Some consider Star Wars to be an uplifting story of good vs evil, of using good religion (Jedi/light side) vs bad religion (Sith/dark side), being aware of personal weakness and passions, etc. I won’t extoll the possible virtues of the series here, everyone seems to be savvy of those already. Here I wish to highlights some possible concerns, then each can chose for themselves.
Language: Generally wholesome with a few exceptions. The newest trilogy Eps. 7-9 has a few swear words.
Costumes: Generally wholesome and modest clothing of robes. I can say that the heroes always chose to dress modestly, which is great. One scene depicts Leah as an captive sex slave, being forced to wear immodest clothing. Yes it is evil that the bad guys did this and it isn’t saying it’s a good thing, but they didn’t have to show that. The casino/bar scenes do have a few immodest characters passing by, as is common in those unruly environments. Unfortunately, Fin calls the casino they’re in while looking for a hacker, a delightsome place.
Fantasy: There is much of the fantastic in these movies. This is potentially dangerous as it desensitizes the viewer to reality. On the other hand, this can stimulate creativity.
Gender Roles: With exception of Ep. 7-9, the male and female roles are typical and appropriate. These last 3 (newest) episodes have derogatory lines against men in general, and a woman fighter hero, suggesting that woman’s worth is in doing what man does, which is insulting. Some say its not bad for 1/3 of the movies to have female leader heroes, perhaps. Padme is actually a great heroin, she is an influencer and mother and a voice in the political realm, and fights as needed, but the fighting isn’t her primary thing. Perhaps more troubling than a female Jedi hero (she’s not the first, but is the first one front stage) are the remarks against the male pilot, and her not wanting her hand held, etc. They also make the bad guy in the last trilogy be totally out of control, and they make Han Solo into a bum father who leaves his family, as is the typical mode of Hollywood to make fathers useless.
Violence: The level of violence portrayed in the films are concerning, particular for young audiences. The choreography of the sword play is quite good, especially in Eps. 1-3. The series is generally good about not showing blood or gore.
Horror: The final scene of Ep. 9 was particularly terrifying. It included a demon man calling for human sacrifice, transfer of spirits, and dead demons chanting in the background, typical of demonic scenes. This scene is too scarry and will cause nightmares. Exposure to such evil is likely not healthy, especially for children. Also scenes of Sith holding people in the air and choking them is quite terrifying, and exposing children to that is potentially abusive. There is also a scene where a nice robot appears to be possessed by a demon, having red eyes and speaking in a low dark voice. The robot is translating an evil text which is needed to unlock something, but the demon moment is scary and unnecessary.
Dangerous Yoga & Scarry Force Powers: The Jedi have a sort of yoga-related out of body experience. This is dangerous.
Images of people using a power to choke each other, push each other, etc., are particularly horrifying.
The force is accessed not by obedience to God but by getting in tune with nature. Seems like yoga and new age. The other view of this is the god is the god of nature, and their access to him as they knew him was through nature. That was all that was revealed to them in that age, they did their best.
Redemption of Anakin / Vadar: Despite running around killing children etc., this character is redeemed based on a single good deed. This is questionable at best. Possible, but sends a message of death bed repentance which is false doctrine. We don’t know the heart and pressures etc., but the message the vast majority of the audience likely hears is “I can live an evil life and turn around any time I wish and be just fine.”
Burning the Temple: On face value, Yoda (the chief prophet figure) seems to say “away with organized religion” by burning the Jedi temple, and what looks to be like burning the sacred texts / scriptures (despite the hidden message that maybe the texts were saved, which few viewers would catch). A closer look shows this isn’t what Yoda is saying (he is trying to help Luke balance his views), but for most viewers (particularly susceptible children, a large portion of the audience), that’s the message that gets across.
Possible Anti-Christian Storyline: The chosen one Christ figure Anakin turns out to be super evil and overly controlling. Some interpret this as an anti-Christian message saying that Christ (and organized religion) are really the bad guy. I don’t think this interpretation of the story is necessary, but I do point it out. Likely the story is designed to say “watch out or you’ll mess up your destiny for greatness if you give yourself up to your passions,” but in today’s predominantly anti-Christ culture, the story may not be interpreted that way.
Rogue One Mocking Jerusalem Siege? Someone pointed out to me that the dress, building shapes, etc. all seem to resemble Jerusalem, potentially making light of the fall of Jerusalem.
Mandalorian Baby Yoda the Replacement Christ I’ve been seeing t-shirts and bumper stickers galore saying baby Yoda is “THE CHILD” and that this is “THE WAY”. This mocks the Christ child whose gospel is the way.
