You may not have heard but a new Star Wars episode opened today in theatres. Yes, after more than 25 years, “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith” is certainly whipping up a frenzy among the public. ABCNews reported that Die-Hard fans of the epic paid $500 to attend the premiere of Episode III. Those not wanting to end up as fodder for Conan O’Brian’s insult dog, however, should wait to see it later.
Some fanatical fans have taken Star Wars as a religion — some more literally than others — with “The Force” usually linked to ideas from the Chinese religion Taoism. In Taoism, the universe is constructed of energy which one must become in harmony with. Yoda and Obi-wan Kenobi are spiritual mentors, often compared to Hindu gurus and Buddhist monks. But, at least one popular spiritual blog Web site, dickstaub.com, connects Star Wars to Christian themes. Then again, on another site, the author claims to demonstrate that Yoda, a character from the movie “Star Wars” is actually a subliminal symbol of The Devil. I can’t tell if they’re serious.
Like Karlyn, not everyone is so enthralled. There are plenty of detractors, including an “I Hates Lucas” rant at the Bynk Zone where he chastises Lucas for changing the earlier episodes and for making Anakin an angst-filled teen, extolling:
“Thanks to George’s appalling lack of subtlety and talent, one of the great embodiments of screen evil is now the lame embodiment of an over-privileged teen trust kid who had to settle for a stock Benz on their birthday instead of the AMG model.”
Personally, Star Wars lost me with the prequels. As though the Jar Jar fiasco wasn’t bad enough, you find out in Episode II (the fifth movie?) that Anakin’s mother has spent the last decade as a slave — all while the Jedi sit around. So the Jedi are all-powerful in the Universe, can use the force and save planets but no one could get off their butts to go over and GET HIS MOTHER OUT OF SLAVERY? No wonder he turns to the dark side. Although, it could have something to do with what seems to be a galactic-wide shortage of Starbucks. No one could spend all that time flying from planet to planet without a cup o’ java in the spaceship drink holder.
For those interested in the science of Star Wars, Forbes provides an interesting pondering of the chances for success of the science in the movies. Although Forbes gives little chance for a lightsaber, don’t miss this detailed explanation on How Stuff Works outlining how a light saber works, including this Important Safety Information:
“A lightsaber is not a toy! Keep it out of reach of children at all times. Lightsaber locks are required in most states.”
For my son, who’s too young to see the PG-13 flick, he has to be content with the Lego “Revenge of the Block,” which is pretty darn good for adults, too.
We’ll see you at the movies.
