The inspiration from this came from three sources - Ruth Benedict's Patterns of Culture, Carl Jung's Psychology and Religion, and Friedrich Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy. Benedict, one of the greatest anthropologists (and one with an amazingly readable writing style) uses Nietzsche's classifications of the two main influences of Greek Tragedy (The Apollonian and the Dionysian) to explain various patterns in culture, primarily amongst the Native Americans. While reading Benedict for my History of Anthropological Thought class, it struck me again just how these concepts apply to Star Wars. Of course, Lucas knew his Greek myths and tragedies and read Nietzche, so that's not so surprising, is it?

To briefly explain: Apollonian influence is the stoic, unemotional, balanced, measured, purely intellectual influence on Greek tragedy. It is what most people imagine when someone says "Ancient Greece" - the mathematical precision, the intellect, the rationality. The search for truth through early science and rational thought.
Dionysian influence is what most people forget or don't know about: the irrational, the passionate search for truth through excess. Unlike the Apollonian, the Dionysian does not deny or control the passions but revels in the truths brought about through experiencing them to their fullest.

How does this fit into Star Wars? Simply put, the Jedi are the Apollonian manifestation of Force users; the Sith are the Dionysian manifestation.

Simple enough. But what does this do for understanding the nature of humanity?

Consider the microcosm: man. And the man considered will be Anakin Skywalker. Born of the midi-chlorians through Dark Side manipulation, his very nature is Dionysian. He is a man of passionate conviction and emotional intensity. He comes under "control," albeit nominal, of the Apollonian Jedi Order who seek him to conform to their model. Anakin tries very hard, but as we see in AOTC and ROTS it's not easy for him to deny his passions. He cannot do it. His passion to protect those he loves, his passionate love itself, is part of who he is.

But he seeks to deny that and to be the Jedi he believes he should be. This causes stress, as you we see in film and as we know from real life experiences. The Dionysian aspect of Anakin - his passion and his anger - represent in Jungian terms, his Shadow. The Shadow, contrary to what some will say, is not evil. It represents things that each individual and/or society believes to be "negative" or "undesirable," but when properly understood these attributes can envigorate life.

But what do people do with things that are "negative"? In general, we seek to deny their existence in ourselves, often projecting them onto others, hence the "evil other." When we know they are within us, we repress or bury them deep down so that we do not have to look at the "ugly" aspects of our personality or or society. Anakin does this consciously, trying to purge himself of his passion and anger. He tells Padme that he would love to wish away his feelings, but he can't do it. The first sight of these Shadow feelings often causes shame and guilt in the individual, as Anakin experienced after slaughtering the Sand People. He knows that giving into his anger was wrong, but he doesn't want to deny giving in to anger, he wants to deny having anger. Even Padme's gentle reassurance that to be angry is to be human doesn't help...Jedi are "supposed" to be above such things.

They are too much a part of him, and in fact, he should not deny them. Now, that does not give him license to simply act on his whims; what he needs to do, as Jung argues, is to recognize and accept his Shadow. See it for what it is, learn from it, sublimate its passions to his rational mind, and then use them so that he may act in society instead of react to society.

Why can we not just keep repressing and rejecting the Shadow? That can be done, but there are dangers associated with it. Jung warns that to do will cause the Shadow to become rebellious. In Anakin's case, the rebellion of his Shadow explodes into the galaxy as Darth Vader who in his rebellion for the strict, Apollonian domination that refused to acknowledge and accept his existence, destroys all that Anakin loves: The Jedi, the Republic, and ultimately, Padme.

So if the Shadow can't be denied or given free reign, then what? Well, that is what Jung called the process of individuation. How is it done? Well, that's an individual journey, so discussing that is beyond the scope of this blog. However, there are guideposts along the way if one knows where to look; myths provide many of these guideposts. The big things involve a descent into the underwold (the darkness within the depths of the mind) and a confrontation of the Shadow (the darkness within the spirit of the self). And successful confrontation of the Shadow is not simply a martial victory; it requires compassion. One must accept the reality of the darkness within one's own spirit instead of pushing it away. It's not easy, and it's not "natural" to do so, but that is why it must be done; in so doing, one unifies the personality so that upon the "return to society" one has the mental, emotional, and spiritual strength to serve mankind (or Twi'lek kind, Rodian kind, etc.) in the proper manner.

For Anakin, this became more difficult after his turn to the Dark Side. He gave into his Dionysian aspect, causing his personality to bifurcate. "Anakin" retreated into the depths of the psyche as "Darth Vader" emerged and took control. When Palpatine said that Luke was Anakin's son, "Anakin" stirred for the first time, causing a confusion in the mind. Why? "Darth Vader" became the new identity, and so all thoughts of Anakin - which include compassion and love - were banished from consciousness. With Luke in the picture, these thoughts tried to surface, and "Vader" needed to suppress them, because they were "unacceptable" in the Sith society. With these thoughts and feelings demanding acceptance and understanding, "Vader" could not fully function as a cruel, angry, uncaring Sith Lord.

Fast Forward to ROTJ. Luke has begun his own process of individuation by accepting that Vader is Anakin Skywalker, Luke realizes that the darkness and evil he externalized onto Vader is actually a part of him; although he believes himself to have transcended that. So, the fight with Vader becomes a cinematic representation of Luke's fight with his own Shadow. Ultimately, Luke becomes angry and nearly fails in this confrontation, but (ironically) thanks to Palpatine's arrogance, he recognizes, accepts, and sublimates his darkness. In so doing, he shows compassion to Anakin.

This encourages Anakin to attempt his own confrontation with the Shadow. We don't know what he's thinking inside the helmet. We do know that he is torn between worldviews: Palpatine's and Luke's. Palpatine promises power through passion but has given Anakin lesser things than he was promised. Luke offers power throuh compassion and is willing to sacrifice everything to prove the validity of his claim. So the process for Anakin is mostly internal. However, one can also see Luke as the representation of "Vader's" Shadow; he is now what Anakin was before turning to the Dark Side, and so while fighitng Luke, "Vader" and "Anakin" are fighting each other.

Eventually, Anakin emerges whole and utilizes the strength and power of "Darth Vader" to destroy the emperor. Before he dies, Anakin and Luke experience a beatific moment when they look into each others eyes: the father and son become one; Darkness and Light join in the mystical nothingness from which all things emanate, and bifurcation becomes unity again. Before he expires, Anakin/Vader does individuate and return to the galaxy as Anakin Skywalker - the Jedi who destroys the Sith and brings balance in metaphysical terms to the Force.

How? Because of Anakin, Luke understands that the Force is both Light and Dark, but the light is stronger because it includes the Dark within it. Having successfully confronted his Shadow, Luke returns to the galaxy bringing with it a new Jedi - a Jedi that understand the essence of life is found not in either the Apollonian or Dionysian extreme but in the balance found in understanding that both are part of Self. It is not the emotion that is Light or Dark, but the response to it that determines if it becomes one or the other. Instead of denying the emotions of fear and anger, the new Jedi understand that they must be confronted with understanding an compassion to transform them into something useful instead of repress them until they explode in darkness. To be angry is not to give in to the Dark Side; to let anger control and blind is the path to the Dark Dide.

Eventually, the Jedi Order recognizes what many mystical traditions in our world recognize - walking the middle way is the best path - the Delphic Oracle's "Nothing to Excess," Qabalah's "the Middle Pillar," Buddhism's "The Middle Way," the balance an natural harmony sought by the Native American shamans and medicine men, etc. Incidentally, this is basically what Luke's ghost tells Cade in Legacy # 3 when he says he wouldn't have to use the Dark Side to bring people back from death if he were at peace with himself. And inner peace is much more important than some people realize, as is inner truth, because if what one seeks one finds not within, one will not find it without. Thus, one must search his or her feelings for the answers; in so doing, one will find that the Kingdom is truly within.

Ok, I hope that didn't get confusing or convalulted. And it's longer than intended, because I didn't originally set out to include the simplistic analysis of Jungian psychology. I'm sititng in the office pretending to work again, so this is a good way to spend company time.

May the Force be with you.