Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Striving for Masculinity
Nate Theis
American Sci-Fi (319)
3/25/09
Back To The Future (Zemeckis, 3 July 1985, USA) and Star Wars (George Lucas, et. Al., 1977-2005) are the epitome of a boy’s dream action/adventure lifestyle. I can easily say that as a boy, I had plenty times were I created or was imagining traveling through space or time and battling enemies with my lightsaber until it was time for bed. These stories brought alive my imagination and invigorated my sense of adventure and that feeling has never left me to this day every time I view them. From this essay’s prompt I realized that not all people are able to approach these films with such innocence and lack of psychological knowledge. From various readings I have discovered that people associate both these films with the Oedipus complex or more loosely, a family romance and the use of technology to maintain masculinity.
In Cornea’s writing she says, “The adolescent protagonist, Marty (Michael J. Fox), in Back to the Future, returns to the past and goes about trying to create the ideal father. Marty, is actually attempting to orchestrate his own rites of passage into the Oedipal world of the father (1).” This can be seen as a legitimate comparison, but that is only if you ignore the story slightly. Marty is not traveling into the past with the purpose of changing the way his father is in present time or to have some kind of Oedipal relationship with his mother. He goes back in time due to a series of events involving Doc Brown and the Libyan terrorists. Marty tries to escape the terrorists and ends up activating the time machine and traveling back to the date when Marty’s parents are supposed to meet. Upon meeting his father he slowly begins altering the course of history when a car hits him, when instead his father should have been hit. Marty is woken up by his mother from the past (who is now his age) and recalls the story his mother told him about her falling in love with his father after being hit by a car. Marty has now accidentally taken the roll of his father and somehow needs to put things back to normal. Although Marty does not like the way his father carries himself in the present time he is not out to change his father so that his life becomes way better once he returns to the present, he is simply trying to find a way for his father to get back with his mother after he accidentally messed things up. The only way Marty can do that is by empowering his father (of the past) by having him stand up for himself so that he can win over Marty’s mother. There are a few scenes that really reflect an Oedipal relationship between Marty and his mother, such as the scene before the dance, when his mother asks to park. The thing that makes this so much more innocent than the story of Oedipus or Star Wars, is that Marty knows it is his mother and is trying to avoid any sort of love attraction she thinks she has for him. When she actually kisses Marty she compares it to this odd feeling of it being like kissing her brother. Once Marty has restored things to normal he returns to find that his interaction with his past parents has changed his and their life for the better.
Upon looking around for Oedipal comparisons for Star Wars I came upon an article written only under the name, Brian; who points outs the symbolism of the lightsaber as being a phallic symbol.
He says, “The Oedipus complex occurs during the "Phallic" stage of sexual development, when a boy first discovers that his penis can be a source of sexual pleasure. In Lucas' work, the penis is clearly represented by the Light-saber used by many of the films' characters; most importantly to us, we should note that Luke Skywalker and his father, Darth Vader, use these weapons. Their phallic nature can be seen in their rod-like shape, and the manner in which they extend from a small, flaccid length into long, hard beams for use. Leia, Luke's sister, has no such weapon; being female, she has no penis, and her frustration can be clearly seen; at one point she tells Luke "You have a power I don't understand, and could never have"(2).”
Although I understand the symbolism, I just think reading that far into the film really strays away from its intention. To me the lightsaber was created as a futuristic way to depict a sword, just as a spaceship is a futuristic version of a sea vessel. Putting my opinion aside, you later come to the epic battle between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. Luke comes to find the enemy he hates so much is his own father. Vader strips Luke of his masculinity by cutting off his hand, which holds the phallic lightsaber. Later Luke artificially replaces these masculine/phallic symbols through artificial technology. You see a robot working on his hand, which contains a network of wires and circuits. He then goes to join his love interest/sister at a large window looking out into space. In Return of the Jedi you find Luke has crafted a new lightsaber restoring his masculinity.
Luke Skywalker’s Oedipus complex does not involve his mother, but rather his sister. Their meeting is a little more akin to the Oedipus’ story; it was fate that Luke and Leia are reunited and fall in love with one another. Not only are Oedipal qualities found in the first trilogy but also in the most recent: Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005). Michael points out, “As in the Oedipus story, the attempted avoidance of a future outcome is what prompts the outcome to occur anyway (3).” Anakin Skywalker foresees the death of his lover, Padme, but when he tries to avoid it he inadvertently causes her death. Both Anakin and Oedipus also share a similar but opposite “tragic flaw,” Anakin’s being anger and Oedipus’ being hurbris (or excessive pride). It is also fitting that a story that is set in space would have such connections with the Greeks whom were obsessed with the star and the stories that the constellations told.
In both films you find Luke and Marty wanting to change their fathers. Marty, in a way, wants his father to become more assertive and in turn become more successful. Later on in the series Marty is constantly using the time machine to fix his families problems so that he can retain his masculine pride. Luke, at the end of the trilogy is filled with hatred towards his father. In the heat of their battle Luke cuts off Vader’s hand (again holding the phallic lightsaber); Palpetine then says, “Fulfill your destiny and take your father’s place at my side.” Again you see the connection with Oedipus taking his fathers place, but Luke realizes his love for his father and wants to save him. You also see the symbolism of technology being evil, as Luke looks at his prosthetic hand and then looks at his almost completely robotic father and his missing hand. As Cornea mentions, both Lucas and Spielberg (Producer for Back to the Future) seem to model their films after the idea of traditional masculinity. Both protagonists realize that technology will only bring about evil, but still they feel the need to use it in order to retain their masculinity at all costs.
Works Cited:
1. Cornea, Christine, ed. Science Fiction Cinema: Between Fantasy and Reality. (pg.118-119) Rutgers University Press, 2007
2. Brian, The Oedipus Complex and Star Wars. http://rumandmonkey.com/articles/90/
3. Michael, Star Wars quasi-review. May 21, 2005 http://hereswhatsleft.typepad.com/home/2005/05/im_sure_precise.html
4. Back to the Future. Robert Zemeckis. Perf. Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, and Crispin Glover. 1985. DVD, Universal
5. Star Wars (trilogies). George Lucas. Perf. Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Hayden Christensen, and Natalie Portman. 1977-2005. DVD, 20th Century Fox
American Sci-Fi (319)
3/25/09
Back To The Future (Zemeckis, 3 July 1985, USA) and Star Wars (George Lucas, et. Al., 1977-2005) are the epitome of a boy’s dream action/adventure lifestyle. I can easily say that as a boy, I had plenty times were I created or was imagining traveling through space or time and battling enemies with my lightsaber until it was time for bed. These stories brought alive my imagination and invigorated my sense of adventure and that feeling has never left me to this day every time I view them. From this essay’s prompt I realized that not all people are able to approach these films with such innocence and lack of psychological knowledge. From various readings I have discovered that people associate both these films with the Oedipus complex or more loosely, a family romance and the use of technology to maintain masculinity.
In Cornea’s writing she says, “The adolescent protagonist, Marty (Michael J. Fox), in Back to the Future, returns to the past and goes about trying to create the ideal father. Marty, is actually attempting to orchestrate his own rites of passage into the Oedipal world of the father (1).” This can be seen as a legitimate comparison, but that is only if you ignore the story slightly. Marty is not traveling into the past with the purpose of changing the way his father is in present time or to have some kind of Oedipal relationship with his mother. He goes back in time due to a series of events involving Doc Brown and the Libyan terrorists. Marty tries to escape the terrorists and ends up activating the time machine and traveling back to the date when Marty’s parents are supposed to meet. Upon meeting his father he slowly begins altering the course of history when a car hits him, when instead his father should have been hit. Marty is woken up by his mother from the past (who is now his age) and recalls the story his mother told him about her falling in love with his father after being hit by a car. Marty has now accidentally taken the roll of his father and somehow needs to put things back to normal. Although Marty does not like the way his father carries himself in the present time he is not out to change his father so that his life becomes way better once he returns to the present, he is simply trying to find a way for his father to get back with his mother after he accidentally messed things up. The only way Marty can do that is by empowering his father (of the past) by having him stand up for himself so that he can win over Marty’s mother. There are a few scenes that really reflect an Oedipal relationship between Marty and his mother, such as the scene before the dance, when his mother asks to park. The thing that makes this so much more innocent than the story of Oedipus or Star Wars, is that Marty knows it is his mother and is trying to avoid any sort of love attraction she thinks she has for him. When she actually kisses Marty she compares it to this odd feeling of it being like kissing her brother. Once Marty has restored things to normal he returns to find that his interaction with his past parents has changed his and their life for the better.
Upon looking around for Oedipal comparisons for Star Wars I came upon an article written only under the name, Brian; who points outs the symbolism of the lightsaber as being a phallic symbol.
He says, “The Oedipus complex occurs during the "Phallic" stage of sexual development, when a boy first discovers that his penis can be a source of sexual pleasure. In Lucas' work, the penis is clearly represented by the Light-saber used by many of the films' characters; most importantly to us, we should note that Luke Skywalker and his father, Darth Vader, use these weapons. Their phallic nature can be seen in their rod-like shape, and the manner in which they extend from a small, flaccid length into long, hard beams for use. Leia, Luke's sister, has no such weapon; being female, she has no penis, and her frustration can be clearly seen; at one point she tells Luke "You have a power I don't understand, and could never have"(2).”
Although I understand the symbolism, I just think reading that far into the film really strays away from its intention. To me the lightsaber was created as a futuristic way to depict a sword, just as a spaceship is a futuristic version of a sea vessel. Putting my opinion aside, you later come to the epic battle between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. Luke comes to find the enemy he hates so much is his own father. Vader strips Luke of his masculinity by cutting off his hand, which holds the phallic lightsaber. Later Luke artificially replaces these masculine/phallic symbols through artificial technology. You see a robot working on his hand, which contains a network of wires and circuits. He then goes to join his love interest/sister at a large window looking out into space. In Return of the Jedi you find Luke has crafted a new lightsaber restoring his masculinity.
Luke Skywalker’s Oedipus complex does not involve his mother, but rather his sister. Their meeting is a little more akin to the Oedipus’ story; it was fate that Luke and Leia are reunited and fall in love with one another. Not only are Oedipal qualities found in the first trilogy but also in the most recent: Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005). Michael points out, “As in the Oedipus story, the attempted avoidance of a future outcome is what prompts the outcome to occur anyway (3).” Anakin Skywalker foresees the death of his lover, Padme, but when he tries to avoid it he inadvertently causes her death. Both Anakin and Oedipus also share a similar but opposite “tragic flaw,” Anakin’s being anger and Oedipus’ being hurbris (or excessive pride). It is also fitting that a story that is set in space would have such connections with the Greeks whom were obsessed with the star and the stories that the constellations told.
In both films you find Luke and Marty wanting to change their fathers. Marty, in a way, wants his father to become more assertive and in turn become more successful. Later on in the series Marty is constantly using the time machine to fix his families problems so that he can retain his masculine pride. Luke, at the end of the trilogy is filled with hatred towards his father. In the heat of their battle Luke cuts off Vader’s hand (again holding the phallic lightsaber); Palpetine then says, “Fulfill your destiny and take your father’s place at my side.” Again you see the connection with Oedipus taking his fathers place, but Luke realizes his love for his father and wants to save him. You also see the symbolism of technology being evil, as Luke looks at his prosthetic hand and then looks at his almost completely robotic father and his missing hand. As Cornea mentions, both Lucas and Spielberg (Producer for Back to the Future) seem to model their films after the idea of traditional masculinity. Both protagonists realize that technology will only bring about evil, but still they feel the need to use it in order to retain their masculinity at all costs.
Works Cited:
1. Cornea, Christine, ed. Science Fiction Cinema: Between Fantasy and Reality. (pg.118-119) Rutgers University Press, 2007
2. Brian, The Oedipus Complex and Star Wars. http://rumandmonkey.com/articles/90/
3. Michael, Star Wars quasi-review. May 21, 2005 http://hereswhatsleft.typepad.com/home/2005/05/im_sure_precise.html
4. Back to the Future. Robert Zemeckis. Perf. Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, and Crispin Glover. 1985. DVD, Universal
5. Star Wars (trilogies). George Lucas. Perf. Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Hayden Christensen, and Natalie Portman. 1977-2005. DVD, 20th Century Fox
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