A New Hope
In the movie Star Wars: A New Hope, Luke Skywalker can be seen as a hero, in how a hero is defined by Jason Campbell in Hero with a Thousand Faces. One stage of a hero's journey that is outlined by Campbell is The Initiation, the phase where the hero receives a series of tests to prove his character. In the case of Star Wars: A New Hope, Luke's initiation provides the beef of the movie.
Luke's initiation occurs when he finds himself trapped on the Imperial Death Star. Being a cast away on the empire's space station was a naturally large dilemma for Luke, but the complexity of his situation was heightened by the fact that he learns the princess, Leia, he was on a quest to help, is imprisoned aboard the station. Luke now must ask himself, does he focus on saving himself (a task that will require great effort, given his stunningly difficult situation), or does he chose to delegate some of his output into saving the princess as well? Doing so would not only require harder work on his part, but would also intensify the danger he is experiencing by being aboard the space station. In the given circumstance, Luke is able to save the princess and himself, and showcases his ability to extend himself into an endeavor that is beneficial for others. This is the first part of his initiation.
Luke's initiation is continued when he flies a fighter in the mission the rebellion launches to destroy the Death Star (which is simultaneously attempting to destroy the rebel base). During the battle scene, Luke is seen as showing no worry about the danger that develops as a result of his cunning actions. First, as a pilot, he faces large resistance from the imperials, and takes on heavy fire -- his fighter even gets hit. He shows no worry and keeps going, despite the copious and closely targeted attempts on his life. Furthermore, as he closes in on his target (the death star's weakness, which he's trying to hit with torpedos), he chooses to turn of his targeting computer because he believes the skills Ben taught him will work better. Choosing a certain skill set over one that was programmed into a computer is an audacious move, it caused some Panic on the ground; "Luke, you turned off your targeting computer, what's wrong," someone at the base said. But Luke shows that he not only had the ability to target the shot himself, he had the ability to judge the best course of action given his options. His strong actions in such a critical situation complete his initiation as a hero.
In this light we see Star Wars: A New Hope present itself as a rather relatable human tale. As actor Harrison Ford said, "'The Common mythology of the story would work for audiences. . .'" (Pfeiffer&Lewis 71). What does this make us think about Star Wars? Star Wars suggests that no matter how fictional the setting is, people will always run on some sort of common fundamentals. By this, we see that, no matter what strange settings the future develops for us, people will always be people. Star Wars shows us that the future is actually sort of regular.
-Andrew Wlos
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First of all, the picture you chose is a really cool poster that I did not see on my search for a picture. It captures Luke really well. The most interesting thing about your blog post was that you based your analysis on the Initiation phase. Most blogs were written about the Departure phase and it was interesting seeing a different view on the scene progression. I do not necessarily agree with you in your defense using the scene where Luke doesn’t use the navigation system to hit his target. I believe that to still be a part of the Departure phase. I think you made the Initiation stage into the first stage of the three. I don’t see how all of the Departure stage could fit before that fight scene.
The conflict that you refer to in the first paragraph, where Luke has to decide between saving himself and also saving princess Leia, lies within the Belly of the Whale stage of the Departure Phase. They are literally trapped in the death star trying to get out and while saving the princess get stuck in the garbage chute, which is even further in the belly of the death star. The rest of the scenes I do see as possibly being within the Initiation phase if you consider all the other stages within the Departure phase already completed.
This was a great read Andrew. The first paragraph is very interesting in that you contribute to saying that the Initiation phase was Luke being trapped in the Death Star. I personally disagree with that statement but like how you tried to make your point. I felt that this was the belly of the whale. Luke is cast into the literal belly of the Death Star, something that represents how he has been thrown into a totally new and dangerous environment. Remember that Luke was expecting to visit Alderaan and the Death Star was totally unexpected. Overall I do not agree with your points but i personally commend you on how well you emphasized your points. I really liked the picture you and your quote was very well picked. "'The Common mythology of the story would work for audiences. . .'" shows how the tale of Star Wars combined with Cambells' opinions could help any regular person to easily relate because they show how human any character can be.
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