Star
Wars (1977) is a film that any
avid film goer should not forget. Even if one does not care for the
sci-fi genre of films, one must appreciate that amount of influence
that Star Wars had on
films. The film is a fun, action filled story about good versus evil.
Pfeiffer and Lewis describe it as "modern twist on ancient
morality tales, with clearly defined good guys battling the forces of
evil." (Pfeiffer and Lewis 68) The story is focused on the
journey of Luke Skywalker, played by Mark Hamill. Luke, a farm boy
raised by his aunt and uncle on a planet called Tatooine, is suddenly
called to action when he stumbles across two droids, C3PO and R2D2.
There
are multiple pieces of a journey that a character can undertake in a
story. The first being the Departure, the second is the Initiation,
and the last is the Return. Each piece breaks down further into
different sections of the journey.
The
first step in Luke's "departure" is known as the Call to
Adventure. In the case of Star Wars,
it would be when Luke first meets R2D2 and is shown a clip of
Princess Leia's message to Obi-Wan Kenobi. The message is enough to
pique Luke's curiosity, and eventually R2D2 leads Luke to Obi-Wan
himself. The first couple of minutes of the film that involve Luke
set up the idea that Luke wants nothing else but to leave Tatooine
and join the rebellion, where all of his friends are. When he meets
Obi-Wan, he fulfills the next part, the Refusal of the Call by
telling Obi-Wan that he has responsibilities to his aunt and uncle,
that he has to help out on the farm. Obi-Wan gives Luke his father's
lightsaber that Obi-Wan had been holding on to for safekeeping, this
action in storytelling is known as Supernatural Aid, something that
will come to aid Luke in his upcoming journey, even if Luke doesn't
understand his journey quite yet. The Crossing of the First Threshold
(the fourth section of the departure) occurs when Luke discovers that
the Empire has killed his aunt in uncle in search of the two droids
that Luke now has in his company. It is this moment when Luke
realizes that he has the opportunity to leave for good. The final
part of the departure, known as The Belly of the Whale, occurs when
Luke, Obi-Wan, and the droids go to Mos Eisley, which Obi-Wan calls a
"hive of scum and villainy." It is here where they find
themselves in a rough bar filled with dangerous aliens, and it is
also where they find their pilot to help them continue their journey
to Alderaan. The Belly of the Whale reaches it's peak when Luke is
confronted by an alien who wishes to kill him, and Obi-Wan is forced
to intervene with his lightsaber. The end of this scene begins an
epic journey that leads Luke Skywalker to the stars, and to what he
has always dreamed of.
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