The lasting influence that Star Wars has had on modern film, media and popular culture is undeniable. Yet Star Wars itself was influenced by plenty of factors, historical and literary. Listed here, Todd Proa discusses where some of these come from.

1. Historical (and
Literary) Influences
On Star Wars
By Todd Proa

2. Father-Son Myths
• There are stories throughout
Indo-European mythology
where a father and son fight
each other in battle.!
• In the medieval German epic
“Hildebrandslied”, two
champions meet each other
on the field of battle, when
the older one realizes the
younger one is his son.!
• In Irish mythology, the hero
Cu Chulainn is forced to
fight his son Conlai in battle,
and ends up killing him.

3. • The “mythic hero” is a concept
coined by scholar Joseph
Campbell, which appears
throughout mythology: somebody
(often raised by foster parents) is
called to adventure, finds a
supernatural mentor and then
goes out to face trials before
returning home!
• George Lucas drew heavily on the
concept for creating Luke
Skywalker.
Mythic
Hero

4. Nazi Germany
• Both the Nazis and the Galactic Empire employ
“stormtroopers”.!
• In the Star Wars prequels, the rise of Palpatine
from chancellor to emperor is strongly reminiscent
of Hitler’s own rise to power.

5. Richard Nixon
• George Lucas was
originally inspired
to create Star Wars
in reaction to
Nixon’s presidency,
and how
democracies can
get turned into
dictatorships.

6. Vietnam War
• Star Wars was released
not long after the
Vietnam War, when an
underdog nation
defeated a major world
power. !
• George Lucas admitted
that the Ewoks, a
technologically
primitive force that
defeats a powerful
opponent, was inspired
by the Viet Cong.

7. Ancient Rome
• Rome, much like the Galactic Empire,
was a republic before becoming an
empire.!
• Many Star Wars characters, such as
Valorum and Palpatine, have Latin
names.!
• The planet Naboo from the Star Wars
prequels was inspired by Imperial Rome.

8. Knights
Templar
• Jedi Knights were inspired by a
combination of Samurai,
Shaolin monks and the
monastic military orders of
medieval Europe, specifically
the Knights Templar.!
• The Templars were austere,
morally pure and shunned
materialistic goods (on paper,
at least).

9. Cold War
• Star Wars was conceived at the
height of the Cold War, when the
threat of nuclear annihilation was
on everybody’s mind.!
• This relationship is a two-way
street; Reagan’s proposed
Strategic Defense Initiative was
named after Star Wars.