Smith - Star Wars: A New Hope

The Departure Phase

Star Wars: A New Hope is the first movie of the Star Wars trilogy that we will be watching over next few weeks. In the films, George Lewis was able to make his viewers think about the progression of a hero and what the characteristics of a hero are. Joseph Campbell states in The Hero With a Thousand Faces that there are three phases of a hero’s journey, which are the Departure, Initiation and Return. A New Hope is primarily taking place in the Departure phase, which is also separated into The Call to Adventure stage, The Refusal of the Call and the Supernatural Aid. For those who have not refused the call, such as the heroes in this film, the main stages that are concentrated on are the first two that I stated above.

The Star Wars entry in Pfeiffer/Lewis made reference to the struggle that Harrison Ford was going through in his own life with money. He was disappointed about the lack of opportunities afforded to him in Hollywood. I found it admirable that he was doing all he could to put food on the table, however he was playing a character that couldn't care less about the well being of others. Still, one characteristic that both Harrison Ford and his character Han Solo have is a need for money.   

There are three versions of a loner in this Star Wars film and they were explained very differently during class this week. Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Obi-Wan Kenobi are three heroes in their own right and are all loners, but with different classifications. Obi-Wan has been a hermit for years waiting for Luke to grow up. Luke, is a lonely orphan, and Han who is a smuggler, criminal and a loner, all by choice.
 The character typically representing a hero is Campbell’s’ eyes would be Luke Skywalker. He is a male who puts the needs of others before his own. According to Campbell, heroes seem to have a lowly station in life and usually have a secret origin that causes his status to rise. Heroes often are orphans that people have sympathy for and don’t seem to have a past that would have made them feel entitled and not care about others. They extend themselves for a cause that is larger than their own personal experience. These factors can be misunderstood as being a loner; Luke Skywalker is in a desert-like place and is living in a way that would be considered a loner type of life. Obi-Wan tells Luke that his father was a great man, and yet he is living with farmers.  Despite his lowly beginnings, he will soon risk his life for heroic ideals.

Han Solo is the second character that is a loner in his own right. He is a pilot, a guide and a navigator that can show others through the underworld. The first impression we get of Han Solo is inside a dank and dingy bar where alien creatures are killing each other in bar fights. Luke sees him as unreliable, but Obi-Wan says that they have to trust him. Han is a loner, who seems to only think of himself, yet he is special because he makes the choice to be like that. He chooses to be a smuggler, criminal, outlaw and loner. He has his sidekick, Chewbacca, who is a Wookie hero that always has Han's back and who communicates only with Han.

 The first step of the departure phase is when Obi-Wan wants Luke to help him and knows that there is a job to do. Obi-Wan is asking him to give up his everyday life for a larger cause and for an ideal that is far beyond what he is aware of. Essentially, Luke's task is to join and save the rebellion. Luke fears the unknown and does not want to go. Security of the known and insecurity of the unknown is one of his main issues. This is the scene of the refusal of the call. He tells Obi-Wan that he has responsibilities, even after he has been dying to get off of the planet of Tatooine. The belly of the whale is that period of time between the refusal of the call and this willingness to accept the call. Luke finds his Aunt and Uncle burned to death, so now he can’t go back and has to accept the call.

I find the scene when Obi-Wan is teaching Luke the force in the ship while Han Solo is watching and judging them to be a very interesting scene. I see Han not believe in and mock the force, and even though Luke has yet to trust the force, he will defend it. When the mask it put on, it is the first test of Luke’s selfless submission to learn what he needs to learn. Han says that is was just a coincidence, but Obi-Wan was very adamant that there is no such thing. I believe the force is a big part understanding the movie and this was a good scene to demonstrate how it is a central part of the Star Wars universe. The interactions between the three different heroes and their personalities reminds us that while Obi-Wan, Luke, and Han all stand for different types of heroes, they are brought together in this movie for a common cause.