100 Movies Every Catholic Should See #6: Star Wars (1977-2005)

Produced by George Lucas.

I’ll be the first to admit, I wasn’t always a Star Wars fan. Sure, I watched a few of the prequel films as a kid, bought a few toy starships, but I grew out of the franchise as I turned to more “intellectually stimulating” sci-fi like Star Trek. I savored the more philosophical and futuristic feel of the show and didn’t really look back at Star Wars until I was in high school and my friends suggested we marathon the original and prequel trilogies in preparation for the long-anticipated Disney continuation of the story with The Force Awakens. By then, even my love of Star Trek had faded, but during our marathon I began to notice so many things as a Catholic that inspired a deep love for Star Wars that has only grown stronger since.

There are about seven distinctive elements of Star Wars that over the years I’ve come to appreciate as beautiful seeds of the Logos in this beloved saga of space wizards, scoundrels, dark villains, and droids. Over the coming weeks, in a new series of essays, “The Logos in a Lightsaber,” I hope to expound a little more on a few at a time. We will be focusing mainly on the Star Wars films of George Lucas (I-VI) as in his vision they make up one complete film divided into six chapters.

We’ll start with the most universal themes that should tug at the Catholic imagination: 1). The perennial battle between good and evil. Star Wars has by and large shied away from gray areas and embraced that the universe is home to good people (albeit not perfect) trying to stay good and evil people needing to be defeated. 2.) Then there is the high view of religion and deep theology that is developed: this aspect alone sets the franchise up to be one of the most spiritually relatable science fiction stories ever told because it doesn’t treat religion like a thing to be “progressed beyond” as most sci-fi does but an integral part of a hero’s journey, a villain’s conversion, and a galaxy’s salvation. 3.) The importance of family, while a trite bumper sticker in most media these days, is fully fleshed out in Star Wars in terms that push back against our culture’s often flippant view of parenthood and family in exchange for hyper-individualist self-actualization. In stark contrast to this, this saga is an intergenerational epic, much like the narratives of the Bible, following the ripple effects of failed parenthood, particularly fatherhood across eras and in personal lives. But far from being a mere cynical take on absenteeism, Star Wars shows how the faith families often place even in the most prodigal members to come back to the light is never without hope. 4.) Star Wars is also a fictional catechism of Christian virtue with many characters exhibiting near saint-like virtues of self-control, forgiveness, love of enemy, courage, faith, detachment, sacrificial service, and even celibacy! The best superhero films don't even classify the pursuit of virtue into the explicitly religious character that this series seems to contextualize its heroes under as practitioners of the Force, followers of the Jedi code, or a principled rebellion against oppression. 5.) The temptation of sin is also present when heroes are tempted to best evil by dabbling in the “dark side” themselves. Heroes in Star Wars often face incredibly relatable struggles with their own demons, identity, and resentments and must constantly choose whether to be defined by their selfish passions or to be animated by love.

At the heart of the prequels is an entire saga of falling from grace that serves as an important cautionary tale about how some of the worst villains come from fallen heroes seeking to do evil that good might come and become corrupted by the evil they thought they could control within them. 6.) But there is hope of redemption around the corner: no sinner is ever beyond the hope of redemption. In fact, Star Wars seems to be the only major franchise where fans come to expect that villains, if they are not defeated in death, are converted and redeemed. Finally, 7.) Star Wars constructs its vast history in a way that honors a Christian view of human history. It’s not a nihilistic Game of Thrones nor a triumphalist revisionism, but a cycle of human virtue and sin across galactic events and governments that rise and fall due to our fallen state and weaknesses. Even amidst what looks like an endless cyclical repetition, the Force seems to be guiding believers in every age of the saga to rise up and return balance to galactic affairs. Therein is the corollary to the Christian idea that God is in command of the vicissitudes of human events: empires will rise and fall but all is tending providentially towards an ultimate redemption.

There’s more to be said about all these points. Maybe you’re still skeptical of a franchise that at times seems to have transformed into a cliché and perhaps has been captured by the “spirit of the age” in its most recent iterations. Maybe you think the Eastern influences of the Star Wars spirituality make it unfit for Catholic consumption. Whatever you think, feel free to check out my upcoming new series to dive further into why this franchise is a must-see for Catholics young and old.

Nico Silva is a graduate of Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, CA. He is currently based in New York City and works as a 2nd Grade public school teacher in the Bronx.