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CURRENTLY IN MOVIES
Pop culture or pop religion?

Gordon Matties

Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace (TPM) is the first in a new three-part trilogy that is set approximately 30 years prior to the three Star Wars movies released between 1977 and 1983. As in the earlier movies, the plot is driven by a mythic conflict between good and evil, but it does not take us very deeply into the source of the problem. The characters are shallow, and the story is predictable. The earlier movies introduced us to Luke Skywalker and to his father Anakin, who became Darth Vader, a master of the Dark Side of “the Force.” Now, in TPM, we meet Anakin as a child.


Brian D. Johnson, in a recent Maclean’s article, wrote: “Pop culture has become a new religion,” adding that, with its multi-billion dollar merchandising contracts, this movie reflects a “merger between money and religion – a fast food adventure in divinity for those seeking easy answers to eternal questions” (May 24, 1999).

George Lucas, the film’s director, stated his purpose in making the movie: “I wanted to make it so that young people would begin to ask questions about mystery. Not having enough interest in the mysteries of life to ask questions, ‘Is there a God or is there not a God?’ – that is for me the worst thing that can happen” (Time, April 26, 1999).

The movie draws on standard religious symbols. The villain is a Satan figure. A child is recognized as “the chosen one” who will “bring balance to the Force.” In this movie, since we know the end of this “chosen one” (he becomes Darth Vader), we begin to ask, “How does such a wondrous boy become evil”?

Of course, it’s not far from there to ask how any human being chooses the path of darkness. But, even more, we ask, “Where does this Dark Side come from”? These are profound questions, and they are not easily answered. The Lord’s reply to Cain is one of the best responses to the challenge of evil: “Sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it” (Genesis 4:7).

All religious narratives seek to make sense of the complexity of life. Stories like Star Wars can shape our worldview and our theological perspective – unless we are immersed in an alternative story, and unless we think critically about our convictions.

It won’t do to avoid the mythic narratives of popular culture. The new media have captured the market. They have displaced the biblical stories as suppliers of the core metaphors and images that shape our imaginations. It is important, therefore, to engage in constructive discernment and critical debate in the church and with our children. Only in that way will we know that we are choosing well the stories that will shape our imaginations and fuel our actions.

For example, before a “pod race,” the Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn tells Anakin: “Don’t think. Feel. Trust your instincts.” Even in Christian circles these days, intuition, feeling and experience seem often to matter most. This makes the appeal of the Jedi way deceptively attractive.

Another example: The earlier Star Wars movies made us wonder whether we, too, might be able to become masters of the Force and live in harmony and peace. Unfortunately, in this movie we learn that such abilities belong only to those who have a high level of “midichlorians” in their blood – spiritual mastery is now biological. The biblical story of grace is more complex than that.

You may wish to resist going to this movie. Be counter-cultural. But if you go, engage in serious conversation about the worldview of this movie. If we are going to watch movies, then let us bring our minds and our hearts and the discernment of the Holy Spirit to the task.

The other day, my children were answering quiz questions on their placemats at a pizza restaurant: “What is the name of the Sith Lord”? “Who built C3PO”? “What is the name of the group that decides who becomes a Jedi”?

I moved the conversation in another direction: “How is evil depicted in the movie”? “Who is Lord of the universe”? “What is it like to be an apprentice to Jesus”? I noted that the bad guy in Star Wars looks rather scary. When I asked, “What are bad guys for in movies”?, without a pause my son answered, “So that the good guys can defeat them.” Maybe that’s all there is to it. But maybe the next question is more critical: “And what did Jesus say about how to treat bad guys”?

Gordon Matties teaches biblical studies and a course in movie theology at Concord College in Winnipeg, Man.

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Last modified September 18, 1999.

© 1999 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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