The Force Awakens - Initial

The recently released "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is turning out to be a good example for this generational analysis, for reasons beyond its massive popularity. Since it's science fiction - set neither in our current time period nor our planet - we can use the generational model to see how it works in unfamiliar settings. It has new characters which we can compare with generational attributes, and old characters to serve as a cross check. And it can be categorized using the Four Stories model, as well.

First, which of the Four Stories does it follow? Let's try using this not-too-spoilery synopsis as a starting point (although this analysis will definitely in SPOILER status before the end):

Former Stormtrooper Finn and scavenger Rey join together with Resistance pilot Poe to find Luke Skywalker and save the Republic from Kylo Ren and the New Order. 

Of the characters named, Poe is out for half of the movie, and Luke doesn't show up until the very end. The main characters are Finn and Rey, with Kylo Ren as the antagonist - the face of the New Order. These are all that might be considered as protagonists, even if other new and old characters show up. We should probably consider the Story in terms of Finn and Rey.

Is it a story of Doom and Damnation? While the good guys don't completely triumph - the New Order is still around at the end -  the bad guys take a beating, and there's no moral ambiguity in the results. Definitely not this one.

Is there any Redemption going on - any bad characters turning good? The only person who might fit is Finn, and about the first thing we see him do is NOT shoot at captured civilians. There's nobody who starts from a morally compromised position that gets Good by the end - certainly none of the main or supporting characters. Keep looking.

There are a number of Millennial actors in the main roles, and it was released in 2015, when the real world was in a Crisis period - perhaps it's a Hero story? The good guys do win, and there is a notable loss along the way. However, they don't really win because of their teamwork - not the way the Avengers win against the Chitauri, say, or Captain Miller's squad saves Private Ryan. Even after leaving the New Order, Finn initially doesn't consider joining the Resistance to be a compelling alternative. Poe shows up in the final battle as a Resistance pilot, but his orders are less about "let's keep it tight, stay on target," and more "Shoot more stuff!" While Rey doesn't join the final battle willingly - she was captured by Kylo Ren.

Considering Rey in particular, though, we see her starting out good, but ignorant of important truths about herself - for example, that she is strong with the Force. Not only does she have to find that out along the way, much of the story is about how that happens. The primary conflict is spiritual in form, between the Light and Dark sides of the Force. The climatic battle  - the one which continues even after Starkiller Base has been mortally damaged - is between Rey (in white, representing Light) and Kylo Ren (in black, for Dark). The final image is of her encounter with a religious (in all but name) hermit, living high above a ruined Temple. Finn's arc, too,  is based on a moral choice - he abandons his training and his uniform because it's the right thing to do. (It seems clear this is his real reason, even if he helps Poe because he needs a pilot, too.) It's the Prophet story that fits best.

This makes it an interesting mirror of the original Star Wars movie, now sub-titled A New Hope. Writer/Director George Lucas (born 1944) was  of the Boom generation, the post-World War II Prophet archetype, as were Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher.   (Harrison Ford, born 1942, is of the next-eldest Silent generation, missing the Boomer cutoff by five and a half months.) That story, though, fits well with the Hero archetype, with Luke being brought into a fight for freedom from tyranny, with winning as a result of teamwork and sacrifice. While Luke makes the final shot that destroys the Death Star, it's only after previous attempts by other units revealed how it might be done, and the support of his wingmen, plus a big helping hand from Han and Chewie. It all came together - working as a team, that is, with losses along the way - in such a way that allowed success.

Which means that the saga started with a Hero story told by Prophets, and now continues with a Prophet story being told by Heroes. Perhaps it will continue that way - there's still more to say about it, here.