Archetypes
"It wasn't just the production value that made that such an exciting film to watch, it was that it came along at a time when people needed to see in recognizable images the clash of good and evil. They needed to be reminded of idealism, to see a romance based upon selflessness rather than selfishness."
---Bill Moyers on Star Wars, from "The Power of Myth"

Archetypes are primitive modes of thought and tend to personify natural processes in terms of such mythological concepts as good and evil spirits, fairies, and dragons. The mother and the father also serve as prominent archetypes. These archetypes appear in folk tales and stories around the world and among various cultures. Joseph Campbell, in his book "The Power of Myth," explains how these similarities could possibly exist:

"One explanation is that the human psyche is essentially the same all over the world. The psyche is the inward experience of the human body, which is essentially the same in all human beings&the same instincts, the same impulses, the same conflicts, the same fears. Out of this common ground have come what [Carl] Jung has called the archetypes, which are the common ideas of myth."

Several archetypes are represented in the Star Wars story:
Hero (Luke Skywalker)
Sage (Yoda/Obi-Wan)
Comedians (R2-D2/C-3PO)
Shadow (Darth Vader/Darth Maul)

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