Star Wars Psychology by Travis Langley

Author:Travis Langley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sterling

Mortality

In Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, Obi-Wan allows Darth Vader to deliver a kill strike. Providing the first clue that Jedi may be immortal, Obi-Wan Kenobi’s body disappears; only his robe is left behind. Later in the film, Ben’s voice, saying, “Use the Force, Luke,” and “Let go, Luke,” offers a further glimpse into Jedi immortality.7 Trusting his mentor’s guidance, Luke disengages his targeting computer and uses the Force to deliver a critical strike to the Death Star. Other Jedi Masters appear in ghost form throughout the saga,8 further signaling that Jedi possess some kind of immortality. Like us, these characters understand their mortality and invest in a supernatural belief system that paves the way for immortality.

Theory and research in social psychology shed light on people’s efforts to gain feelings of immortality through investment in religion. According to terror management theory, a prominent social-psychological theory, humans are religious, in part, because religious faith helps alleviate the fear of death by offering a means to transcend mortality, to achieve some kind of perception of immortality.9 Studies show that people reminded of their mortality subsequently report greater levels of religiosity as well as belief in the afterlife.10

Immortality does not always come in the form of transcendence over literal death. According to terror management theory, people can achieve a sense of immortality by believing that they are connected to and thus part of something larger than themselves, something that will continue to exist after they die.11 This sentiment is echoed in Star Wars. When first describing the Force to Luke, Ben says, “It is an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together”12—something that connects all life but is also eternal. As the guardians of peace in the galaxy, Jedi Knights are regularly thrust into situations that put them in mortal danger. Thus, they gain protection from the anxiety surrounding death by investing in a religious-like belief system that makes them feel, in some way, immortal.

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