When George Lucas was 8, he asked his mom, "If there's only one God, why are there so many religions?" He's been fascinated by that question ever since, and has come to the realization that when you strip all religions and mythologies down to their very basic level, it's really all about compassion.
And that, Lucas says, is what "Star Wars" is really all about. Sure, there are also larger themes like what makes someone a hero, what is friendship, and what makes people sacrifice themselves for something larger, but really, it's about compassion, and loving people.
"It's still...you know...basically [just] don't kill people, and be compassionate," Lucas said in an interview with Charlie Rose at the Chicago Ideas Festival earlier this month. "Love people. That's basically all 'Star Wars' is."
In the interview, Lucas talked a lot about storytelling, and how shared belief systems that allowed us to form villages, towns, cities and eventually countries, were once passed down from generation to generation as stories, which evolved into other media like the written word, TV and movies. These stories, both in ancient mythology and religions, gave people a basic sense of how to live together in harmony, Lucas asserts.
You can watch the entire interview in the video at the top of this post. Meanwhile, I'll be over here trying to heed Lucas' words and love and compassion and accept the role Jar Jar Binks plays in all of this.
(Via io9)