[xenduck]

So I figure, anyone who comes to this forum is able to read. Shoot, they may even LIKE reading. Well, I love to read, and for a long time now I’ve been noticing a ton of literary influence in the star wars trilogy. Most people are aware of Joseph Campbell’s contributions to the saga, but is that the extent of Lucas’ allusions? Now this is a big topic and I intend to keep adding on to it, so lets start with the basic and most obvious.

Names: now no one will deny that names like Maul, Tyrannus, and Sidious allow insight into the nature of the characters that own them. But what about other names... ill skip other obvious names like Solo or Skywalker.

Vader: most people know this one but all include it. It’s a dutch word for father, and darth is a derivation of dark, so it means dark father. Oops, is that a spoiler?

Tarkin: im not certain on this but I believe a tarkin is a hunic military unit...its also the name of a saint.

Yoda: the name is sanskrit for warrior. To me, yoda epitomizes the warrior motif. He is neither philosopher nor soldier, but both. The being who strives for perfection but knows it can not be reached. He smacks of the ideals expressed by great samurai like Yamamoto Tsunetomo and Yagyu Munenori, as well as Musashi. And especially of the teachings of Takuan Soho when he speaks of not trying; Which is also a part of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching.

Jedi: this word comes from the jidai geki era of japan. Literally it means the era of play (or some such). This invokes the samurai once again, which were idealized in the kabuki theaters of the age. All the more in the PT when we see the jedi in decline, just as described by Tsunetomo in the Hagakure. The samurai, through no fault of their own, become obsolete and eventually become the enemies of the government they were sworn to protect; just like the jedi.

Padme: the best I could do for her name is that the word (or rather, non-word) is a part of a favorite Tibetan Buddhist mantra, OHM MANI PADME HUM. The mantra is meant to invoke the Buddha or a Bodhisattva in order to bring good fortune to the speaker. The words do not translate into English but basically mean strength, courage, compassion, intelligence, patience etc. speaking of Tibet, Amidala is very similar to Dali lama

Lama tsu: here’s a stretch, the name is reminiscent of a lamassu, which is an Assyrian gargoyle or chimera. it may also be a Tibetan reference.

Luke: is of course from the Latin word luc, meaning light.

Well that’s all I can think of as far as names. But if the names alone are a hint as to what else may lay hidden then I can’t wait to explore other allusions with the rest of you. Later I’ll elaborate on reoccurring themes in literature that present themselves in the saga. Unless everyone thinks this is a complete waste of time. Please keep in mind, however, that I don’t presume to know what Lucas was thinking when he wrote the movies, only what I was thinking when I watched them. Maybe its all a coincidence.

This post has been edited by xenduck: 01 June 2005 - 11:01 PM

[Despondent]

I'm with you.

[barend]

i think padme is actually a mylasian dish...

[ElaynaTang]

Just an idea... but since I know SO many people with personal grievances against Jar Jar Binx (sp?) due to how annoying they feel he is...

I feel many of these to be more than appropriate descriptions of Jar Jar (taken from Dictionary.com)

Jar

v. intr.

To make or utter a harsh sound.
To be disturbing or irritating; grate: The incessant talking jarred on my nerves.
To shake or shiver from impact.
To clash or conflict: “We ourselves... often jar with the landscape” (Isak Dinesen).

v. tr.

To bump or cause to move or shake from impact.
To startle or unsettle; shock.

n.

A jolt; a shock.
Harsh or grating sound; discord.


I am trying to think of and find more!!!

[andy_k_250]

So I figure, anyone who comes to this forum is able to read. Shoot, they may even LIKE reading. Well, I love to read, and for a long time now I’ve been noticing a ton of literary influence in the star wars trilogy. Most people are aware of Joseph Campbell’s contributions to the saga, but is that the extent of Lucas’ allusions? Now this is a big topic and I intend to keep adding on to it, so lets start with the basic and most obvious.

Names: now no one will deny that names like Maul, Tyrannus, and Sidious allow insight into the nature of the characters that own them. But what about other names... ill skip other obvious names like Solo or Skywalker.

Vader:  most people know this one but all include it. It’s a dutch word for father, and darth is a derivation of dark, so it means dark father. Oops, is that a spoiler?

Tarkin: im not certain on this but I believe a tarkin is a hunic military unit...its also the name of a saint.

Yoda: the name is sanskrit for warrior. To me, yoda epitomizes  the warrior motif. He is neither philosopher nor soldier, but both. The being who strives for perfection but knows it can not be reached. He smacks of the ideals expressed by great samurai like Yamamoto Tsunetomo and Yagyu Munenori, as well as Musashi. And especially of the teachings of Takuan Soho when he speaks of not trying; Which is also a  part of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching. 

Jedi: this word comes from the jidai geki era of japan. Literally it means the era of play (or some such). This invokes the samurai once again, which were idealized in the kabuki theaters of the age. All the more in the PT when we see the jedi in decline, just as described by Tsunetomo in the Hagakure. The samurai, through no fault of their own, become obsolete and eventually become the enemies of the government they were sworn to protect; just like the jedi.

Padme: the best I could do for her name is that the word (or rather, non-word) is a part of a favorite Tibetan Buddhist mantra, OHM MANI PADME HUM. The mantra is meant to invoke the Buddha or a Bodhisattva in order to bring good fortune to the speaker. The words do not translate into English but basically mean strength, courage, compassion, intelligence, patience etc. speaking of Tibet, Amidala is very similar to Dali lama

Lama tsu: here’s a stretch, the name is reminiscent of a lamassu, which is an Assyrian gargoyle or chimera. it may also be a Tibetan reference.

Luke: is of course from the Latin word luc, meaning light.

Well that’s all I can think of as far as names. But if the names alone are a hint as to what else may lay hidden then I can’t wait to explore other allusions with the rest of you. Later I’ll elaborate on reoccurring themes in literature that present themselves in the saga. Unless everyone thinks this is a complete waste of time. Please keep in mind, however, that I don’t presume to know what Lucas was thinking when he wrote the movies, only what I was thinking when I watched them. Maybe its all a coincidence.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nice to see an actual scholarly entry here!

I've heard Chewbacca is Russian for "monster dog."

[Twig Bear]

I thought Vader had more to do with inVader. Sort of like inSidious.

[barend]

or inmaul.

[Twig Bear]

Well I couldn't stop Lucas from fucking it up. I tried. I really tried. But Lucas was hell bent on breaking his own rules.

[Mnesymone]

Nope... not invader, just Darth Vader or Dark Father. It never had anything to with invader until the Mad satire "Space 'n'Vader" - and while Sidious sounded like it related to Insidious, Tyrannous was just "tyrant" with a bit of garnish and maul was just "maul: to mangle, slash, crush destroy or a two-handed cudgelform mace"

[barend]

the only pattern lucas knows is that every is related and has a bad feeling about virtually everything...

[Despondent]

Mon is a title I guess for Mon Mothma (yes rots Action figure, no rots appearance)

Admiral Ackbar's RACE starts with Mon. What gives?

go ask Jar-Jar, mon.

[xenduck]

so now id like to tackle my favorite subject, the sith.
the word 'sith' refers to a race of giants from greek mythology that destroyed each other by throwing boulders. this goes a ways in explaining why there can only be a master and an apprentice; otherwise the sith would expend all their energy fighting amongst themselves.
while the jedi seem to embody plato's concept of 'philosopher-kings' the sith represent nietzsche's hyperboreans. (Nietzsche took this name from greek mythology also, it is the name of the 'superior' beings who live in an utopia beyond the northwinds.) the 'ubermansche' who is unfettred by morality. in nietzsches twightlight of the idols he calls for the gods of society(the jedi) to step down and let humanity(the sith, society) act out its darwinian struggles unabashed. no one personifies the "will to power" better than the emperor himself. nietzsche tells us that morality is simply 'petrified violence', a conditioned response we must overcome. it is not wrong to seek dominion over people or the world itself. only those too weak for compitetion preach passiveness.
i imagine in my mind a chain as such: nietzsche wrote 'thus spake zarathustra', zarathustra is the german name for zoroaster, zoroastrianism, combined with christianity, gives us manichaeaism. manichaeaism is the belief in the eternal struggle between equal opposites; thus the moral polarity of the OT. yet only a sith deals in abbsolutes, the jedi however seem to be the ones who are 'beyond good and evil'.
the name sidious, no doubt comes from the word, insidious. the name demonstrates sidious' ploting and patients and brings to mind that extreme subtlety called for by sun tzu in the art of war. especially in the phrase, "win first, fight later." also, lao tzu says that the ruler should be "a shadowy presence to his subjects" and that "only the truly selfish man is fit to rule."

i want to say more on the sith, specifically vader, maul and tyrannus, but time is short. im writing this on my lunch break, so excuse my 'paraphrasing', i dont have the acctual texts in front of me, also keep in mind that many of the books i refer to have gone through many editions and translations. if you disagree with my extrapolations let me know what and why specifically. i know im reading into things that were probably only coincidental, but thats what this thread is all about. and i dont have time to proof read so please be merciful.

[JW Wells]

Jedi: this word comes from the jidai geki era of japan. Literally it means the era of play (or some such). This invokes the samurai once again, which were idealized in the kabuki theaters of the age.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

FYI, "Jidai" means "era". The phrase "sengoku jidai", for example, means "warring states era", the Japanese feudal period that ran until about 1600. Not sure this is a valid allusion.

[xenduck]

FYI, "Jidai" means "era".  The phrase "sengoku jidai", for example, means "warring states era", the Japanese feudal period that ran until about 1600.  Not sure this is a valid allusion.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i only had two years of highschool japanese, so im a little rusty. but i believe geki means 'theatre'. when i said "era of play", i meant play as in a stage performance. the jidai geki began with kabuki and 'no' performances during the meji restoration and is still going strong today. the term now refers to action flicks as well as retellings of historical or legendary epics. i believe it is one of lucas's strongest and most blatant allusions. not only does the word jidai sound like jedi (to the western ear at least) but the star wars could be labeled as a jidai-geki film.

[JW Wells]

i only had two years of highschool japanese, so im a little rusty. but i believe geki means 'theatre'. when i said "era of play", i meant play as in a stage performance. the jidai geki began with kabuki and 'no' performances during the meji restoration and is still going strong today. the term now refers to action flicks as well as retellings of historical or legendary epics. i believe it is one of lucas's strongest and most blatant allusions. not only does the word jidai sound like jedi (to the western ear at least) but the star wars could be labeled as a jidai-geki film.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Here's the best ref I could find, looks like "Jidai Geki" in terms of film means what "period piece" does here in the States.

Frankly, the appeal of Star Wars used to be that it was so sparse. A simple story, clearly identifiable sides, enough empty room around them for the viewers to fill in the details. It's more cluttered now, but it is not, nor has it ever been, profound.