Introduce Myths with Luke Skywalker & Obi-Wan Kenobi

Last updated on: September 26, 2014 at 6:20 pm by George G. Coe

Introduce Myths with Luke Skywalker & Obi-Wan Kenobi 2014-09-26T18:20:53-05:00 George G. Coe

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Star Wars provides a great introduction to the study of myths. It has some of the classic elements of the hero myth.

Here’s how I used the saga with my religion students.

First, I asked them to create a ten panel story board of the Star Wars saga in groups of three or four. After about thirty minutes, I asked some groups to present their story boards to the class. After the presentations, I explained that the Star Wars story is based on elements of the classic hero’s myth. I handed out copies of the Hero’s Journey graphic, which you can see below. (click on the image to enlarge it) Next, I showed this two minute clip in which George Lucas discusses the hero’s journey in his Star Wars Series.

Finally, I explained the elements of the two other classic myths–the creation myth and the trickster myth.

Hopefully, the Star Wars connections will help the students to remember the lesson.

My thanks to my colleague, Jeff Feinstein, who showed me some of the links to Star Wars and its role in myth and also for suggesting the storyboard as a hook for the lesson.

Here are some other resources. The Air and Space Museum in Washington DC had an excellent exhibit in 1999 called “Star Wars and the Magic of Myth.” Their online site still has a lot of good information.

Star Wars in the Classroom has excellent resources for Star Wars and mythology. The video clips don’t work now but the site says that they are working on fixing that.

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