Good versus Bad - Is Star Wars that Simple?

When you have a force - perhaps that should be, "Force" - which can be used, or abused, depending upon who channels it, then you have a fairly even balance between good and evil.

In essence, the basic plot of "Star Wars" is the battle of Good versus Evil. The characters are clearly defined as the "little people" who fight for  freedom against the evil that is represented by Darth Vader, who has the advantage of a terrific costume and headgear that conceals his identity. His voice has been instantly recognisable ever since!

However, even Darth Vader has a human side and, by making the story more than simple black and white, it has transcended the cowboys and Indians format that it could so easily have been.

Characters which are aliens (Chewbacca the Wookie) and machines, like R2-D2 and C-3PO, (which sounds like the number of a Post Office van, when you think about it) have been much loved ever since the film appeared. By becoming "multi-cultural" in a sci-fi world, "Star Wars" chimed very much with its era. Just as ideas of racial stereotypes were disappearing after the days of segregation in the Southern Staes of the USA, this was a flagship of the NewWorld; a world in which all races could live together in harmony. Those who disagreed were the Old World of racism and Nazism. Thus, by its inclusiveness, "Star Wars" was the future and, by extension, its heros  were good and capable of redemption, as in the case of Han Solo, the former smuggler.