THE STORY OF A LIFE

The secret of success

For a long time film critics, practitioners of media studies and casual moviegoers have been debating what the reasons might be for the enormous success the Star Wars saga has enjoyed over the years. While the critics were usually quick to argue that only the spectacular visual effects could possibly have concealed the obvious simplicity of its plot, casual fans would often state that the movies were gripping, exciting and filled with fantastic events originating from an obviously exuberant imagination. However, both points fail to grasp the phenomenon in its complexity. While the stunning look of the original Star Wars, together with its completely new way of pacing and editing, certainly factored into its sweeping triumph, this does not explain why even this oldest of all the films still wins over armies of new aficionados although its visual effects are hopelessly outdated and the style has become somewhat more commonplace due to widespread imitation. And just calling the Star Wars saga a series of 'good' movies is not particularly helpful either, considering that on the one hand quality is in the eye of the beholder to begin with and that on the other there certainly are more than enough less successful motion pictures deserving the same positive label.

So what it is, then, that makes Star Wars special? And what is it that caused the new 'prequel' trilogy to be received so much more poorly, although it seems similar enough in its approach and intention at the first glance? While one cannot possibly hope to address the complexity of these topics in the course of a few pages – as the answer would have to take account of a complicated intermingling of cultural, psychological and aesthetic factors – I intend to address two important aspects in the following examination by taking a look at how the saga incorporates both mythical as well as postmodern elements to form a very unique rendition of the so-called 'Monomyth'.

I will begin by explaining what exactly the Monomyth is, and then take a look at how the original Star Wars trilogy, released between 1977 and 1983, makes use of this structure to construct its plot. After that, I will move on to the prequel trilogy, released between 1999 and 2005, examining how it expands on the Monomyth by adding various postmodern elements, before finishing with a short conclusion to put things into perspective.

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