THE FORCE AS THERAPY
Lessons from Star Wars helped boy cope with sexual abuse within Catholic Church
Nicholas Harrison is a local actor performing in his first one-man, self-written show. Presented by Some Assembly Theatre Company, and under the direction of Valerie Methot, How Star Wars Saved My Life is a first-person monologue in which Harrison talks about dealing with childhood trauma by following the philosophy in the Star Wars series. We talked to the 49-yearold actor about The Force, Darth Vader, and faith.
Q The show began as a blog post, in which you reference something called “soul murder.” Can you explain what that is?
A In his book Sex, Priests and Secret Codes, Thomas Doyle writes about the traumatic effects that physical and sexual abuse can have on children, especially when it occurs in a clerical context. When the physical abuse turned sexual, they (the priests) started telling me that if I told anyone about what was going on that God would kill me, that He would kill my family. They used him as an omnipotent body that could destroy me at whim. Using religion as a tool to permit these crimes against children amounts to nothing less than soul
murder. The victims learn to not trust the church. What happens to the soul, if you’re a religious person?
Q So was Star Wars a substitute for religion?
A Yes. Later on, the summer after my mom found out what was going on and pulled me out of the private Catholic school, I saw Star Wars. There were key things that occurred, like C-3PO telling R2-D2, “We seem to be made to suffer, it’s our lot in life.” As a child, I was like, “Yes, I understand this.” And seeing the black and the white of the film, the fact that Darth Vader is all in black and in robes, it was all eerily Catholic.
And then there was this idea that a small group of disorganized people — a smuggler, a princess, a farm boy, droids, an old man who wears a bathrobe — could come together to take on this giant organization, this evil presence. And they succeed because they have hope. The spirituality in that, and the idea that there’s this Force that surrounds us, that we are from and return back to, is very elemental. As a child, that filled that hole of not going to church. Q Does it make you ever wonder if (creator) George Lucas was working through some issues in that first Star Wars movie?
A I don’t know. But Star Wars is a very good example of the hero’s journey. And it’s told so clearly in the Star Wars universe. The idea of being able to overcome something, that there is power in numbers, even if there’s only one at first, there are others — you see that in all the different religious teachings. It is so inspiring. I owe Lucas so much. I really do feel that his story saved my life. Q What’s your relationship to the Star Wars universe now?
A Well, I love the original three (Star Wars: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi). Episodes one, two and three (The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith) — they’re OK. But when The Force Awakens came out, I loved it. And Rogue One, amazing. I feel like they’re back on track. I’ll always be a fan of the Star Wars universe. I like to feel I have a special place in The Force.