Don Juan; Carlos Castaneda; George Lucas

I think so often we perceive Star Wars as the ultimate science-fiction film to which we match all others to. Even if you haven't seen star wars we know the basic premise behind the good and dark sides of the force and the fight between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. What is not widely know is how derivative star wars is. The notion of the force for instance is actually derived from Don Juan's teachings and written and published by Carlos Castaneda in one of his books The Fire Within [1984]. Castaneda was in fact Juan apprentice . In chapter 3, paragraph 48, we read;


"I've used the term "the world" to mean everything that surrounds us. I have a better term, of course, but it would be quite incomprehensible to you. Seers say that we think there is a world of objects out there only because of our awareness. But what's really out there are the Indescribable Force 's emanations, fluid, forever in motion, and yet unchanged, eternal. The reason for the existence of all sentient beings is to enhance awareness. The old seers, risking untold dangers, actually saw the Indescribable Force which is the source of all sentient beings. They called that indescribable force the Eagle, because in the few glimpses that they could sustain, they saw it as something that resembled a black-and-white eagle of infinite size. They saw that it is the Indescribable Force that bestows awareness and creates sentient beings so that they will live and enrich the awareness it gives them with life. They also saw that it is the Indescribable Force , that devours that same enriched awareness after making sentient beings relinquish it at the moment of death. For the old seers to say that the reason for existence is to enhance awareness is not a matter of faith or deduction. They saw it."


These are key notions which are explored in the star wars films. Lucas has even cited Castaneda as an influence but i don't think audiences realise the extent to which he influenced one of the key notions which star wars is based around.

"...in his search for fantasy, read Grimm's fairy tales and CS Lewis' Narnia Chronicles, JRR Tolkien and Frazier's Golden Bough. He also read Greek, Islamic and Indian mythology and the works of modern mythologists like Carlos Castaneda and Joseph Campbell" [Paraquen, 2001]


Joseph Campbell being the author of the hero with a thousand faces and thus the hero's journey. The hero is this sense is someone who doesn't want to go forth and discover his destiny, usually a small minded person who must eventually go off on a quest yet they are reluctant. There is an object the must retrieve and conquer and of course there is a great enemy between them and the object. Ultimately we observe that the greatest enemy is the hero themselves and in this sense we often witness the hero almost becomes the enemy.


The hero flaw shows a moment where they have ti choose between absolute good an absolute evil. This a a great refection of the star wars films. Both within the first three [1-3 new movies] where Anakin must choose between the good and the dark side of the force and then which Luke must make the same decision in movies 4-6. When Luke dreams of himself as Darth Vader we see this as an intrinsic part of the film. This symbolises that Luke's greatest fear is actually himself and thus conquering himself.