda-cute little green guy with those pointy ears-who was always talking about “The Force.” R2D2 and C3PO-always entertaining. Chewy-Big and Hairy and had his own style of communicating. You didn’t know what he was saying unless it was interpreted by Han Solo; but just the sound was kind of comforting in its own. Way. Of course, there was Han Solo and Princess Leia and Obe Wan Kenobi and a host of other characters that made Star Wars great and kept your interest and made you want to watch the next one. Finally, you have Darth Vader-who was the embodiment of evil-the Dark Side of the Force. Then, at last my personal favorite Luke Skywalker. are these movies so popular in our culture? They are at the base level a demonstration of one of the oldest themes known to mankind: Good versus Evil.
I did some research and found out that the reason George Lucas made them was during the 70’s when they first came out there was this huge void in the cinema. Westerns were dead, and if you think back that is their basic theme: good guys versus the bad guys or good versus evil. So, he took this Western theme and put into a Science Fiction setting. It has universal appeal because it really applies to so many areas in life: the legal system; religion; and so on.
I remember my first year of Bible School at North Central University in Minneapolis, MN. It happened to be the year of the first release of the Star Wars movies. It was called “Star Wars; A New Hope.”
I remember one of my professors saying that he felt that this movie was a good take on “good versus evil.” I agreed with him completely.
If you think about it the movies were very clean. They were mainly about teaming up and winning a battle over evil. The characters were odd; some were repulsive-Jabba the Hut; some were so lovable Ewoks. Sex and Romance were at most a kiss. How refreshing. The acting was intense. The humor was present through Han Solo or one of the Robotic Type Creatures like C3PO that seemed more human than machine.
Now you and I realize that this is a work of fiction, but it represents something as old as time itself. It is back to that Good Versus Evil.
There was man in the Bible, a leader named Joshua, who issued an Ultimatum from the Bible concerning Good versus Evil!
Joshua 24:15
“choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served, (these were false Gods) But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (the One and Only True God)
On Tuesday, I promise to answer-
That question I first asked along with:
Why do I want to be on the Good Side of the Force?
And What are the Dangers of Being on the Dark Side?
So again, which Side of the Force are you on?
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