Star Wars is rife with incidents of symbol-intensive, yet belief-defying events.
The Phantom Menace
- Throughout the original trilogy, the Force was a symbol of the religious belief in a higher, destiny-driven power. In The Phantom Menace, we finally get to see the religion of the Jedi at work, yet the Force remains as mysterious and elusive as ever. With the exception of midi-chlorians, we don't learn much more than what Obi-Wan told us in the first movie. The Jedi are the guardians of peace in the galaxy, and the Force is an energy that binds the universe together and gives the Jedi its powers. With that said, we do get to see a bit of the religious organization of the Jedi. The central belief of the Jedi is in the Force, and their religious tenets are called the Jedi Code. This code of conduct tells the Jedi how to properly live their lives for the light side of the Force. We don't learn much about the code in the film, but we know it doesn't allow a Jedi knight to take two Padawan learners.
- According to George Lucas midi-chlorians are a loose depiction of mitochondria, [organelles] which are necessary components for cells to divide and that without them [t]here wouldn't be any life. Qui-Gon explains to Anakin exactly what midi-chlorians are in the film. The Jedi have always desired to live in harmony with all life, and the Force is the energy connecting them to the life of the universe. As Obi-Wan says in A New Hope, the Force "binds the galaxy together," and Yoda states in The Empire Strikes Back that it is everywhere around you "here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes." These organelles connect their hosts with the Force for the benefit of both. What benefit the organelles derive from the relationship is left a total mystery, but being able to Force lift an X-Wing and live in harmony with all of nature no doubt is beneficial for the Jedi host.
- The droid army symbolizes the inhuman methods of the antagonists, as in "lacking the qualities of a human being, specifically sympathy, pity, warmth, and compassion". The droid army represents this lack of qualities perfectly because they aren't human. They can't feel pity or compassion or sympathy. They aren't designed to do so, and they can't learn what is outside their programming. Instead, the battle droids are programmed to perform only two functions: fight and obey the orders without question. They can't be reasoned with or be made to feel sympathy anymore than a gun because they're tools. (Both literally and figuratively.) The droid army also represents a theme that underlies most of the Star Wars films—the superiority of nature over technology. Being unnatural, they don't care much for nature or animals like the heroes do.
- The Galactic Senate represents the best and the worst of republic democracies. It's an imposing building housing thousands of floating platforms for the representatives of various worlds. In the center is a podium where the Supreme Chancellor and his people conduct the meetings. The needs and rights of thousands of different systems must be considered when passing a law. This process of democratic checks and balances makes politics slow, complex, and open to corruption as politicians game the system. One of the dull scenes shows the downside to democratic checks and balances, the other senators don't know the truth as the viewers do. However, despite the corruption and slow-as-molasses procedures, no one person has the power to submit the other representatives to his or her will. Every senator has an equal voice in the Senate—as evident by the scene above where a senator can apparently just start yammering without even raising his hand.
- The Jedi often feel like knights due to their weapon of choice. (Heck, they're even referred to as Jedi knights) The organization of the Jedi also feels like it belongs to these romantic eras. The Jedi live their life by the "Jedi Code." Although we don't learn much about this code in The Phantom Menace, we hear enough to understand it is a set of principles and practices that determine how Jedi are to act and behave. Their Jedi Code can also be analogous to the knights' Code of Chivalry from the European Middle Ages. The Jedi are warriors but also peacekeepers.
Revenge of the Sith
- The Force, as the Jedi refer to it, is everything that is good about existence, but it is also ubiquitous and binding. Aligned with compassion, selflessness, enlightenment, and mercy, its adherents often also have to be quite familiar with sacrifice and repression of some very human instincts (like falling in love and taking a spouse, for one thing). The dark side, in contrast, is all about temptation — it's about giving in to your primal urges like hatred, fear, anger, and jealousy. But, it's also about turning weakness into something more constructive. Perhaps for that very reason, it's sometimes considered the stronger side of the Force because of the strength of emotions it packs behind it. This is why Yoda tries to convince Anakin to fight his emotions over Padme's death, which Anakin's naturally unable to do. The dark side takes those emotions, though, and converts them into usable energy. The downside of the dark side is that it not only uses those strong emotions—it lets them control you. Once it's inside, it insidiously grows, drawing upon rage and fear until it has the power to take over. Pay close attention to Anakin, and the darkness of his face. His under-eye circles literally get darker as the dark side takes over. Toward the end of the film, we are seemingly stuck in the depths of dusk, with even Padmé's funeral occurring in darkness. This wasn't accidental. The darkening imagery is a tool to communicate almost subconsciously to the viewer exactly how far the universe has succumbed to the dark side. The final battle between Anakin Skywalker note and Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place within an active volcanic caldera of Mustafar, much to the chagrin of the scientifically adept. In the pits of hell, the two leads are battling for Anakin's soul.
- Even though George Lucas insists that the film was written long before the events of 9/11, politically-minded viewers insist that there are some similarities between Sith ideology and that of Bush's second term in office that are difficult to explain. There's Anakin's line to Obi-Wan Kenobi as they prepare to battle on Mustafar: "If you're not with me, you're my enemy." which is similar to a quote Bush famously said. As well is the fact that Chancellor Palpatine used the war as an excuse to get the Senate to approve greater powers and extended terms for himself, diminishing civil liberties and paving the way for his ability to declare himself Emperor. which is all too familiar to how President Bush sought to strengthen security after 9/11 by urging senators to pass the Patriot Act, a piece of legislation that was born amid its own thunderous applause but has long been controversial for infringing on civil liberties. And that Palpatine's method of misdirection by starting a war to divert attention from his own dastardly plans is similar to Bush's push to go to war against Iraq based on evidence that has now been largely dismissed.
- For the most part, the bad guys have red lightsabers, and the good guys have lightsabers that aren't red (green, blue, etc.). According to the various novels, TV productions, and other lore that fans have obsessed over for years, there is symbolic meaning to the color of a Jedi's or Sith's lightsaber: Blue lightsabers and those who wield them tend to prioritize justice and protecting others—warriors like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. Blue is often a color used to represent steadfastness, confidence, and loyalty, so it's no wonder Lucas would've picked it for these heroes to brandish. Green lightsaber users are often "one" with the Force, in tune to nature and all that surrounds him. Mace Windu's seen with a rare purple lightsaber, which could mean that he suffers from moral ambiguity as red (Sith/bad) and blue (Jedi/good) is literally purple.
- When Anakin turns to the Dark Side and attacks the Jedi Temple, the youngling who comes up to him asking for help is a young, blonde boy with short hair, closely resembling Anakin's younger self as portrayed by Jake Lloyd. While the temple is full of younglings of various races, and most human children don't look like that, it makes for great symbolism of Darth Vader killing Anakin Skywalker.
- The duel between Palpatine and Yoda swiftly moves into the senate chamber, where Palpatine uses the Force to throw the senators' platforms at Yoda, destroying the hall. It makes for some great symbolism of Palpatine taking control of the senate and destroying democracy.
A New Hope
- The Galactic Empire is an Obviously Evil organization. While it's obvious that the Empire represents evil, it can be less obvious what the Star Wars universe specifically considers evil. The audience receives its first clue regarding the Empire's brand of evil in the film's establishing shot. As the shot pans down over Tatooine, we see a Rebel cruiser fly overhead, immediately followed by an Imperial star destroyer. The differences between the ships are immense, and this shot tells us everything we need to know about the Galactic Empire. The Imperial ship is much larger than the cruiser, so it takes longer to pass by, its presence dominating the screen as it does so. The audience feels the power and the size of the Empire wrapped up in the imagery of the ship. As the story progresses, we see how that power and size becomes a source of fear throughout the galaxy. The Empire uses both to make people obey and, like the cruiser, it destroys those who resist. Also, considering the Empire's an oppressive regime supported by a military complex that uses power and fear to force people to follow them and kill any who resist, they're pretty much space Nazis or fascists. There's even imagery to support the claim: The stormtroopers' marching is similar to that out of the Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will; the design of the Imperial officer's uniforms was based on Prussian and German military uniforms from the Nazi era; Darth Vader serves as a type of Imperial Gestapo, or Nazi secret police; and they even have their own Final Solution via Alderaan's destruction.
- Contrasting the "Space Nazi" Galactic Empire is the Alliance to Restore the Republic otherwise known as the Rebel Alliance who naturally symbolize forces of goodness and all of its various forms. For starters, the Rebels value individuality over conformity and the state. This is evident even down to the uniforms worn by their foot soldiers. Whereas stormtroopers wear identical uniforms and helmets that make them all look the same, the Rebels all sport helmets that allow the audience to see their faces and recognize them as individuals. Their value of individuality ultimately leads them to victory. In the climactic battle, the Empire's favoring of conformity results in the TIE fighter pilots being very interchangeable and they can't be told them apart. Meanwhile, the X-Wing fighters have individual names and distinct personalities. Ultimately, it is one of these individuals, Luke Skywalker, that manages to take down the behemoth battle station and save the day. The Rebels also value diversity. The Empire only accepts humans into its ranks— specifically white men. The Rebels, however, accept people from all backgrounds, including nonhuman species like Chewbacca. And finally, the Rebels accept religion. They literally couldn't be more different from the Empire.
- The Force possibly represents religion broadly rather than a specific one — that it has boiled away the imagery, tenets, and hierarchies to focus on the core of religious beliefs. And it is true that the Force isn't a one-to-one analogy for a real world religion. For example, the Force isn't this universe's equivalent of Catholicism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, or Taoism or any of the existing religions. The force is religion, not a religion. As Grand Moff Tarkin says to Vader: "You, my friend, are all that's left of their religion." The implication is that the Jedi were a religion organized by a creed and not a movement of vagabond priests bound by a loose central philosophy. We don't get a clear sense of the religion's structure, but Obi-Wan tells Luke, "the Jedi knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the old Republic". This conjures images of crusading knights of yore, so you may picture a council of Jedi making decisions, warrior Jedi on the front lines, and squire Jedi learning the trade. It's unclear whether the Jedi worship the Force. The Jedi's relationship with the energy field seems a bit more equitable than that. Obi-Wan tells Luke that the Force "obeys your commands," making it something he can use like a talent or tool. Yet Obi-Wan also puts his faith in the Force. He believes that it'll control his actions in a beneficial way and that the Light Side of the Force will ultimately lead Luke to his proper destiny.
- Much like the Galactic Empire represents fascist ideology, but can be read as being a specific fascist group (such as the Nazis), the Death Star (which is really the size of a moon) represents the dangers of military technology in general, but it can be read as specifically the dangers of an advanced military technology... like the atom bomb. Despite its sci-fi veneer, Star Wars has a rather "ancient" vibe to it and technology is mostly frowned upon — ironic given the then-advanced technology that went into making the film. One example of this is Obi-Wan calling blasters "random" and "clumsy" and preferring the more dated technology of the lightsaber. To the average viewer, it's sci-fi awesomeness, but in their universe, it's like preferring a sword to a gun. Another example is Luke trusting his faith in the Force, and switching off his targeting computer. The message is clear: It's better to put your faith in instinct rather than scientific know-how. The Death Star takes this anti-technology bent and gives it a great big villainous symbol. Unlike the shots of Luke's home world or the Rebel base, there is no nature to be found on the Death Star. Its denizens don't even act naturally. Everything about it is artificial. Basically, the Death Star represents the evils of military technology, specifically the atomic bomb. Like the bomb, the Death Star has been designed with the purposes of deterring retaliation with the promise of mass destruction. When Tarkin orders Princess Leia to name the Rebel base, she lies, saying it is on Dantooine. Tarkin decides not to make Dantooine his target, saying the planet is "too remote to make an effective demonstration." It's been argued that one of the reasons America decided to drop the atomic bomb was to demonstrate its military power to the Soviets, reasoning with eerily parallels to Tarkin's. Obi-Wan's haunting account of the destruction of Alderaan — "I felt a great disturbance in the Force as if a million voices suddenly cried in terror and were suddenly silence" — could as easily describe the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
- According to Obi-Wan, a lightsaber is "the weapon of a Jedi knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster. An elegant weapon for a more civilized age. For over a thousand generations, the Jedi knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the old Republic. Before the dark times. Before the Empire". Obi-Wan yearns for the good old days when things were simpler and world made sense to him. And it's not just Obi-Wan; Star Wars has waves of nostalgia running throughout it. The present is considered the dark time and the past is looked up as a better time to be alive. As such, the Jedi and lightsabers take the place of knights and swords and represent the good old days. Audiences look back on the age of errant knights and think of it as a time of chivalry, courage, and decorum (although that couldn't be further from the truth). By co-opting the imagery of knights, Star Wars creates a symbol that draws us into the nostalgia trip. The Jedi and lightsaber — not to mention Obi-Wans poetic waxing for the snows of yesteryear — don't bring reality to Star Wars. They infuse the film with the luster of myths and legends.
The Empire Strikes Back
- Luke's brief foray into the cave on Dagobah has a scene where Luke crawls down into a dark cave, hears a splash in the distance, and sees Vader emerge. They have a duel, which Luke handily wins: He decapitates Vader in about fifteen seconds flat. To his (and our) horror, however, Vader's helmet explodes to reveal Luke's own face underneath. On one level, the symbolism of this scene is pretty straightforward: it foreshadows the revelation that Luke and Vader are related. There's something a bit deeper going on here. Yoda states that the cave contains "only what you take with you." This establishes that the manifestation of Darth Vader within the cave isn't caused by an outside force—it's something that exists within Luke himself. What's more, this shows us that Luke has all of the same emotionality, passion, and even anger that caused Anakin to fall prey to the dark side of the Force. Then there's Yoda's warning to Luke to leave his weapons behind which he ignores. Contrast this with Obi-Wan in A New Hope, who allows Vader to kill him rather than give in to anger towards his former apprentice. Luke, on the other hand, won't stop swinging even when he knows that Vader is imaginary.
- Losing a hand is pretty much a rite of passage in this series, so Luke's dismembered hand doesn't just hold symbolic value within this film, but also within the series as a whole. Luke's hand gets cut off at the end of his duel with Vader. In fact, it happens right before Vader's revelation that he's Luke's father. By looking at these two events together, we see that losing a hand represents Luke's feelings of powerlessness, not just in terms of Vader's clearly superior skills, but also in reaction to this shocking turn of events. It's pretty much a recurring theme in the series in general. Plus, the movie ends with Luke's hand being replaced with an artificial replica. It represents hope: It shows that our heroes have re-built themselves after the painful events of the film. Or if you saw the prequels, you remember Anakin Skywalker (who became Vader) also had his hands replaced with artificial ones showcasing another similarity between the father and son.
- Taking cues from real-life religions, the Force perfectly toes the line between sci-fi and an imaginative reinterpretation of existing belief systems. Yoda's description is: "Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you. Here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere! Yes, even between this land and that ship!" This paints the Force as some sort of spiritual substance that connects all things, living and non-living—an idea that's super deep. This hints at animism, the belief that non-human beings have a similar spiritual essence to humans. Ultimately, however, this is only one of the many connections we can draw between the Force and real-life religions.
- The religion we can draw the most connections to is Buddhism. Specifically, Yoda's little platitudes are reminiscent of Zen kōans, which are short sayings used in Zen Buddhism to illustrate hard-to-grasp spiritual truths. These sayings are typically used to show the uselessness of human logic when comprehending spirituality similar to when Yoda twists Luke's logic around on him to highlight his lack of faith. While this can be frustrating for Luke, it reminds him (and, by extension, us) that the Force can't be comprehended through logical means. Also, Yoda defines the light side of the Force as being passive and emotionally detached.
- The quick shot of Vader's exposed head in his meditation chamber is our first glimpse of this inhuman villain's humanity. It also hints at the revelation that Vader is Luke's father, which culminates in his eventual redemption in Return of the Jedi. The scene happens in a flash: An Imperial officer approaches Vader as he's sitting in the chamber, facing the other direction. We see his human head, pale white and scarred. Then, just like that, it's over: Vader's iconic helmet descends and clicks into place over Anakin's head. This strange image of Vader as half-man/half-machine is one that simultaneously freaks us out and makes us more sympathetic towards him. Remember: At the time of Empire's release, people didn't fully grasp that Vader was a person, much less Luke's dad. This image of Vader's exposed head, however, gives us our first hint that a man still exists beneath that mechanical skin.
Return of the Jedi
- Summarizing the Force as a whole is pretty difficult, but it basically represents transcendence, which is a fancy way of saying that those who possess the Force aren't restrained by the same limits that the rest of us are. It's how Luke and Darth Vader share a telepathic bond, for example, and are able to sense each other's feelings and physical presence. Because Luke uses the Force for good and Darth Vader and the Emperor use it for evil, the Force also symbolizes morality. By bestowing all those who have the Force with spiritual clout, the Force, well, forces all those who have it to make important, sometimes life-or-death choices. You can go down the Emperor's route and blast a lot of Force Lightning on your path to galaxy-wide domination… or you can go the Jedi route like Luke, Yoda, and Obi-Wan and use the Force to forge connections with your community and protect the natural world. In short, the Force represents an eternal ethical dilemma: self-importance vs. self-sacrifice.
- In this film, the Death Star proves that bigger isn't always better. It's a giant, technologically advanced weapon that symbolizes two unsavory aspects of the Empire's flawed worldview. First, it's the size of a planet — like Palpatine's ego. He has Darth Vader to do his bidding, he thinks corrupting Luke will be a cinch, and he doesn't even entertain the thought that the Rebels might pose a real threat. In the end, the Emperor's Death Star-sized arrogance not only leads to his demise but also gets the Death Star itself blown up. Second, the Death Star symbolizes the Empire's overreliance on technology. If Darth Vader is, as Obi-Wan tells Luke, "more machine than man," then the Death Star proves that the same is true of the entire Empire, floating in space in their big, shiny ball of hate. Until Darth Vader is unmasked, there isn't a shred of humanity on board. In contrast, the Rebels occupy Endor — a nature-filled area. With the help of the Ewoks and their primitive weapons and tactics, the Rebels take down the Death Star's defense shield and then the Death Star itself. Ultimately, the destruction of the Death Star is made possible by a bunch of aboriginal teddy bears with sticks and rocks, symbolizing the superiority of the natural world over technology. It's not that the Jedi and the Rebels don't believe in using technology; they just don't lump all of their faith into it rather they put their faith in their friends and the land first, and save tech for Plan B.
- Color reflects character in the film. Darth Vader's and the Emperor's black wardrobes illustrate their allegiance to the Dark Side and their embrace of anger, hatred, and aggression. Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi, on the other hand, are decked out in brown: It's warm and earthy, signifying their link to nature and the connectedness of all things, two of the Force's most important ideas. But with Luke, his all-black outfit does not mean he's secretly Team Dark Side, but it does signify two other important things: First, it illustrates the bond he has with his father. Whether they like it or not, Luke and Darth Vader are eternally—and even telepathically—linked. Second, Luke's murky color palette echoes the conflict brewing within him. The Force is strong in him, and the Emperor's doing all he can to lure Luke to the Dark Side. The dark color of his clothes represents not only his maturity, but also the fact that being an adult means making some super-tough choices. Additionally, Darth Vader's lightsaber is red, reflecting his hot temper and bubbling rage. In contrast, Luke's lightsaber glows Yoda-green, mirroring his commitment to the Jedi values of peace and harmony. When these two men finally come to blows on the Death Star, their neon blades light up the room in a colored clash of ideologies.
The Force Awakens
- In symbolic terms, the Force is a quasi-religious concept, standing in for God, the cosmos, and whatever energy put the universe in motion. George Lucas conceived of it as a theological idea: a way to talk about God and the mysteries of creation without getting bogged down in any particular religion. It's very mysterious. When fate taps you on the shoulder, you need to be prepared. It's the same with the Force. It wants Rey to get into the game, even offering her Luke's lightsaber to give her a hand. But she's not keen on it, in part because she's struggling with what it's saying to her and is more than a little afraid of the answer. Turns out it's for the best, though. The Force really does know what it's doing…even if the characters don't.
- The first object from the original trilogy is the Millennium Falcon. Star Wars is a universe constantly on the move. New planets, new crises, new ships, etc. Nothing is permanent, and nothing stays the way it is for long...except the Falcon. Its interiors haven't changed in the slightest. With the heroes constantly on the run, it becomes home for them: the place where they can feel safe and secure, one able to make the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs—you know, should that be needed. In a universe full of chaos, The Falcon represents permanence.
- Luke Skywalker himself is seriously Demoted to Extra in this film, as the whole film leads up to his big reveal at the end, and he literally has no dialogue in the entire movie. Here, Luke's a Living MacGuffin as the First Order is on the march, they've killed all the Jedi but him, and if they can settle his hash, then they're sitting pretty. Luke, still reeling from losing his nephew to the dark side and watching said nephew butcher all of his other apprentices—goes into hiding to contemplate where it all went wrong and keep himself safe until… events of the next film.
- In some ways, the entire Star Wars saga is bound up in Anakin's lightsaber. Anakin gets it sometime between Episodes II and III, Obi-Wan claims it as swag after turning Anakin into a red-eyed charcoal briquette in Episode III, he gives it to Luke in Episode IV, Luke loses it in Episode V, and somewhere between then and now, it falls into the spindly hands of Maz. The lightsaber has seen a lot of places. And clearly, it plays a big role here since it's calling to Rey, used by Finn and Rey, and coveted by Kylo Ren. Definitely important. In this case, it's a question of the saber's legacy. It was previously owned by the two biggest heroes in the saga, and arguably the two most powerful Jedi who ever lived (Anakin and Luke Skywalker). And it's calling to Rey, specifically, which suggests that she's going to be just as important as they were. Kylo Ren wants it, too, but it will never be his…quite literally, since it actually flies straight past his outstretched hand in the final fight. The lightsaber is reinforcing both Rey's and Ren's characters. Ren is the prima donna, the weaselly middle manager who suspects he isn't quite up for the job, and Rey's the outcast, the lonely one, the one who never got any attention.
- Kylo Ren keeps the charred skull of Darth Vader in his quarters, along with the ashes of his victims. Ren uses it as his Security Blanket to renew his commitment to the dark side every time he starts questioning the program. There's even an allusion to Yorick's skull, which Hamlet uses to meditate on life and death. Ren is taking the same concept and applying it to the Force: using the skull to see the power of the dark side and remind him why he wears a mask. It's also a reminder of his family's legacy and the fact that it entails a fair amount of the dark side as well as the light. Anakin fell to his own anger and need for control. Luke passed the test that Anakin failed, while Ben still wondering where he lies.
