Ryanwb said:
First off, I am not sure how you can make the correlation between the "Ring" and the force. Since the force flows through everything and those of special disposition can control it. In LOTR only Sauron can weild the power of the ring.
Also it has been made public that the topic of Jedi and other things in the film were based on the Akira Kurosawa film "Kakushi toride no san akunin" (The Hidden Fortress) Obi-Wan Kenobi was modeled after a Samurai warrior, and C-3PO and R2-D2 are derived from a couple of petty crooks he asked along to help rescue a princess.
So as I said before the links between LOTR and Star Wars is weak
Joseph Campbell was a professor at Saint Lawerence colllege in New York and an avid disciple of Carl Jung. He wrote a series of books about the "hero myth", which were basically an explanation of how every culture's myths and legends follow a similar pattern. He used Jung's archetypes of the human psyche a lot.
LOTR and the original Star Wars trilogy follow almost the exact same storyline. And these stories fit Campbell's classic hero myth as well as any story -- which might explain why a Science Fiction and a Fantasy story have been so popular and so warmly received despite belonging to genres that aren't typically mainstream.
Both stories follow the central hero -- Luke and Frodo -- set against the backdrop of a major societal struggle. In both these cases, its a war that involves pretty much everybody, a war that is clearly good versus evil.
The story begins with the hero in a relatively safe environment, yet he is looking for more. Luke lives somewhat comfortably on Tatooine, but he desperately wants to get out, while Frodo lives very well in The Shire, but desires to see the outside world like his Uncle Bilbo did. Then around their "coming of age" outside events occur which causes each hero to leave his safe haven and travel into the outside world. And a very dangerous world it is.
Both will initially get help from a wise old man, Obi Wan and/or Gandalf. The old man is eccentric, with no affiliation to any particular group of people, and is generally looked upon with either awe or contempt by "mainstream" society. He is an outsider, but upon closer inspection, the hero will discover that the old man is full of wisdom and compassion.
The old man and the hero will then be caught in a place of great evil, the Death Star and/or Mines of Moria, and make a desperate attempt at escape. The old man dies in the process, but his death allows the hero to live. Arond this time, the hero also experiences a symbolic death and rebirth/baptism, Luke in the trash compactor, and Frodo when he gets stabbed in the side by an orc, then washes his wound at the lake outside of Moria.
The hero now reenters the world without his mentor, and left to deal with a powerful treasure. In Frodo's case it was the Ring, in Luke's it was the Force. While there are obviously some differences, this "treasure" always has very similar characteristics. One, while it seems it can be used for great good, the temptation to use it for evil is very great. Two, the treasure unites all the people of the world(s) (One ring to rule them all...) Three, the treasure connects the hero to ancient times and the root of the current societal struggle.
The hero, left to deal with the treasure and ultimately himself, will travel to many places and meet many people. And learn much about himself. There are also two prominent characters that are closely connected to him. One basically represents his good side, the other his evil side. For Luke, they are Leia and Vader, respectively. For Frodo, it is Sam and Gollum. The dark side is basically what he will become if he cannot resist the lure of the treasure.
In the end, his salvation will come not with the destruction of his dark side, but rather, through his decision to forgive his dark side. To empathize with it. And that scene of his salvation will be in a place very similar to the place where the old man saved him originally. Either a light saber battle in the Death Star, or above an ancient pit in a mountain's core. (Khazad-dum, Cracks o' Doom)
The hero will not be able to fully enjoy his victory, however, his good side will. And his good side will have outright rejected the power that destroyed his dark side, as Sam did with the Ring, and Leia (kind of) did with the Force.
The Count of Monte Cristo, one of the most popular novels of all time, also follows this exact pattern.
So, I didn't mean to say that Lucas wrote Star Wars by copying from the Lord of the Rings. I meant to say that both follow a similar pattern.
