The way the force was portrayed in The Last Jedi was a gross misuse of how the force works. The force is all around us. Everyone can tap into it but only some can control and learn to use it. Also, you don't just become a Jedi or Sith. That takes training, dedication and devotion. Rey is not a jedi, but she might be a force user. In the days of the Republic Jedi training began at an early age, much like how the Spartans learned to fight when they were young.
As far as the heroes journey I couldnt agree more, Star wars uses that as a main theme throughout.

@petewillia I would say the way the force was sometimes treated in earlier stories doesn't mean that is how it "works", even within the fictional framework. (Remember midichlorians? Even as a child, even as the Emperor was falling down that shaft in ROTJ, I wondered why the "power of the Dark Side" wasn't strong enough to levitate himself out of there, as Yoda was powerful enough to lift an entire X-Wing out of a swamp on Dagobah. And the answer is, of course, that it's all made up.) The elite/exclusive/royal bloodline quality of the Force never appealed to me, even as a child. It just seemed Lucas was trying to have it both ways--a nobody farm boy turns out to be "special"...because he was born that way from a secret royal bloodline (an element he lifted directly from Dune, by the way). It never seemed to make sense that all those other Jedi must have had similar but disparate bloodlines in their own families. Yoda certainly wasn't related to the Skywalkers, but in terms of Force strength, he was among them. In terms of Rey not being a Jedi yet, that's a given. And the creative choice to keep her out of any royal bloodlines was refreshing. All the other choices would have been rehashes and uninteresting to me. (Moreover, in terms of the hero's journey, that is often how strikingly talented and creative people often arise--plucked from obscurity from parents who were either not around at all, or have no idea where that talent came from. In that sense also, it makes for a more interesting story.)

@greyeyed123 Lucas even mentioned going into more detail and understanding about midichlorians if he was in charge of the final three movies. Im still not following your idea of royal bloodlines. There were many Jedi who didnt have "royal bloodlines" both in the films and in the extended universe. There really eere no royal bloodlines. The Star Wars films were really a story about Anikan Skywalker and his journey. While Reys journey is interesting it should have been left for the next trilogy. This Trilogy is about the Skywalkers.

@petewillia We have Jedi "Knights", an empire, an emperor, a princess, etc. "Darth" is an epithet given to "Dark Lords" of the Sith. "Lord" is also a term of royalty, along with Knight, empire, emperor, princess, etc. (All of which is taken wholesale yet again from Dune, as is Tatooine, the Force itself, and dozens of other aspects of the film). Skywalker's ability with the Force is attributed to his bloodline, with all the trappings of it. "The Force is strong in my family. My father had it. I have it. My sister has it." Focusing on the Skywalkers yet AGAIN in 7-8-9 would have emphasized the bloodline yet again. Revealing Rey was Luke's daughter, or Ben's granddaughter--which seemed to be the prevailing theories--would have emphasized bloodline yet again. I find such possibilities to be repetitive and unsatisfying. The story needs to go in another direction, and TLJ did go in an interesting direction. No doubt that presages they will return to something boring again with 9. I hope not, but the franchise is awash in so much money now that creativity is choked to death.

@greyeyed123 The Skywalker "bloodline" is unique due to The mysterious birth of Anikan, which we later learn was due to the force. Your argument that the force has to do with a "royal bloodline" has no substance. Anikan was the chosen one. He did fullfill his destiny by defeating the Sith and by being a main component in the downfall of the empire. The new story of Rey takes everything that has been created by numerous writers, game developers, directors, and fans and spits in their face. The new Trilogy is an afront to Star Wars and the fans which msde it what its is. Also many writers use the Story of the Odyssey and tweak it to suit their own needs. This has been a story making component since it was written. Im not entirely sure how you singled out Dune alone.
How this got so off topic I do not know. My initial question was about the similarities the franchise has to real world religions.

@petewillia Not that I care anymore, but how, exactly, does it spit in their face? I singled out Dune because Star Wars is a thinly failed plagiarism of the first novel to win a Nebula. (Dune also won a Hugo.) Dune came just 10 years before shooting began on Star Wars, and anyone who knew anything about science fiction at that time had read Dune (Lucas certainly read it). If you had ever read Dune, the parallels would be undeniable. I don't really care about Star Wars games and books and things. Most of that stuff is nonsense. And not that I am hating on Star Wars. I still love it. But I can also view it in context. The story was a mash of the hero's journey, Dune, and westerns. Combined with the innovations in film making, and a decade of depressing news and depressing realism in film, pure, unadulterated escapism was just what the doctor ordered.

This topic was meant to be fun and enjoyable.

I think the term "god" as a reflection of human existence is certainly outdated, and your definition should suffice. "The Force" just is. We may tap into facets of it (such as electricity, gravity, magnetism) for our own use, but praying to it for its intercession in our lives would seem ridiculous.

@mjcharles I agree

Thanks, I never thought of it that way.

Those are some interesting words ?