Why Are We Obsessed with Star Wars?

I have my tickets already. I've had them for a week. I've eaten both the Jedi M&M's and the Dark Side M&M's. I have watched the TV ads, the trailers, the cross-marketing, the Discovery channel specials. I have the Esquire with Ewan MacGregor on the cover and the Premiere with Hayden Chris-I mean, Anakin-no, wait, I mean-(Bom! Bom! Ba-da-bom! Bom! Bom! Ba-da-bom!) Darth Vader. I am ready for the Revenge of the Sith.

Many people have asked why Star Wars has gripped so many of us-why are we obsessed? I'll tell you. It is more than George Lucas's visionary concepts that have literally inspired scientific discoveries, changed film, and influenced generations. It is more than the epic saga of good vs. evil; more than the resonation of the struggle within all of us to find and fulfill our destiny; more than that damned good music that sticks in your head forever (weeks now, for me). It is the story of a man.

I guess I should have realized this earlier, but it came to me only this past Friday. I was looking at a full-page spread in New Orleans' Times-Picayune's Lagniappe section, featuring a brief synopsis of all six films with Darth Vader's head in the middle. Having watched episodes four, five and six first, I thought of Vader as a character, one of many in this great saga. I was wrong. Every one of the films is about one thing: Anakin. This is the story of a man and it took six movies to tell.

What a story! A mother's love and devotion overshadowed by a life born of mystery and into slavery. Oppression. Want. Frustration. These are the seeds of Anakin's destruction. Secrecy, betrayal, love, humility, evil, heroism. We know he is willing to kill his own children (!) and we know he is, in the end, incapable of letting his loved ones be hurt. We know he redeems himself, and now we know he began with a good heart, and Thursday we will watch him be consumed by the anger and pettiness in his heart. No wonder folks are already sleeping outside theaters!

We are drawn to stories of one person and their experience because we can only know our own experience. We know ourselves as singular entities, and connecting with a larger-than-life entity allows us to explore the psychological make-up of ourselves. Each of us can share this intimate discovery through our love of the film. Each of us knows the emotions Anakin faces, the demons he fights. We have seen the enemy and the enemy is Darth Vader, capable of killing us with a look and heavy breathing. The enemy is ourselves. One could make a hundred arguments for why Star Wars makes such an impact on our society, but really, there is only one: Anakin.

See you in the theaters.