An Original Review Of 'Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi' Shows How Much The Death Cultists At Disney Have Taken From Us
Star Wars may be dead, but the review of Return of the Jedi by an Orthodox archbishop deserves to be remembered.
This review was written during the movie's original run, soon after His Eminence watched it in the theater. His keen theological explication of what I suspect were George Lucas' accidental spiritual insights gave me a new appreciation of the original trilogy's moral value.
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Just as importantly, the Archbishop's glowing assessment of the original trilogy's sublime spiritual lessons drive home exactly how much the Death Cultists at Disney have taken from us.
The vandals' evil is directly inverse to the splendor of the beauty they've defaced.
The basic plot of the Star Wars series is simple: an evil dictator has conquered a small galaxy and abolished its former pan-galactic democracy. He is proclaimed emperor, and his forces are attempting to destroy the remaining resistance to his rule. While the general battles are fought with standard science fiction weaponry, this is only the superficial part of the story, because the actual battle is being fought in the human conscience and will. Surprisingly, delightfully, the real story is one of the immense struggle between the dark and the good side of that universal nature of which man is a part - the fallen nature of man and the universe. In the movie series, this nature is called "the force." In many reviews, "the force" has been interpreted as an unsavoury parody of God. After a careful examination of the real plot of the Star Wars series, however, I was led toward the conclusion that "the force" is that universal nature, and that the whole theme of the movie and the energies of the plot line are directed at the struggle within the fallen nature between co-operation with the dark side of that nature or with its "light" side that law of contradiction which Apostle Paul speaks of as warring within us, and upon which Orthodox monasticism is based.
His Eminence's interpretation of the Force as a universal nature instead of a pantheist deity resolved an apparent contradiction within Lucas' world building that always rankled me. Yoda and Kenobi consistently refer to the Force as contingent, not absolute; therefore it can't be God, and the Jedi way can't be a religion in the proper sense.
But if the Light Side of the Force is viewed as nature perfected by grace, and the Dark Side is fallen nature in thrall to the powers of sin and Satan, the mystical and moral framework clicks into place.
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The hero of the series is Luke Skywalker, a pure, highly moral young man who is a true hero, rather than the modern anti-hero image so often lauded in contemporary films. He remains a virgin throughout the film and his growth in spiritual leadership and strength is directly linked with this. The main hero-anti-hero of the series, Han Solo, is reformed and gradually converted to nobility by the direct influence of Luke Skywalker's moral purity and self-sacrificing love.
Making the Jedi explicitly celibate is one ingenious background element Lucas doesn't get nearly enough credit for. The prequel critics who sneered, "tEh JeDi cAn'T ScReW!?" and the pop cultists who whined, "Why no Mara Jade in TLJ?" both missed the necessity of Luke's virginity to his moral core.
The fact that a leftover hippie somehow wrote an iconic hero who refutes the keystone of the Sexual Revolution qualifies as a minor miracle.
Jaba himself, a veritable symbol of gluttony, is a page from The Ladder of Divine Ascent. St John of the Ladder described him well, and accurately predicted his ultimate condition. This gross degenerate enslaves shapely women and forces them to dance nearly nude on the end of a chain. Then, instead of taking sexual advantage of them, he fulfills his passions by casting them through a glass top trap door and watching in lascivious delight while the monstrous beast devours them in a most agonizing manner. The close relationship between gluttony and inner depravity is clearly portrayed, the link between unbridled passions and hideous sadism, sexual passions and death and torture are dramatically set forth. Jaba the Hut is the very personification of the passions of the fallen nature. He and his minions are practically a summary of the teachings of the desert fathers, and particularly of St John of the Ladder, on the subject. At last, Raithau, the troublesome "Step 5" of The Ladder of Divine Ascent seems supremely reasonable. Jaba and his domain of depraved passions is finally destroyed by Luke Skywalker. Brother Luke ascends another stage toward true monasticism, toward becoming a true Jedi - receiving the spiritual skhema.
Spiritual discipline and holy virginity defeat gluttony and avarice. The fact that this victory over vice concludes Act I of Return of the Jedi makes me wonder how much Lucas really did understand about spiritual warfare.
Luke is convinced that Darth Vader, the deluded and corrupted former "Jedi" has enough of a moral conscience left within him to be redeemed. The sense of the value of rescuing and healing this cruel, unyielding enemy totally overcomes any feelings vengefulness or hatred which might have been lurking in Luke's own soul. When the dying Elder Yoda, in his cell deep in the northern forest, reveals to Luke that Darth Vader is actually his father, and that he and the emperor have planned to trap Luke and pervert him to the service of the evil force also, Luke is filled not with hatred or a sense of physical self-preservation, but with a wave of compassion and love. He is told that he must fight Vader to the death, but his response is to offer his life to redeem his father from bondage to the evil side. Luke surrenders himself to Vader and is taken before the emperor. The tense scenes that follow are magnificent. How can the emperor enslave Luke to the service of the dark force? By causing him to yield to his passions, by leading him to transform his love for his companions in the resistance to an act of hatred and vengefulness. The emperor, like his master, the evil-one, can afford to be hated, since one who yields to hatred and vengeance is already his servant even while he hates him.
Just popping in to note that diagnosing the sin that caused Vader's fall as delusion--a type of fatalism that led him to despair--rings true. Listen to how often he talks about "destiny", specifically to deny any hope of redemption.
The emperor tries to provoke Luke to take his weapon (a "light sabre" - a kind of laser device) and either attack him or Vader. Finally, when Vader attacks Luke in a fury of frustration, Luke dispassionately defends himself, being careful not to injure or take advantage of Vader. During the fight, he attempts to awaken in Vader the hidden moral conscience that he instinctively knows is there. Though we cannot at first see it, Luke does not fail.
The fight ceases. It has no advantage to the emperor because Luke is only defending himself without passions. Now, Vader and Luke are out of earshot of the emperor. He does not hear Vader say, "If we cannot corrupt you, then we will easily be able to corrupt your sister. Hearing this, Luke lunges into renewed battle with great strength. The emperor who did not hear the conversation, beams in lascivious delight. "Ah, young Skywaker has yielded to the passions," he thinks "He is fighting from anger and vengefulness. He is ours now!" But the emperor's defeat is sealed. He does not understand that Luke is fighting now from co-suffering love - he is laying down his own life for the moral safety of his sister - not for her physical life, but for her spiritual life, for the sake of her soul. Darth Vader does realize this, and the overwhelming moral force of the fact finally converts him. When the emperor comes to realize what is taking place and steps in to kill Luke, Darth Vader once more becomes a father, and gives his own life to save Luke. He kills the emperor, but is mortally wounded.
Greater love has no man than this ...
In the closing scene of the film, the allies are celebrating their final victory - not entirely aware that the victory was actually won by Luke Skywalker's defeat of the passions in his own life, and his ultimate choice of co-suffering love over the temptations of power, anger and malice. Luke observes the worldly celebrations from a distance - he is disconnected from all this, dispassionate, already on a higher plane, his moral grandeur and virginity intact, he has become a "Jedi", a true monk. He has received the Skhema and the real victories in his galaxy will be won by him, and those who may follow him.
Time and again we see that the real battle is fought and won on the moral level. It was the irresistible moral force of Luke's self-emptying love that redeemed Anakin. Only by embracing and living such sacrificial love after the model of Christ can we defeat those who hate us for His sake.
The Death Cult knows it, too. That's why they spent billions to mar this iconic trilogy--especially the Christ figure's triumph at the end.
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He is now the Elder. As he turns his back on the festivities, he sees in an aura a vision of his sainted Elder, Yoda, his spiritual father Kenobi who, after his own self-sacrificing death, became Luke's patron saint, and Luke's father, Darth Vader - all smiling benevolently. Darth Vader with the two saints? Of course, for such is the power of repentance, such is that love which grants to him who wrought from the eleventh hour together with those who wrought from the first.
The Death Cult cannot countenance a redemptive ending like this, because in their twisted cosmology there is no and can be no forgiveness. That is why their imitation of Star Wars was both a clumsy remake of the first trilogy and a cynical hollowing out of it at the same time.
And Star Wars is far from the Cult's only victim. They're sullying and degrading every speck of beauty in Christendom.
But as the Archbishop shows, the minions of the Evil One can be stopped. Doing so will require you, me, and all Christians to deny ourselves, take up our crosses daily, and follow Christ.
Once the great moral victory is won, our temporal enemies will fall like dominoes.
What do you make of this original review of the Return of the Jedi and how it shows what we can do to defeat the Death Cultists that are attempting to sully and degrade every speck of beauty in Christendom?
For a story that embodies the ideals of justice, honor and self-sacrifice, read Combat Frame XSeed on Amazon.
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