Michael D. Miller
Blog Prompt Week 2
Star Wars: A New Hope
Examining
the departure in the film Star Wars: A New Hope
Luke
Skywalker is the hero in the film Star Wars: A New Hope. Luke is a young man
living with his aunt and uncle and working on their farm on the planet Tatoonie.
Luke is a young man with dreams of joining the resistance against the Empire.
Luke speaks of his desires of going to the academy with his Uncle Owen during
dinner one evening, which his uncle opposes because the work that has to be
done before the harvest. Luke is upset that he would have to wait another year
before he can get away from his humdrum existence on the farm.
Earlier
in the day, Uncle Owen purchased two droids from the Jawa’s and Luke was
assigned the task of getting them ready for the following day’s work. While
preparing the droids, Luke discovers something stuck in the R2D2 unit and tries
to dislodge it. By doing so, The R2 unit displays an image of a woman asking
for Obi-wan Kenobi’s help. The brief video spurs Luke desire to learn more and
to find Obi-wan Kenobi.
The
following day, Luke discovers that the R2D2 unit has left and Luke sets out in
search of the droid. Luke is soon confronted by the sand people and taken
captive only to be rescued by the hermit he knows as Ben Kenobi. Luke tells Ben
of the video and the learned that the resistance is in need of Ben’s help. Ben
tells Luke that he is in fact Obi-wan Kenobi and tells Luke about his father, a
Jedi Knight who died at the hands of Darth Vader. Ben urges Luke to learn the
ways of the Force and to join him on his journey, the call to adventure. However, Luke declines the offer citing that
he has to remain with his aunt and uncle and help them on the farm, the refusal of the call. Luke discovers
that stormtroopers came to the plant looking for the two droids and he assumes
that the stormtroopers have killed him aunt and uncle and destroyed the farm.
Luke
returns to Obi-wan Kenobi and informs him that he will go with him in search of
a pilot to take them to Alderaan. Kenobi is the guide for Luke and later Han
Solo, the pilot, on their trip to Alderaan. Obi-wan would be considered Luke’s supernatural aid. The hiring of the
pilot to bring them to Alderaan and leaving Tatoonie would be considered the
crossing of the first threshold. Earlier,
Ben had given Luke a light sabre and while travelling to Alderaan Luke begins
to practice the ways of the force under the guidance of Obi-wan Kenobi, the belly of the whale.
Luke
Skywalker, the hero of the film, appears to have successfully met all of the
requirements of the departure described by Joseph Campbell. The call to
adventure, Luke is urged by Obi-wan to aid Princess Leia and the rebellion
forces to defeat the Empire. The refusal of the call to adventure occurs when Luke
states that he cannot help because of his responsibilities to his aunt and
uncle on the farm. The acceptance of the
call happens after Luke discovers his family murdered and the farm destroyed.
Luke then accepts Obi-wan as his supernatural guide into the unknown journey. Passing
through the first threshold, occurs when Luke leaves his home with Obi-wan on
their journey in search of a pilot to take them to Alderaan.
No comments:
Post a Comment