Star Wars and Religion

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Star Wars and Religion

Methodology

In conducting my research on Star Wars, I wanted to make sure that I kind of found a variety of sources. I decided to do my field report on Star Wars originally because I was aware that I needed to include an interview component in this report. I immediately thought of my R.A., who just happens to be an incredibly huge Star Wars fan. I knew that I would have to investigate some element of the movies and religion has always been a very controversial topic within the Star Wars "universe". To research the topic I went through the IU Libraries Database and retrieved articles about Lucas and his beliefs about religion and about pop culture spirituality and the movies in general. I also held an interview with my R.A., Veronica Lloyd on the subject. She proved to be a very good source of knowledge on both sides of the issue at hand because she is a religious studies major as well as a Star Wars fanatic.

Description

I found that though the movies are a pop culture phenomena, there are still unanswered questions. Even the biggest of fans are not certain about what the relationship between religion and Star Wars is. In the interview with Veronica, she mentioned that "it's kind of a mixture of things" (Lloyd, 161), maybe it's really something that will never be decided upon, but that hasn't stopped anyone from exploring the issue from all angles. I discovered a very interesting interview done by Bill Moyer with George Lucas, where he asks some of the questions that we all want answers to, but even Lucas doesn't know everything. It's interesting to me that the author and film maker does not know the answers to questions about his own work, but I understand the reasons why he doesn't. Lucas ...

... middle of paper ...

...port. I think a more detailed form would serve to cover more angles, but also that there are so many angles to this topic that maybe too many would just be too much. I was interested in the topic and I think that helped to make the research and interview process easier to accomplish. I also think that I have a little more respect for the work of George Lucas and for those that know they are the true fans, they deserve the title.

Works Cited

Baker, Barbara J. "The Star Wars Trilogy". Magill's Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature. 1996. (*for general plot summaries)

Johnson, Brian D. 1999. "The Second Coming". Maclean's. 24 May. Vol 112. Issue 21. p 14.

Lloyd, Veronica. 2001. Interview by Jenny Hettenbach, 30 November, Bloomington, Indiana. Tape recording. SW1.

Moyers, Bill. 1999. "Of Myth and Men." Time. 26 Apr. Vol 153. Issue 16. p 90.

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