Film Analysis: The Star Wars Saga

There’s no doubt that Star Wars is one of the most impactful films of all time, having changed the movie-making game ever since it premiered in 1977. It quickly became a global phenomenon and has accumulated some of the most passionate fans in the universe. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope is a great example to use in order to illustrate the properties discussed throughout the course. In this paper, I will analyze the entire movie. To begin, I will start by giving some basic information about the motion picture, such as the director and type of film. Next, I will provide a brief summary of the film.

The Force Awakens is the newest episode of Star Wars that has been released in theatres, and takes place many years after the fall of the Galactic Empire. The Resistance, the new Rebel Alliance, now faces a new threat, the First Order. In the hopes of defeating this threat, they look to Luke Skywalker, who’s whereabouts are unknown. Rey, the capable and independent protagonist, rescues a BB-8 unit and discovers it holds the missing piece of the map that leads to Luke. Together, along with Finn, Han Solo, and Chewbacca, they must find a way to deliver the piece of the map to The Resistance and stop the First Order’s plans of annihilation.

• Luke Skywalker is a sensitive human male Force who helped defeat the Galactic Empire in the Galactic Civil War and helped found the New Republic, as well as the New Jedi Order.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… there were two exceptional leaders by the name of Darth Vader, and Luke Skywalker. As many know, these two men are the leading antagonist and protagonist of the immensely popular franchise, Star Wars. For those that do not know, Darth Vader is the villain who leads a heinous army known as The Empire. Through methods of fear and intimidation, Vader fabricates a mega-weapon capable of destroying entire planets known as the Death Star. Luke Skywalker defies all odds as he uses the methods of stimulation and team building to try to lead the Rebels in an uprising against the tyrants. Each of these leaders is very successful in their own unique methods.

Episode IV was set during a time of war between the Rebellion, the good side, and the Empire, which is considered the evil side. The science fiction story is about a young man, Luke Skywalker, who travels into space to fight against the Empire. Luke is from the planet Tatooine, a desert, where he farms water with his uncle. Luke’s uncle buys two droids, R2D2 and C3PO, who happen to have been involved in the war and worked for the rebellion. Luke discovers a recording in one of the droids of Princess Leia saying she needed help, and that sparks the beginning of his journey. He meets Ben, also known as Obi-Wan Kenobi, who becomes his mentor, and teaches him how to use “the force”. In Star Wars, “the force” is a magical way for people to control things using their unconscious minds. Luke sets out on a journey into space to rescue the princess and join the Rebellion in the war effort. Luke and Obi-Wan meet Han solo, a pilot, and ask him to take them into space. They plan to go to Alderaan, Princess Leia’s home planet; however, they are unintentionally sucked into the Death Star, the spacecraft and weapon of the Empire. They find out that Princess Leia is being held in the Death Star, and they plan to help her escape. While Han and Luke try to help Leia, Obi-Wan is fighting Darth Vader, the evil leader of the Empire. Unfortunately, Obi-Wan is killed by Darth Vader; although, Luke, Han and Leia escape the Death Star. They go to a Rebellion headquarter and find the weak spot of the Death Star.

“Do or do not,” says Yoda, in the acclaimed science fiction movie Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, “there is no try” (Empire). This quote is perhaps the most famous of the character’s, and perhaps one of the most famous in the whole franchise. It highlights an idea that the scene perpetuates: the fact you intend to do something doesn’t matter, only whether or not it is done. This is not a perfect metaphor for the application of knowledge, but it fits in rather easily. Without an effect, an application, all you have is abstract knowledge – that trying that Yoda denies – and in that way value has been diminished. Two areas of knowledge which especially highlight the values and limitations of that claim are the natural sciences and religion.

The creator and director of Star Wars, George Lucas, was incredibly successful for his movie series, but even more successful for its overall purpose: to sell toys to ten-year old boys. The use of ethos, pathos, and logos are very abundant in this movie. Ethos, Greek for “character”, is anything referring to or relying on the author’s credibility. Pathos, Greek for “emotional”, is anything that makes you feel emotion. Logos, Greek for “word”, is anything that makes you think. By using these he was able to persuade the audience into thinking, feeling, and loving Star Wars, making the audience want to purchase figurines.

There is a long shot of a man crouching in an alcove of a corridor. He

The central character appearing in all six movies in the Star Wars saga is Darth Vader, who is formerly known as Anakin Skywalker. He is the protagonist in the prequel trilogy, but one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy. The films tell the story of Anakin Skywalker as a Jedi knight who turns to the dark side of the Force. Darth Vader is the father of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. He later sacrifices himself to save his son, Luke.

Ever since the release of its first film in 1977, Star Wars stands as one of the most important works in cinema history and has been a significant part of pop culture. At the time when Disney bought Lucasfilm, fans were delighted to hear the announcement of a new Star Wars trilogy. The first film of the new trilogy titled Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released in 2015 and left fans with many unanswered questions, especially about the true identity of a major antagonist. Being known only as Snoke, the film reveals him as the supreme leader of a military faction called the First Order. With little screen time and appearing only as a hologram, the true identity of Snoke is shrouded in mystery.

Set approximately 10 years after The Phantom Menace, this installment in the beloved saga sees Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his Padawan Anakin Skywalker (newcomer Hayden Christensen) act as bodyguards to Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) who now serves as the senator from Naboo. Obi-Wan spends the majority of the film tracking down Amidala’s would-be assassin, discovering a secret clone army for the Jedi in the process. Anakin, on the other hand, begins to fall in love with Padmé and takes the first noticeable steps to becoming Darth Vader.

Another similarity between A New Hope and The Force Awakens is the delivery of the plan, while both share the same journey, New Hope is more superior. In the Force Awakens, the location of Luke is given to the astromech droid, BB-8 to deliver to the Resistance. In the opening sequence, the First Order Star Destroyer can be dropping transport ships into a village on the planet, Jakku. Before the capture of Poe Dameron, he is giving an important message as well as the plans of the location of Luke Skywalker to a droid known as BB-8. The droid must find his way back to the Resistance Headquarters, with the help of Rey and Finn. In the same way, the Death Star’s plan in the New Hope is given to the astromech droid, R2-D2 to deliver to the Rebellion.

Yoda, Bens Master, and learn the force. The Falcon lands in a mining colony run

One of the many appeals of Star Wars is its extensive cast of unique characters. Every character is written creatively; even the one-off minor characters have a special flair to them. The interactions between these characters are what drive the story and create this vast universe. Ultimately, Luke Skywalker is the main character of the original Star Wars trilogy. The three films tell his story and journey of becoming a Jedi Knight. Starting out as a naive young boy, throughout the course of the films Luke Skywalker matures into a full fledged Jedi Knight who is tasked with defeating the Empire.

We are delighted to have the opportunity to examine Star Wars because we feel intimately connected to the film and all that it represents. We grew up with R2D2, C3PO, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Chewbacca. We dressed up like them for Halloween, we played Star Wars games for countless hours, we imagined ourselves using their futuristic technology, and now we want to study how this artifact has affected our society and how it might affect our future.