At first of my final submit, I requested the massive, thorny query – what makes an excellent RPG? Now, I ask what I believe is an equally thorny query – what’s Star Wars? As with the RPG query, many nice minds have laboured over the reply to this query. It began, in fact, with the 1977 movie directed by George Lucas, a space-fantasy journey that hearkened after the sci-fi serials that got here earlier than, like Flash Gordon. When I assume Star Wars, that is nonetheless the movie I consider above all of the others. It has each a way of caprice and high-stakes hazard. The characters – nonetheless unfastened and archetypal at occasions – nonetheless communicate to the numerous narrative archetypes of the previous. Every one was codified without end in fashionable popular culture due to Star Wars.
There’s Luke Skywalker, the naive farmboy who strives for one thing extra, who discovers his fated future does lie among the many stars, however comes with a heavy worth. Then there’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, the smart, considerably distant and enigmatic mentor determine who offers his life (spoilers!) to permit the brand new era to rise in his place, to appropriate the errors he’s implied to have made. The sinister and well-known Darth Vader is that this stoic mountain of a person – who might or might not really be human beneath his armour. He’s monstrous and mysterious, and because the Unique Trilogy progressed, increasingly of his humanity reveals itself. Han Solo is one other well-known archetype, the smuggler who shoots first (and don’t inform any Star Wars fan in any other case!) and asks questions later. In it for the cash at first, he’s revealed to have a coronary heart of gold when he comes again to assist Luke destroy the Dying Star. The Dying Star is itself an archetype, an unlimited superweapon the scale of a moon that may destroy planets. Then there’s Princess Leia, the badass, defiant girl who’s clever, scrappy, and doesn’t take disrespect from anybody, whereas additionally being poised and delightful. There are extra, in fact, however these are probably the most well-known.
Why am I giving all of those recaps? Should you’re studying this, you’re in all probability intimately accustomed to all of those characters and these archetypes. However it’s necessary to notice them as they appeared in Star Wars, as a result of The Sith Lords picks them aside, deconstructing them and analyzing an archetype’s position in a story.
Lucas famously based mostly the story of Star Wars round Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. A lot has been finished to discredit Campbell’s Hero’s Journey and the concept of the “monomyth”, however Star Wars buys into it, exploits the supposedly in-built human need for this story. Luke Skywalker begins on the desert world of Tatooine, bored and seemingly extraordinary, asking for journey. One thing pushes him into journey, and the journey begins. I don’t assume the monomyth is dangerous, however it is pervasive. The movie trade and well-liked tradition teaches that the Hero’s Journey is the way in which to put in writing tales. Rising motion, climax, denouement. That is historically satisfying, however it additionally limits the tales that may be instructed. In her acceptance speech for her Nobel Prize for Literature, Olga Tokarczuk stated that “we’re seeing too many makes an attempt ‘to harness rusty, anachronistic narratives that can’t fit the longer term to imaginaries of the longer term, little doubt on the belief that an previous one thing is healthier than a brand new nothing”. Star Wars was a narrative for the second, then. The Hero’s Journey isn’t so common that we are able to inform it time and again and create a extra significant society from recycled ins and outs, with solely aesthetic variation. In different phrases – we’ve to consider fashions of storytelling and gameplay past what we already know. The Hero’s Journey in a postmodern context is missing. We reside in a society so stuffed with literature that deconstruction is recurrent and frequent, in what I usually see as a determined try to search out extra that means in older tales, and extra incessantly to problem the reader.
My favorite David Bowie quote comes from an interview for the journal Filter in 2003, as he talks about his album Actuality. He says about our society that “[w]e are utterly and completely at sea, philosophically. And I don’t assume we would like new issues. I believe we’re type of scrounging round among the many issues we all know to see if we are able to salvage some type of civilization which is able to assist us endure and survive into the longer term. We don’t want new. We’re fucked. We’ve acquired sufficient new. Sufficient!…There isn’t a construction, there isn’t any plan. We aren’t evolving. We’ve got to make the perfect of what we’ve acquired”. This concept doesn’t simply apply to political fashions, or to trade, but in addition to narrative. The concept of Star Wars’ monomyth has pervaded well-liked tradition to the purpose that it may very well be stated to be actively dangerous to our notion of the world, and what’s potential. The transmedial nature of Star Wars is necessary too. Star Wars is in every single place. Video games, books, movies, TV, toys, comics… the record goes on.
Thinker Mark Fisher says that Star Wars has all the time been a “sell-out” from the beginning. What was as soon as counterculture (nonetheless momentary), he claims, was now the brand new mainstream, as signified by Star Wars. The defanging of joyous storytelling or tales of rise up into one thing controllable by firms. To some, Star Wars is consultant of hegemonic greed, the ability of merchandising, and an infinite array of plastic formed after your favorite characters. It’s a cash sink and a time sink. As movie critic Roger Ebert famously wrote about fan tradition surrounding Star Wars and Star Trek:
“Quite a lot of followers are mainly followers of fandom itself. It’s all about them. They’ve mastered the “Star Wars” or “Star Trek” universes or no matter, however their objects of veneration are helpful primarily as a backdrop to their very own devotion. Anybody who would camp out in a tent on the sidewalk for weeks with a view to be first in line for a film is extra into tenting on the sidewalk than motion pictures. Excessive fandom might function a safety blanket for the socially inept, who use its excessive construction as an alternative choice to social abilities. If you’re Luke Skywalker and he or she is Princess Leia, you already know what to say to one another, which is a lot safer than having to ad-lib it. Your fannish obsession is your beard. If completely all of the trivia about your cubbyhole of popular culture, it saves you from having to know something about the rest. That’s why it’s excruciatingly boring to speak to such individuals: They’re all the time asking you questions they know the reply to” (Ebert, “Fanboys” 2009).
All of this critique is necessary to understanding the background of Star Wars, and our fashionable notion of it. Bear in mind: I love Star Wars, and but I believe it’s critically necessary to critique; to acknowledge the affect it has had on well-liked tradition and wider society. The pervasive monomyth and mythopoetics of Star Wars has knowledgeable a lot of western well-liked tradition that even should you in some way haven’t engaged with Star Wars straight, you’ve nearly undoubtedly encountered among the concepts popularized by Star Wars. And since Star Wars is so massive, you could be the type of fan that’s absorbed into excessive fandom. Deconstructionist storytelling, the type of which is discovered all via The Sith Lords, will also be present in Rian Johnson’s The Final Jedi (2017), the eighth movie within the Star Wars franchise. Whereas I actually loved a lot of the movie, and nonetheless regard it effectively, the movie was not well-liked with an excessive subsection of the Star Wars fandom, who I imagine have been searching for the expertise Ebert describes. The rhetoric used round The Final Jedi turned more and more rightwing, tying itself to the Gamergate motion, and scaring Disney a lot that they course corrected into the normal with The Rise of Skywalker (Abrams 2019). Star Wars’ energy is such that for a piece of the fanbase, deconstructionism is akin to heresy. It’s like going off script.
The Sith Lords is extra constantly written than The Final Jedi, however really, I believe, was written in an identical scenario than The Final Jedi. The unique Knights of the Outdated Republic tells a comparatively conventional Star Wars story (should you’re going for a Gentle Facet ending, anyway), the place you rise in energy, collect a bunch of allies, and go to destroy an evil superweapon. The Sith Lords, with the principle writing finished by Chris Avellone, who had a bone to select with the Star Wars universe, takes the alternatives made by the earlier sport’s scriptwriters and complicates them. We’ll get into how later on this collection, however with the scene set for what Star Wars has turn into within the cultural and tutorial context, I needed to hone in on among the core concepts that the unique 1977 movie codifies when it comes to the aesthetic and narrative expectations given to us by Star Wars. This can enable us in a while to establish what The Sith Lords faucets into, and the way it intelligently deconstructs these concepts. Chris Avellone reportedly learn via the whole lot of the printed Expanded Universe (the Star Wars novels and prolonged media) that I used to be fascinated with as a child, maybe the Star Wars I stay most in tune with even immediately. Avellone’s takeaways from the franchise’s prolonged lore because it stood highlighted some core pillars. The pillars listed here are consultant of what I assume Star Wars is all about. However you may disagree and embody “Skywalkers” as a core half. I, personally, don’t. I’m invested within the characters, however not as a result of they’ve the title Skywalker. However, anyway, listed here are the three components of Star Wars I take into account integral:
Multi-Layered Battle
The way in which I see it, Star Wars is a couple of battle inside a battle. The battle appears to be for most individuals between the Insurgent Alliance in opposition to the Galactic Empire – democratic liberation searching for to revive a republic in opposition to xenophobic imperial army fascism. That is the first battle that we understand because the “Star Warfare”. Baked into that battle, nonetheless, is an age-old non secular battle between the Jedi and the Sith. The Jedi, a non secular group that has lasted for 1000’s and 1000’s of years, preaches pacifism and gives their service as diplomats, nonetheless nonetheless prepare as peacekeepers and warriors that use the Drive. The Jedi Knights, as they’re referred to as, wield lightsabers and enact justice. I suppose in a really perfect world they’d be politically nonaligned, however they choose to help the most important galactic society, the Galactic Republic. At one level of their historical past, rebellious Jedi began a non secular schism and have become what can be often known as Sith. Sith preach self-aggrandizement, prejudice, and energy above all issues. Proving one’s personal superiority to others via utilizing unfavourable feelings is their purpose. This creates highly effective fascist army empires within the brief time period, however as within the precise world, authoritarianism comes at the price of alienating a lot of society, inflicting cash to be spent on army expansionism and crackdowns on the native populace.
I see the Sith / Jedi battle as intrinsic to the setting. Others may see the Insurgent / Imperial battle as extra necessary. The subjective significance of this I believe creates completely different expectations relying on what you see as taking priority. I’m all the time extra within the battle between Darkish and Gentle due to my very own curiosity in ethical programs as a part of a fictional setting.
Various Technological Ranges
It’s instantly evident that know-how is stratified in Star Wars. The glossy gear utilized by the Imperial attackers – white battlesuits, imposing black armour, crisp, ironed uniforms and complex management panels – could be instantly contrasted by the know-how accessible to the individuals on Tatooine. They make do with little or no – rusted landspeeder automobiles, banged-up water harvesters for moisture farmers, rough-and-tumble weapons. This adjustments infrequently in Star Wars – some planets are idyllic, as revealed within the Prequel Trilogy like Naboo, with shiny chrome ships, attractive surroundings, and a high-level high quality of life. However to me, probably the most fascinating Star Wars highlights the gulf between technological entry. It makes the conflicts I talked about above really feel extra fascinating. How can scrappy underdogs come out and win in opposition to overwhelming technological superiority? In some methods, The Clone Wars battle is much less fascinating as a result of it’s between two comparatively equal factions – however it does increase some extra fascinating ethical questions. Out of this technological divide, you get characters rising up in several dwelling conditions, with completely different expectations.
Stuff like hyperspace engines aren’t correctly understood by the individuals of the Galaxy. There’s a type of archaeological method to know-how in Star Wars that appeals to me, making all the pieces really feel grand and mythic. They will make these things, however they don’t all the time perceive it. As a substitute of TVs, holoprojectors are extra widespread. Lightsabers are “a sublime weapon for a extra civilized age”. Issues really feel both shiny and futuristic (but nonetheless analog), or overwhelmed up and tough, in some way nonetheless limping on. The individuals of the Star Wars universe have sentient robots, however don’t have a lot digital gear as we perceive it immediately. No screens – which appeals to lots of people, I believe!
Galaxy Exploration
A part of the enjoyment of Star Wars is the power to discover all of those completely different worlds and cultures, pushed by alien species. It appears that evidently each new little bit of Star Wars media introduces a brand new alien or two, whereas increasing on some beforehand seen ones. The cantina scene in A New Hope launched so many funky trying creatures, and now you’ll be able to go and search for “Duros”, for instance, and discover that they’re a species of spacefaring, industrious starship creators. That’s proper – the blue individuals with the massive foreheads and the purple eyes have their very own mythos, their very own tradition, and it’s one that’s carried via throughout numerous media.
That exploration is usually carried by a way of caprice and surprise. Star Wars evokes actually awe-inspiring sights, similar to Cloud Metropolis on Bespin, or exhibits issues on a large scale – just like the infinite deserts on Tatooine. Every thing is enormous, and it’s a galaxy with infinite potential. There’s a lot to see, and a lot to do. I keep in mind the primary Star Wars d20 marketing campaign I ran – I used to be so frivolous with my references and all of the planets you might go to. I believe that’s usually the place writers, or extra precisely, executives answerable for fashionable Star Wars have turn into scared. Every thing needs to be interconnected. However the galaxy is enormous. Three level two billion liveable programs, claims Wookiepedia. Even when some planets solely have a smattering of individuals, that’s trillions of sentient beings. Quintillions, maybe. That’s an unfathomably enormous quantity. So whereas some tales the place characters stumble upon one another on a regular basis make some sense in the event that they’re looking for one another, the galaxy is so large that its storytelling potential is off the charts. So many sentient alien species, so many people, every with their very own targets. Not all the pieces needs to be tied to that non secular battle, or democracy versus fascism, however that’s an overshadowing aspect of Star Wars, irrevocably.
These three core pillars – battle, various ranges of growth and know-how, all tied along with a way of exploration and dizzying potential – are utilized by The Sith Lords. There are new planets – Peragus and Telos – and returning ones, like Dantooine and Korriban. This combine retains the sport wholesome, steeped in Star Wars’ previous whereas permitting for the exploration of the brand new. It’s a fascinating Star Wars sport that makes use of the potential of the overarching battle to inform a narrative that isn’t simply boiled all the way down to promoting toys or commercialism (although in fact, they’ve tried that too lately). I might write a couple of extra pillars, maybe. We might take into account conflicts between order and criminality extra usually, with kind-hearted smugglers in opposition to vile bounty hunters. However I believe, by and enormous, the essence of Star Wars revolves across the surprise of exploration and assembly new individuals, overshadowed by the specter of an unlimited, intergalactic battle that’s waged between two non secular sects.
So, with all of this out of the way in which, I believe now, lastly, is the time to begin speaking about The Sith Lords itself. Subsequent time!
