Star Wars, Star Trek, The Matrix, and Harry Potter

[Potemkin]

http://www.spitefulcritic.com/2009/0...he-same-movie/

Hold On, I’ve Seen This Before: How Star Wars, Star Trek, The Matrix, and Harry Potter are Actually the Same Movie

Brandon Root 20 June 2009 734 views 3 Comments Email This Post

Do your favorite movies sometimes seem a bit…familiar? When discussing Harry Potter, do you sometimes mistake Voldemort for Darth Vader? Do Neo’s abilities in the Matrix remind you of the Force, only just a little bit different? Well, you would be right, as the most wildly successful franchises of the last 40 years are basically the same recycled story you have heard over and over again. To highlight the (few) differences between some of the most famous franchises ever produced, I have color coded them as follows:

Star Wars is blue
Star Trek is brown
The Matrix is green
Harry Potter is grey

The Plot:

Once upon a time,

Luke | Kirk | Neo | Harry

was living a miserable life. Feeling disconnected from his friends and family, he dreams about how his life could be different. One day, he is greeted by

Obi Wan | Captain Pike | Trinity | Hagrid

and told that his life is not what it seems, and that due to some circumstances surrounding his

birth | birth | birth | infancy

he was meant for something greater. Deciding to leave with

him | him | her | him,

Luke | Kirk | Neo | Harry

is taken to

Mos Eisley | Starfleet Academy | the real world | Hogwarts

where he meets lots of new, fascinating people. For the first time in a very long time, life is exciting, and

Luke | Kirk | Neo | Harry

explores the new life that has opened up for him. With his new friends, he starts to work hard to become the sort of man that

Obi Wan | Captain Pike | Trinity | Hagrid

said he could be. Although

Han | Spock | the Oracle | Draco

challenges his abilities, things go relatively well until suddenly,

Alderaan is destroyed | Vulcan is attacked | Morpheus is captured | Voldemort returns.

Leaping into action,

Luke | Kirk | Neo | Harry

prepares to fight against the insistence of his teacher. Despite not having finished his training, the lessons have made him cocky and through a combination of skill and luck

Luke | Kirk | Neo | Harry

is able to beat

Vader | Nero | Agent Smith | Quirrell

and destroy

the Death Star | Nero’s ship | the Sentinels | Voldemort’s body.

Greeted as heroes,

Luke | Kirk | Neo | Harry

realizes that he has become

powerful with the force | a great leader | the One | a great wizard

just as

Obi Wan | Captain Pike | Trinity | Hagrid

said he would be. Right before the story ends, there is a sense that this is just the beginning of an extremely lucrative franchise. Er, I mean adventure.

[Renegade]

...ayep..sounds about right.

[dyrt]

The movies are all the same because they are based on one of the most ancient of mythological motifs . . . the hero's journey. There is no other story told more. The characters and locations change through time but the basic story is everywhere in religion, dreams and culture. It persists because the symbolism resonates with inherited instincts in our subconscious.

[Oric]

the other scenarios win awards at movie festivals and have 0 payback at the theatres

[Mama Alanna]

That's one of the things that provoke discussions at SF convention panels:
Where does a particular story fall on the scale of
Archetype................time-honored tradition....................silly cliche?

And everyone has a different feel for where one tips over into the next one.