Star Wars sources and analogues
From Open Encyclopedia
Star Wars, the popular science fantasy saga, has been acknowledged to have been inspired by many sources. These may include Qigong, Greek Philosophy, Greek, Roman History and Roman Mythology, parts of the Bible, Confucianism, Islam, Shintoism and Taoism.
Many speculate that chivalry, knighthood, paladinism and such things in feudal societies inspiried some concepts in the Star Wars movies, most notably the Jedi Knights. The work of the mythologist Joseph Campbell, most notably his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces were also an influence on George Lucas, and are what drove him to create the 'modern myth' of Star Wars. The supernatural flow of energy known as The Force is believed to have originated from the concept of prana, or chi, "the all-pervading vital energy of the universe".
However, more sinister claims of plagiarism have been levelled at Lucas. The science fiction writer Isaac Asimov stated on several occasions that George Lucas's galaxy-wide Empire bore a close resemblance to the Galaxy depicted in Asimov's Foundation Series. The greatest differences are that Asimov's Galaxy contains no robots or non-human aliens; Asimov addressed both issues directly in the saga's later volumes, most notably Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth. Since Asimov's death in 1992, the Star Wars cinematic universe has gained new Asimov-esque elements: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace introduced the planet Coruscant, which bears a close resemblance to Asimov's Trantor (Coruscant technically originated in a book from the Star Wars Expanded Universe released in 1991).
Other influences may include Frank Herbert's Dune for the desert planet Tatooine and the spice mines of Kessel. In the prequels, however, the Jedi Order bears a close resemblance to the Bene Gesserit of Herbert's novels. Star Wars is known to be heavily inspired by Kurosawa's films The Hidden Fortress and Yojimbo. Lucas has also cited The Searchers and Lawrence of Arabia as references for the style (if not the story) used in the films.
Historical similarities
Some historical influences of Star Wars are from George Lucas. The fighter scenes are similar to World War era dogfighting. Some events capture similarities in historical battles. Others have terms taken from World War II directly affiliated with Star Wars. Terms like the planet Kessel and Kessel, or Cauldron in World War II as an encirclement in tactics. Hermann Hoth is a general, who like many World War II generals resemble the Imperial Navy. These science fiction elements were essential for Star Wars.
The list of wars include:
- References by fans have made the Battle of Hoth to the Winter War in Finland of approaching Soviet Tanks.
- Battle of Coruscant is similar to the German Occupations like of the Rhineland.
- Battle of Endor can even take likeness to new 20th century wars like the Iraq War, Afghan War or the Vietnam War where natives rise against advanced technology.
- Unrealistic settings also take part in the new movies, a fast paced version of history unfolds in the clone wars which have similarity of the American Revolution or other Civil Wars.
- In one case, Order 66 of Revenge of the Sith remarkably resembles the Russian Revolution, Himmler's Gestapo against the SA, and even the Great Purge.
- The Deathstar the development of the Nuclear Bomb.
- Emperor Palpatine's capture is similar to the kidnapping operation of Mussolini after the Allies captured him in the invasion of Italy.
