Page 117 - Star Wars Insider (Special Edition 2020)
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THE WIZARD’S JOURNEY
The Wizard Archetype
Wizards are a familiar and
longstanding archetype in
fiction—whether the magic-
wielding sorcerers of high
fantasy or the technological
masterminds of science-fiction.
The iconic examples are easy
to name: Merlin, The Lord of
the Rings’ Gandalf, and Harry
Potter’s Dumbledore in the first
category; and in the second, the
In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Doctor (as in Doctor Who), the
Back to the Future Trilogy’s Doc
Luke Skywalker goes beyond Brown, and Plutarch Heavensbee
his Hero’s Journey to embark on (The Hunger Games). Frequently,
though, these characters don’t
a different type of adventure… have a story arc of their own.
They may be revered for the
W O R D S : T R I C I A B A R R role they play as mentors to
a younger hero undertaking
the Hero’s Journey, but they
are not separately undergoing
n discussions of the Hero’s Journey a metamorphosis to become a
I in contemporary storytelling, better version of themselves.
That is the difference between
Luke Skywalker is one of the most
frequently cited examples. Joseph a character who represents the
Campbell—the academic whose wizard archetype and a character
work on the subject influenced whose Wizard’s Journey brings
George Lucas’ writing—viewed Luke’s path them through a final heroic cycle
in Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) as a modern to reach self-mastery.
execution of what he called the “monomyth:” In Star Wars, a Jedi Knight
the archetypal hero’s story common to every may reach the rank of Jedi Master
culture and era. Likewise, Christopher Vogler— by training an apprentice, but
who reframed Campbell’s ideas into a model few will attain the transcendent
specifically designed for cinematic storytelling— understanding of the Force that
used A New Hope as one of his primary examples brings the spiritual wisdom to
in his 1992 book The Writer’s Journey. become more powerful than
Yet Luke’s story did not, of course, end with A one can possibly imagine. Of all
New Hope. What seemed like a complete Hero’s the masters seen in the prequels
Journey in that film was expanded and developed and Star Wars: The Clone Wars
upon in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1981) on TV, only three have become
and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983), making the one with the Force after death:
path from farmboy to Jedi far more involved than Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi,
simply using the Force to destroy the Death Star. The and Yoda. Each has completed
prequel trilogy then expanded the story of Luke’s a Wizard’s Journey in order to
father, and how the pieces came to be in place for do so (although Anakin seems
Luke’s own journey. to score a free pass in Return of
In the new trilogy, the Hero’s Journey belongs to the Jedi), but for the most part
Rey, Finn, and Kylo Ren. Each has progressed along this has occurred beyond the
their own path as the story has unfolded. But Luke’s view of the audience. Star Wars:
journey is not over. In the events between trilogies, The Phantom Menace (1999)
Luke has gone from Jedi Knight to Jedi Master, and establishes Qui-Gon’s iconoclastic
then disappeared into exile. Having elevated him to perspective on the Force—the
mythic status within his own fictional universe in source of his differences with the
The Force Awakens, the latest trilogy has one more Jedi Council—but we do not see
cycle for Luke to complete in The Last Jedi: that of how he acquired the views that
the Wizard’s Journey. became vindicated later.
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