Sacred Space: Applying Joseph Campbell’s Four Functions of Myth to the Star Wars Universe

Abstract

Modern Mythology in popular culture is represented with visual aesthetics, ritualistic elements, and thematic motifs that all nod at those found in ancient mythological traditions. Creators are utilizing new mediums to explore these ideas faster than researchers have been able to give rigorous analysis to them in many cases. George Lucas’s Star Wars saga, however, has now been the subject of research for a period lengthy enough to begin to warrant analysis of a comparative nature. Lucas has always carefully credited the ideas of mythologist, Joseph Campbell, for the ideas behind the universal narrative elements in his saga. Researchers examining the mythic motifs within Lucas’s stories have pointed to Campbell’s most noted work, The Hero With A Thousand Faces, as the explicit link between the two writers, almost exclusively. However, much of Campbell’s other work can be implicitly and explicitly found in Star Wars as well.

Star Wars is often credited as one of the most likely examples of a modern myth, a possibility even Campbell himself gave credence to. In a number of his works, Campbell offered four functions of mythology. While he sometimes expressed these functions differently, the core ideas behind each function remained the same. If a modern narrative is suggested to be a myth, it should have each of these functions at work, according to Campbell. Star Wars can be articulated a modern myth by nearly every standard, including those set forth by Campbell. In its most recent episodes, Star Wars has shifted its protagonist to a character that identifies as female. This is significant in that those most verbal about the impact of the mythic qualities of Star Wars have usually identified as male. In an era where toxic masculinity has been a topic of cultural conversation unlike in any previous time, Star Wars now posits the possibility of a divine feminine narrative capable of bringing healing to the wounded masculine.