When Hollywood Waxes Philosophical . . .

I've been awake since about 9 am. watching the Star Wars marathon on Spike TV.

Upon watching "Empire" and currently watching "Return Of The Jedi", I was hit with a sense of nostalgia . . . and I was brought back to a better time . . . a time of summer vacations at my mom's house watching the original Trilogy(out of order, as I would find out later) on a VHS tape. The tape actually still exists, recorded from a time when there was only one HBO channel, (Ch. 14 for me).

As I was still in grade school, Star Wars for me was a movie that had really cool scenes and really cool stuff going on . . . I mean what kid wouldn't wanna fly spaceships and whack stuff with a sword made of light that can cut through anything, and say really cool one-liners that fit every moment perfectly? Looking back now, and after watching a million and one documentaries on Star Wars, it's the swashbuckling, action-packed, entertainment value of the movie that I appreciated back then . . .

But then I got older . . .

I began to grasp the underlying message in Star Wars shortly after beginning my theological and philosophical studies. My spiritual masters and mentors both were big Star Wars fans, and as they were older and wiser, they were able to use the movies as a teaching tool to instruct me in the ways of what I would now call "Christian Buddhism".

As Zen Buddhism has no central deity, it is philosophically sound for one to fully believe in Christianity while being a devout Christian. Because my mentors were well versed in both methods of thought, the circles of influence pertaining to these belief structures overlapped, giving me a strong and solid foundation in these philosophical studies. I began to internalize the notion of being a Jedi, not to levitate salt shakers, but to be ever mindful, and to use my God-given talents for good . . . to not give in to the anger, fear, and confusion that had ruled my life to date and to see the common thread of humanity that exists in us all. Later, my reading of "The Elegant Universe" would give a scientific validity to this belief . . .

But that is neither here nor there . . .

Upon the release of the Prequel, I lost respect for the Lucasfilm camp . . . I mean, why tell me a story that I already know? It was a great idea on paper, and initially I was upset solely because Star Wars became "cool", something that all the "preps" in school could go see and brag about because it was "the thing". Instead of it being a philosophical wonder, it became nothing more than a box office success . . .

It wasn't until recently that I understood the complete picture . . .

When one begins to understand warfare and the political/economical effects thereof, one understands how and why a golden age declines . . . The Prequels are not just explaining Anakin Skywalker's journey to the Dark Side, it's actually documenting the decline of an enlightened civilization (The Republic) into a much more modern and realistic depiction of humanity (The Empire vs. The Alliance).

The inevitability of humanity and it's representation in both Christianity and Zen Buddhism shows that there are opposing forces at work in our lives. The Christians would tell you it's Good vs. Evil, The Zen Buddhist would tell you they are Masculine and Feminine. Star Wars tells you they are Dark and Light. At any rate, each method of thought will tell you that a lack of balance creates chaos, most noticeable in the Star Wars Universe. Anakin does, in fact, bring balance to the force by way of his son, Luke. This harkens to the Christian ideal that God the Father brings the gift of salvation to humanity by way of his son, Jesus. Enlightenment came to the Buddha upon his leaving his father's side to go out into the world and discover the reason for pain and suffering. A deeper look finds that Luke's biggest foe is the darkness that is inherent in him. Luke is the only Jedi "to date" that has gone from Light to Dark and back to Light. In fact, in the novels that take place after ROTJ, Luke courts both Light and Dark, thus balancing The Force. Do we as humans not walk the fine line between the Light and the Dark? Do humans not have the ability to create life as well as destroy it? Do we not give into greed as many times as we give into benevolence?

As Christians we are trained to recognize the evil in us and to work to rid ourselves of our more base promptings through study, prayer, and works done in faith. Just the same, a Jedi is trained to trust his instincts and not to give in to the human's inevitable loss of faith, and to cultivate that faith in The Force through meditation. A Zen Buddhist practices physical and spiritual meditations, reads good books, and sits at the feet of his spiritual master in order to learn to recognize and gain ultimate control over one's own humanity and manipulate it thus.

As I watch the conclusion of ROTJ I still quote the movie damn near verbatim while recognizing the cinematic excellence of Spielberg and Lucas's works. However, now more than ever, underneath the script and the special effects, I can see for myself the correlation between art and life . . . and knowing that this discovery is not necessarily new or ground-breaking, it holds a certain importance for me. I'd love nothing more than to walk outside of my place of residence with nothing but an X-Wing, a droid, and a lightsaber, traversing the galaxy and using my God-given gift to save the universe . . . then I realize that my lightsaber has six-strings, my hoodie is my cloak, and my God-given talents levitate the spirits of those around me when ever I wield my weapon. My X-Wing has two arms and two legs.

I look back on my life and realize that I have conquered the darkness in me, that I live in a state of perpetual balance, and that through constant vigilance and dedication I can save this dying universe . . .

I am a modern-day Jedi . . .