Star Wars V
Directed by George Lucas Released in 1980
The Character
This is a great place to add a tagline.
The character: Luke Skywalker is one of many rebels fighting in a cosmic war against the evil Galactic Empire. He is being trained by Jedi Master Yoda, who is trying to complete Luke’s training so he can face Sith Lord Darth Vader and defeat the empire. Luke is eager, positive, and also impatient.
The Conflict
While this movie as a whole does not explore the nature of the self, the scenes that feature Luke getting training from Yoda are a brief window in which the viewer can learn a valuable spiritual lesson when learning who we are. When Luke first arrives on Dagobah (The planet where Yoda lives), he is impatient, unable to live in the moment, and controlled by his emotions. Yoda begrudgingly trains Luke, helping him become stronger physically and mentally. The power of the Jedi is known as the force, which is a mysterious energy field created by life that binds the galaxy together. Harnessing the power of the Force gives the Jedi, the Sith, and others sensitive to this spiritual energy extraordinary abilities, such as levitating objects, tricking minds, and seeing things before they happen. Luke is unable to harness this power at first because he does not recognize the being-ness between all living things.
“You are a function of what the whole universe is doing in the same way that a wave is a function of what the whole ocean is doing.”
― Alan Watts
In Star Wars, The Force is incredibly similar to the way Alan Watts and Eckhart Tolle see the universe: we are extensions of the Universe, not separate from it. The Force can be explained using words, but similar to the term "being" that Tolle and Watts use, it is something you feel and experience. Similarly, in the movie The Force is everywhere, connecting all living creatures. Unfortunately, young Luke is too stuck in his own mind to feel this presence. He identifies with his thoughts and emotions, which are the reason for his immaturity and impatience.
Key moment
Luke’s biggest lesson comes when frustration has taken over during a lesson, and he wants to give up. Yoda explains that the force is not just a power, but the energy of life itself that surrounds us and binds us, while living in all living creatures and objects. He grabs Luke’s skin saying that “We are luminous beings, not this crude matter.” He then completes the task Luke thought impossible, while Luke is in awe, saying he can’t believe it. Yoda tells him that is why he fails. This is because Luke identifies and attaches to the thoughts coming from his mind, instead of identifying with his true self.
While Luke doesn't yet grasp Yoda's teaching because his judgment is clouded by thought, this lesson plants a very important seed inside of Luke.
Resolution & Analysis
Luke is a very talented force-sensitive user, but at this point, he is still too vulnerable to his fears, unable to detach from his thoughts, and not wise enough to confront the evil Darth Vader. Despite this, Luke impulsively leaves his training to go face Vader. Later in the movie, Luke takes on Darth Vader and his mind is nearly seduced by evil. Luke was not ready for the challenge ahead of him and failed. In the next movie, Luke ends up succeeding and saving the galaxy, because he is strong enough to separate from his mind. He stops seeing others as separate entities to himself, even his opponents, and this shift in consciousness saves whom he loves and ends the war. While this famous movie saga is mostly entertaining, the few spiritual elements in the movie are great reminders of who we are.