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The Hero with a Thousand
Pictures Review - Star Wars: The Power of Myth by Dexter Published 6/2/00 The original Star Wars Trilogy, we are told, is the "Hero's Journey" of Luke Skywalker. If he'd had this book as a road map, maybe he wouldn't have taken so many wrong turns. |
Our friendly DK distributor, Jorie, has put together some special deals for us. Here's what she has to say: Star Wars: The Power of Myth
It retails for $12.95. I can sell it for any of your readers for $10.45, which is almost 20% off, plus sales tax and 6% shipping. Star Wars: Incredible Cross-sections
The regular retail for the Star Wars Cross-section and Visual Dictionary books is $19.95. I can sell them for Buy One/Get One free, your choice. The Episode one Cross-section and Visual Dictionary books come shrink-wrapped with an exclusive poster not available with books purchased at book stores or at Amazon.com. Total price would be, per two books sold, $19.95 plus local sales tax and $2.50 shipping. Star Wars: Ultimate Sticker Book
Same with the Sticker books (regular retail $6.95) - Buy one, get one free.
Shipping on them would be $1.25. Drop Jorie a note, and tell her Toryn sent you! You can find out more about DK at www.dk.com. |
Star Wars: The Power of Myth, David John, Project Editor. DK Publishing Limited: Dorling Kindersley\Lucas Books, 1999. Paperback, 48 pages
Much has been written about Star Wars as modern myth, about the myths underlying the saga, and the influence of Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces on George Lucas while he was creating the films. The "Star Wars: The Magic of Myth" exhibition now touring the United States, and its companion volume, explicate and explore the Trilogy's mythic themes and its connections to the mythologies of the past. In the present volume, DK and Lucas Books bring us the kids' version, simplified, extensively illustrated, with sufficient variety on any given two-page spread to keep even the shortest of attention spans engaged simply trying to take it all in.
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Drawing on a wide array of mythical, fictional, and historical characters and situations, not to mention the artwork from DK's other excellent Star Wars volumes, the book leads the reader through Luke Skywalker's Hero's Journey, explaining the purpose of each stage and how it relates to the mythic archetype.
Star Wars: The Power of Myth generally succeeds, but sometimes the fit is a little less than perfect; sometimes there's a bit of stretch involved to make the films of the Tetralogy fit the mold. (Although the focus is on Luke and the Classic Trilogy, there is ample Episode I material as well.) Equating the Minotaur and the Dianoga seems one such incidence. Likening the Death Star to a monster is another. It doesn't quite work: The Death Star is a "technological terror," meant to represent the inhuman arrogance and materialism of the machine-happy Empire, and its folly. It is a much better fit for "The Labyrinth," with which it is also associated in the text.
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As mentioned the book's coverage is broad -- Celtic, Norse, Classical and Medieval mythological figures appear alongside historical (or semi-historical) examples of the hero. Gods ranging from Anubis to Zeus are mentioned or depicted; Zen Buddhism's similarities to the Jedi Way are noted. The Templars make their appearance, as do the Benedictine order, or at least a photo of the Benedictine habit. Charlton Heston even appears, as Ben-Hur, racing his chariot in the lower left hand corner of the section on Podracing, naturally enough (pp. 28-29).
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Along the way, we encounter a few tidbits of information seen before only in the pages of the Visual Dictionaries: The Sith it is said, have been hiding on Coruscant, and the implication is that they have done so for quite some time. The Empire fell when the second Death Star was destroyed (well, we have been told the novels aren't canon). And, much in accord with the biographical sketch of Darth Vader in Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary, it tells us that Vader, with the benefit of the Emperor's favor, rose in the Imperial Navy to his command position.
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The Book is not without flaws or quirks: Reckoning Jar Jar as a "valuable ally" is one such case (he has his part to play, true, but it is more that of valuable go-between than valuable ally), another is putting him on the same page as those other "Hero Partners" (as the heading has it) Han Solo and Chewbacca, especially when Binks is the star of Page 37, "The Fool." Citing Princess Leia's smallness and femininity, then immediately declaring her "the embodiment of goodness" seems a little odd. The book states, in effect, that a lightsaber gives a Jedi his "superhuman" strength. (Doesn't a Jedi's strength flow from the Force? Yoda, call your office!) It attributes a Imperial Walker kill via tow-cable to Luke in The Empire Strikes Back, when that accomplishment properly belongs to Wedge. (Luke conceives the idea, true, but is unable to execute it; he gets his kill with his lightsaber and a well-placed grenade.) It identifies Luke as already a Jedi when he returns to Tatooine, when Yoda tells him plainly in Return of the Jedi that only after confronting Vader again "a Jedi will you be." And it is hardly a "Family Reunion" in Jabba's Palace: Luke doesn't have his sibling epiphany until he has left Tatooine for the second time and returned to Dagobah for his chat with Obi-Wan's shade. (Page 22 seems to be particularly strong with the Oops! Side of the Force.)
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The book's artwork is certainly not flawed, though it does have, in the tradition of DK's other Star Wars books, those quirky captions: one points out Jar Jar's "determined warrior stance" in a photo of the Gungan hefting a cesta; another reveals Boba Fett's helmet to be far more than a safety device: according to its caption, "Helmet hides identity." But that's part of the fun, as are the intricately detailed ship cutaways, the numerous film stills, and the various non-Star Wars drawings, paintings, and photos.
Star Wars: The Power of Myth is a fun picture book, and a fine sampler of the treasures from David West Reynolds' DK Star Wars books. Any kid should love it (aimed at the 9 -12 age bracket, it's also recommended for fans young at heart), for the cutaways, the weaponry, the cool armor, and the tantalizing snippets of real world mythology.
(Dexter's passion
for Star Wars, still undiminished nearly a quarter-century later, began in May
1977, when a late-night showing of A New Hope set his young imagination ablaze.
An avid action figure collector, he has been known to lurk about local toy shops at
ungodly hours, in hopes of beating the competition to the latest wave of Hasbro goodies.
When not tracking down the latest resculpt of Darth Maul or Qui-Gon Jinn, he devotes his
free time to pondering the most efficient use of his dwindling free storage space. His
other passions include his library, and writing.)