¶ … human experience is the manner in which certain themes appear again and again over time, in literature, religion, mythology, and culture -- regardless of the geographic location, the economic status, and the time period. Perhaps it is the innate human need to explain and explore the known and unknown, but to have disparate cultures in time and location find ways of explaining certain principles in such similar manner leads one to believe that there is perhaps more to myth and ritual than simple repetition of archetypal themes. In a sense, then, to acculturize the future, we must re-craft the past, and the way that seems to happen is in the synergism of myth and ritual as expressed in a variety of forms (Bittarello, 2008). The idea of myth is so tied into culture that even our motion picture industry epitomizes the need for particular stories to remain focal themes. In Star Wars5- The Empire Strikes Back, there are certainly archetypes from numerous philosophies, epics, and myths surrounding the adventures of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia as they flee the Empire. In...

Shintoism is quite ancient, but there is no unified religious structure, rather a loose conglomeration of philosophies that surround the name Shinto or "way of the Gods." It is somewhat animistic, but more associated with more natural forces in the world (nature and the essence of nature) -- or, the energy that flows throughout every living thing (Herbert, 1967).
Certainly George Lucas, author of the Star Wars Saga, was influenced by some of these Shinto themes. In Shinto and Star Wars there is the light (the good) and the dark (the evil) side; constantly at war with each other for domination of the universe. This is a duality in most cultures -- the yin/yang and the explanation for the duality of the…