Star Wars, The Hunger Games, and the Storytelling Power of Thematic Resonance

Good stories always have great characters. The great stories always have something more. What sets them apart are themes that resonate deeply with the reader, viewer, or audience. Great stories don’t just entertain – they make us think, challenge our assumptions or beliefs, or inspire us to do great things ourselves.

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Darth Maul Lives

Cross-posted from Suvudu. There are moments in a movie that are iconic and unforgettable; they become seared in your memory. If you were a Star Wars fan – either by way of the Original Trilogy or by diving in as a new one with Episode I – one of those moments is probably Darth Maul, bisected, falling down into the seemingly endless depths of a melting pit on Naboo. Obi-Wan’s victory gave reason to cheer, at least a little bit, right before we mourned for Qui-Gon. Three cheers, the wicked Sith Lord was dead. Or so we believed.

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