Film, Literature, & the Human Condition

When Star Wars was released back in 1977, it unleashed a cultural phenomenon, one that only cultivated with the release of its two sequels. Over the years, these films have achieved a level of recognition both for the breadth of its popularity and for its cinematic brilliance. To some people, the Star Wars universe transcends beyond movies. I am one of those people, but not in the sense you may think. If you tried to start a conversation with me about the different makes of starships or models of lightsabers, my expression would turn into a chasm of obliviousness. My favorite of the original trilogy of movies is The Empire Strikes Back, because it most deeply explores the reason I am drawn to this world, going into a profound meditation about some of the themes that were introduced in the first film. It begins exploring the mystery and power of the Force. George Lucas only gives us vague impressions of what the Force is exactly. It could be a religion judging by the way both the Jedi and Sith lead their lives in accordance to it, but the Force is not something they worship. It is created by life, not the creator of life. It is closer to philosophy, but there is still an inherent spiritual element that elevates it to something more. Whatever the Force may be, in the space of three movies, it made a simple, yet powerful statement about existence, that the universe thrives on a conflict between two equally matched spiritual forces, one good, the other evil. And we need to pick a side. (continue reading…)

The notion of a self-fulfilling prophecy is very powerful. What it essentially does is take something which is false, declare it to be true, and influence people through logical confusion until their responses eventually fulfill the erroneous prophecy. This idea is not far off from the great philosopher David Hume and his theories regarding determinism. Hume championed the belief that human beings are part of a deterministic universe whose occurrences are governed by the laws of physics. According to this, one’s behavior is ultimately predetermined, which inherently renders any sense of free will obsolete. In a sense, free will, in the case of a self-fulfilling prophecy, is the force, albeit through manipulation, pushing one in the direction of a false prognostication. And if all this is predetermined, it means a lot of the happenings in our universe are in fact the culmination of a prophecy claimed as truth when it is actually an untruth. What does that say about the integrity of the universe? (continue reading…)