The Origins of Star Wars
In the movie Star Wars, Director and Screenplay writer George Lucas creates a very complex, believable universe. Lucas borrows many things from different places to create his universe.This paper will show whether or not he succeeds and how does he does it. The origins of the much of Star Wars will be explained and the symbolic nature of the characters will be touched upon, as well as a brief history of the most important part of the story line. The Star Wars universe has a rich and complex history. It starts with Yoda, who trains Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan, after serving in the Clone Wars of the 'Old Republic' which existed right before the Empire, decided to take on the responsibility of training a Jedi. He trains a young up-and-coming hotshot pilot in the ways of the Force. This is Anakin Skywalker, Luke's father. Anakin finds the dark side of the Force much easier and more expedient than the light and becomes a dark Jedi, Darth Vader. He becomes so powerful that his body starts to be eroded by the dark side energies, forcing him to wear a suit and respirator. Ben blames himself for Anakin's failings and lives like a hermit in the Jundland Wastes of Tatooine, watching over Anakin's son, Luke.
Princess Leia is not the ingenue we originally expect. Lucas breaks the feminine stereotype of helplessness and a weak will with Leia. She is smart and strong, and she knows how to get out of a bad situation. For example, when during her 'rescue' by Han Solo, Luke, and Chewbacca, she takes Luke's gun and blows a hole into the garbage chute for an escape, she forces the viewer to reevaluate her. She is also a trouble- maker in the group, her strong will clashes with Han's and creates conflict. This is compliment to Akira Kurosawa, the famous Japanese Director, as it appears that a big influence on her character was the Princess in his 1958 classic The Hidden Fortress, in which a bickering, young princess and a swaggering general try to make there way to safety across Japan while dodging a persuing army. Leia's hair style however, seems to pay homage to Queen Fria from Flash Gordon. Han Solo is the all purpose rabble-rouser and "doubting thomas". He starts off seeming not to care about anything but himself and ends up forsaking money and going for the ideal, rescuing Luke at the last minute. Han serves as an antagonist to Luke, constantly forcing him to strive to prove Han wrong. For example, Han's disbelief in the Force "Look kid, I've traveled from one end of the galaxy to the other. Seen a lot of crazy things, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there'
Some common words found in the essay are:
Han Solo, Darth Vader, Star Wars, Sea Hawk, Millennium Falcon, Galactic Empire, Luke Chewbacca, C3PO R2D2, Princess Leia, Hidden Fortress, star wars, darth vader, han solo, origins star wars, origins star,
Approximate Word count = 933
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
