Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and company, versus villains and corruption. That’s Star Wars.

Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), the one that introduced Han Solo, Luke and Leia

Episode IV hit a nerve with the movie going public. That is when Star Wars was first unveiled to become pop culture history.

The evil alter ego of Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader, is unaware that two robots have inadvertently jettisoned themselves into a journey of faith, which will lead to Vader’s redemption.

Meanwhile, the robots are instrumental for the rebels engineering the redemption of the galaxy, which is freedom from tyranny.

Star Wars was a propelling adventure to leave behind the past for the promise of a future hope.

Death in the family propels farmhand Luke Skywalker into a “larger world”.

The shot of the wind blowing around as Luke looks on at his home’s destruction is followed by a shot foreshadowing why he exists. He is meant to face off the destructive imperial forces and restore life.

The implications for the audience are staggering. Our lives have purpose for good.

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Evil dies hard, but there is resistance.

Hero Luke Skywalker is tempted to do evil because he is closer to the forces of good and evil than his friends Han Solo and Princess Leia, who have their own journeys to take as they evade the attempt of the Imperial Empire to enslave them.

Luke resists the evil thrown at him. He is strong, but at his stage of development, he can only evade Darth Vader’s sinister taunts and temptations rather than destroy him. But he won’t succumb to evil.

Return of the Jedi (1983)

Perhaps this episode can be summed up with a character’s growth.

Han Solo is a good guy behind a façade of wise-cracking bravado. He is gruff, grumpy, self-assured, worldly-wise and world-weary.

Rewards are on his mind and he wants to be well rewarded, but he hasn’t built up a healthy balance of ‘reward points’ with his debtor Jabba the Hut.

He really needs a vacation, but when it comes to saving others he goes through ‘hell on earth’.

The odds of survival may be against him, but he simply says, “I’ll see you in hell” and off he rides into danger.

His own personal hell, involving frozen chambers and greedy gangsters, leads to the cumulative point in his life, to lead a rebel strike against organized evil; his redemption leads to a global task.

That certainly was not his job description in the Cantina in Tatooine where he had to preserve his life to pay off his debts. Now, Han Solo is saving lives.

In closing

What can I say about Star Wars?

There are good people who are defined by their goodness, who can show compassion and concern, and do good deeds, but something’s not right with life. It’s out of balance and falls short.

Everyone even good people fall short, but sometimes the lure to evil is stronger and can define people, at least for a while, until they come to their senses.

Yet compassion can give to others and bring them to their senses, to help them see who they were supposed to be.

For all their past wrong doings, there is grace, and a chance to begin again.