Title: Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed
Produced By: Prometheus Entertainment
Air Date: May 28, 2007
Length: 2 hrs
Reviewed by Matril.
For fans who appreciate an academic, in-depth exploration of the themes and literary resonances of Star Wars, this television special is an excellent resource. Such explorations have certainly been done before, and this special does not, perhaps, explore a vast amount of new ground, but there is something new and refreshing about the manner in which these explorations are presented. First, all six films are referenced, presenting the saga as a complete tale with sophisticated story arcs and recurring motifs and archetypes. Secondly, it makes full use of the visual and audio aspects of television. Clips from the films themselves, of course, are presented frequently throughout the special, often with split-scenes that illustrate motifs that appear throughout the saga. The makers of the special are clearly aware that Star Wars is a cinematic and visual tale at its heart, and make full use of this aspect. The special also draws its material from interviews with a variety of speakers, including professors of religion, fine arts or classics; filmmakers; authors; and even a few politicians.
The special is divided into chapters with titles such as "Wizards and Mentors" and "Man versus Machine." Most of the chapters are concerned with one or more of the archetypes that appear in the Star Wars saga - the hero, the wise guide, the hero's companion - and examine, in the traditional mytic-archetype/Campbellian manner, the ways that they compare to figures of legend, myth, religion or literature. References are made to everything from Greek mythology to Shakespeare to the Wizard of Oz to Frankenstein. Often illustrations or artwork accompany these references, adding a nice visual element to the discussion. One of the later chapters, "The death of liberty," delves into historical references rather than literary, comparing Palpatine to real-life tyrants such as Hitler and Stalin. The final chapter, "Redemption and Resurrection," returns to a fully mythic-archetype exploration of the son's reconciliation with the father and the return of life and hope to the universe.
Overall the special has an intelligent and optimistic feel to it, celebrating the saga's message and conjecturing that it will continue to hold meaning far into the future. It's almost like taking a college course on the saga as taught by enthusiastic, scholarly-minded fans.
