Here's part one of a three part series we will be featuring called "Magic in Sydney" by Christopher J. Levinson, aAn Analysis of The Magic of Myth exhibit now hosted down under. This first piece is more of an introduction to the exhibit, not to be missed.

I have a strong feeling about interesting people in space exploration? And the only way it?s going to happen is to have some kid fantasise about getting his ray gun, jumping into his spaceship, and flying into outer space.
George Lucas

Ever since its opening twenty-five years ago on May 25th, 1977, Star Wars has had one of the largest influences on modern culture. Some consider it as being something close to a a modern day myth, but ironically not everyone knows that Star Wars is actually based upon myth. Possibly one of the reasons for its immense popularity is that the type of myth it has created is very dissimilar to other kinds, and much more subtle; it is a visual epic and the effect it creates is quite different. The story is told with emotive imagery and sounds that capture an environment and create an atmosphere; in other words, the style of storytelling is completely different. Star Wars has made its myth deep within the recesses of the imagination, successfully reinventing the heart of the formula and disguising it within another much larger, engaging tale; Star Wars, after all, isn?t all myth, it is a thing of fun and science-fiction, it is escapism and presents an environment where a viewer can be swept away. At its heart it is an enjoyable, visual experience; quite simply if it wasn?t enjoyed then it wouldn?t be popular. But just the same, while it is entertainment, it is also undeniable that Star Wars is filled with mythic, cultural, and religious overtones that are its true inspiration. Because of that it appeals to all kinds of people, and everyone around the world can relate to the story ? every generation needs a legend, a myth to call their own, and the reinvention of Star Wars over twenty-five years (much in the same way as The Lord of the Rings) has insured it will endure long into the millennium because, as with all myths, it will continue to have an appeal to all manner of people without ever really ageing.

The Star Wars Saga is told in six parts and at its heart is the story of one man?s redemption, but within it an entire civilisation is created, an entire galaxy made real before the eyes and the mind. The story is told through images as well as with words; of starships striking across space with green and red laserlight, of a desert world populated with the normal, the beautiful, the dangerous and the bizarre, a world where a hero will rise and fall and be reborn, of swords of light sparking against darkness where evil fights good, of noble Jedi peacekeepers and wizards being the guardians of a long forgotten age, of a beautiful queen and an angelic princess who are mother and daughter separated by an ocean of time, and of a demonic figure set in black who once long before was an innocent slave boy with a heart filled with dreams of becoming something more. And it is a story told with sound as well, with alien speech and the sounds of weapons and vehicles and the sounds of entire worlds, and the music that gives them definition underlying it all, the themes of a civilisation and the words that describe them brought to life by scores created by John Williams, creating a texture to the people and the races within this visual environment set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. It is one man?s vision of an entire civilisation, but it is many people?s creation.

It is that which makes this myth different to others; because it can be seen and experienced, the story told with more than words, a three-dimensional myth for a three-dimensional age. It is a whole image created by many smaller pictures. Those other smaller pictures are brought to life by intricate details born of other imaginations, other minds, other small details that make the entire civilisation a reality. Star Wars could not be possible without the original designs that create the images of the people of other worlds, and it is those which document the passage of a myth and the creation of a legend.

On October 11, 1997 the Smithsonian Institution?s National Air and Space Museum opened an exhibition called Star Wars: The Magic of Myth. It featured more than two hundred props, costumes, and pieces of art from the trilogy of films ? the details that brought an element of realism and believability to the images and at the same time made them entertaining. Lucas himself said upon the exhibition?s opening that "filmmaking is a collaborative effort and the creation of artwork, models, costumes and creatures plays a major role in my movies. The artists who worked on Star Wars are the best in the world. I?m thrilled that the public now has the opportunity to examine their artistry in a museum setting."

Unsurprisingly, the exhibition attracted large crowds for the length of its stay at the Smithsonian. Because of its success in 1999 The Magic of Myth began to tour the United States, adding elements from the next Star Wars film as well, Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The San Diego Museum of Art hosted the exhibition from September 25, 1999 through January 2, 2000. The Minneapolis Institute of Arts held it from February 2000 through June 2000. It then moved to The Field Museum, Chicago for a stay of July 2000 through January 2001. And later The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from March 2001 through June 2001. Then The Toledo Museum of Art, July 2001 through January 2002. And finally the Brooklyn Museum of Art, February 2002 through June 2002.