Happel 1

Ian Happel

Professor Granillo

English 103

28 January 2019

The Deeper meaning within Star Wars

Star wars is a cult classic film saga that started in 1977 with the release of Star Wars

Episode IV: A New Hope. This film has been made iconic through a good story and a strong fan

base that still makes it relevant in pop culture over 40 years after it was released. Within the

story of A New Hope, there are many characters and events that can resonate well with all

audiences, especially children. Because of this, Star Wars can be seen as a franchise that sells

toys for children. However, by looking at Star Wars through a Semiotics and postcolonialism

analysis a more mature look on Star Wars can be seen. Many symbols can show how the cultural

colonization of the Galactic Empire oppresses the rest of the galaxy by destroying other cultures

and religious ideologies.

The Star Wars franchise has been largely seen as a consumerist franchise. The toys and

books and other products with the Star Wars name are proof of that. Many also see the movies as

just a way to sell toys to kids and collectors alike. According to Scott Meslow of The Week

magazine, “Kids who loved the movie could relive it through the toys; kids who played with the

toys were goosed for the next movie.” Kids who were able to get the toys could go through the

movie with the characters they had, and they could also make their own stories with the figures

they had as well. The toys of Star Wars also helps keep the franchise relevant even in the years

that there isn't any movies being made for the franchise.
 Happel 2

As it famously says at the beginning of the film, Star Wars takes place a long time ago in

a galaxy far far away. The opening crawl of the film tells the audience what exactly is going in

the upcoming story. (“A New Hope” 0:00:45-1:45) There is also the first mention of the Death

Star and what it’s capable of within the opening crawl. After the opening crawl, a small battle in

space can be seen with the smaller rebel ship trying to outrun the much larger Imperial vessel.

Inevitably the smaller ship is disabled and the plans for the Death Star are given off to two

droids, R2-D2 and C-3PO. They escape off the captured ship through an escape pod. After

landing on the desert planet of Tatooine, both droids split up. After coming back together in the

Jawa sandcrawler, both end up in the care of the story’s main protagonist, Luke Skywalker.

While looking at Luke’s typical home life, it can be seen that Luke doesn’t fit in with the life he

is currently living. After having R2-D2 run away from home and successfully finding R2-D2,

Luke finds himself in danger and runs into the old wizard Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke then finds out

his true lineage and obtains his father’s old lightsaber. The Lightsaber shows how Luke can

finally get off of Tatooine and start a new life. In order for this to be able to happen, Luke must

return home to find how the Empire really treats their subjects.

Although there are many signs within the story of Star Wars, one of the first to be seen

is when Luke receives his father’s lightsaber. The meaning of the lightsaber can tie into the study

of semiotics. Semiotics can be defined as, “the study of sign processes (semiosis), or

signification and communication, signs and symbols” (Hamel). Ferdinand de Saussure, a French

linguist and semiotician, stated that there are two parts to every sign. “The signifier is the object

that exists, and the signified is what it means” (Silverman & Rader 14). After being rescued by

Obi-wan, they head to Obi-Wan's home. While finishing fixing C-3PO, Obi-Wan tells Luke of

his true heritage and how his father was, “the best star pilot in the galaxy, and a cunning warrior”
 Happel 3

(“A New Hope” 0:32:59-33:04). Obi-Wan then points out how Luke is becoming a great pilot

already. Following this, Obi-Wan then gives Luke the lightsaber. When giving the lightsaber to

Luke, he describes what it is by stating, “this is the weapon of the Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or

random as a blaster. An elegant weapon for a more civilized age” (“A New Hope” 0:33:43-

33:54). The lightsaber here represents the signifier. What it signifies is Luke’s talisman and his

informal acceptance into the ways of a religious order that has mostly been exterminated across

the galaxy. It's in this scene where Luke finds out who he really can be because of his lineage.

It's not till later that he fully embraces his own destiny.

In Star Wars, there are not many nations as there are galaxy wide governments that rule

over multiple planets and systems. This means that many religious groups are known across the

galaxy as well. With that being said, at this point in the Star Wars galaxy the main power falls

within the Galactic Empire. Because most of the power is within the Galactic Empire, members

of the Empire are seen as the ruling class. Most of the time they are also seen as colonial

oppressors to other planets, cultures, and systems. In this sense, ruling members of the Empire

use a method of oppression known as cultural colonialism. Cultural colonialism is described as,

“the desire of wealthy nations to control other nations' values and perceptions through cultural

means, such as media, language, education and religion” (“CULTURAL COLONIALISM”).

One of the more famous religions within the Star Wars galaxy is the Jedi. In the Same scene

where Obi-Wan gives Luke his father’s lightsaber, he also talks about who the Jedi were before

the reign of the Empire. Obi-Wan states, “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” (“A New Hope” 0:33:56-34:08). Obi-Wan then goes on to state that Darth Vader helped

the Empire hunt down the Jedi Knights. This is an example of cultural colonialism that the
 Happel 4

Empire has put in place. The Empire has destroyed the ancient order of the Jedi in order to

maintain their terms of peace and control across the galaxy. This could be seen as another reason

why Luke would want to follow Obi-Wan and become a Jedi himself.

Another form of oppression that the Galactic Empire uses on some of the population

within the Star Wars galaxy is known as colonial ideology. Colonial ideology, otherwise known

as colonial discourse, can be described as exploring, “the ways that representations and modes of

perception are used as fundamental weapons of colonial power to keep colonized peoples

subservient to colonial rule” (McLeod). The main plot of the story is that R2-D2 has stolen plans

to the Death Star and he needs to get them back to the Rebels. When R2-D2 escaped to the

surface of Tatooine, an imperial detachment was sent down to retrieve the plans that were stolen.

When the Imperial troops find out that the plans are hidden within a droid, they go to great

lengths in order to find the droid with the plans. After the scene in Obi-Wan’s home, Luke, Obi-

Wan, C-3PO and R2-D2 come across a Jawa sandcrawler and all the Jawas have been killed.

Many of the clues pointed to the natives of Tatooine, the sandpeople, but Obi-Wan points out the

blast points to Luke and tells him that it was in fact imperial troopers that actually killed all the

Jawas. It’s at this point that a huge plot point takes place within the story. When Luke realized

that the troopers attacked the Jawas because they were in possession of the droids that Luke had,

Luke then realizes that the troopers would trace who the Jawas sold the droids to. This would

lead the troopers back to Luke’s home. After ignoring Obi-Wan’s wishes to not go, Luke speeds

back home only to arrive and see smoke coming out of all the structures. As Luke steps out of his

speeder he sees the charred remains of his aunt and uncle (“A New Hope” 0:39:05-40:53). Here

it is shown how the Empire embraces its colonial ideology by destroying or slaughtering anyone

or anything that doesn’t give them what they want. This is also an example of how the Empire
 Happel 5

instills fear into the galaxy. More importantly, this scene is big for Luke’s character development

because it shows him embracing his father’s legacy and following his destiny. As Luke states, “I

want to learn the ways of the force and become a Jedi like my father” (“A New Hope” 0:42:18-

42:21). This scene shows Luke accepting his destiny by wanting to become a Jedi like his father.

Another iconic symbol of Star Wars is the Death Star. The signifier of the Death star is

that its a massive space station that has the firepower which is capable of destroying an entire

planet. The signified of the Death Star is that it is the “Ultimate power in the Universe” (“A

New Hope” 0:38:04-38:08). For a more detailed explanation, the Death Star represents fear for

multiple people across the galaxy. Especially the people who want to rebel against the Empire.

During a meeting about the effectiveness of the Death Star, Grand Moff Tarkin explains, “Fear

will keep the local systems in line. Fear of this battle station” (“A New Hope” 0:37:28-37:44).

The Death Star is a massive technologically advanced space station that signifies fear that the

empire can use at any given moment. It's how the Death Star is used in order to keep the ruled

class oppressed.

Because of the fear that the Death Star brings to the galaxy, it is a great tool for the

Empire to use in order to embrace their colonial ideology. With having the power to destroy

entire planets, it makes it very hard for other systems to rebel against the Empire. Another major

plot point of the story is that Princess Leia is being held prisoner while also being interrogated,

so the Empire can find the secret rebel base. In one scene she is brought in front of Grand Moff

Tarkin as well as other Imperial commanders. In this scene, the Death Star is seen to be orbiting

Princess Leia’s home planet of Alderaan. When she sees that Tarkin will blow up her planet if

she doesn’t say where the rebel base is, the princess almost immediately gives in to Trakin’s

commands. However, Tarkin wants to make a demonstration of the firepower of the Death Star
 Happel 6

and the planet that the princess gave was too remote for a proper demonstration. Tarkin picked

Alderaan for a few reasons. The first one being that it was personal to the princess because it was

her home planet. Another reason was because Alderaan was a peaceful home in the galaxy. Most

of the people that lived there were artisans or politicians. It was like the small art capital of the

galaxy and it had been that way for thousands of years. Tarkin chose Alderaan because it would

send a message to the rest of the galaxy that no planet was safe from the power of the Empire

and the Death Star. Tarkin's goal in this demonstration was to truly install fear within the galaxy,

and give the Death Star its meaning and what it would mean to any planet, race or group in the

galaxy that would want to rebel against the Empire.

By taking a more detailed look at some of the different symbols within Star Wars,

different connections can be found within the film. This is what makes Star Wars truly special

and a unique film franchise. The argument can still be made the films are just made to sell toys to

children and collectors. However, by looking at Star Wars through both a postcolonial and

semiotic viewpoints, different and small details can be seen throughout the movie. This helps

draw the story together even more and gives ordinary scenes a much bigger meaning than just

trying to sell a toy that kids and collectors could buy.

 Happel 7

Works cited

“CULTURAL COLONIALISM.” SPECIFIC DETERRENCE Is Referred to as Individual

Deterrence., sociologyindex.com/cultural_colonialism.htm.

Hamel, Steven C. Semiotics : Theory and Applications. Nova Science Publishers, Inc,

2011. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=362398&site=ehost-live.

Lucas, George, director. Star Wars IV: a New Hope. Lucas Film Ltd, 2008.

McLeod, John. Beginning Postcolonialism. 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2013.

Meslow, Scott. “Star Wars Isn't a Movie Franchise. It's a Toy Franchise.” The Week - All You

Need to Know about Everything That Matters, The Week, 4 Sept. 2015,

theweek.com/articles/575363/star-wars-isnt-movie-franchise-toy-franchise

Silverman, Jonathan, and Dean Rader. The World Is a Text: Writing about Visual and Popular

Culture. Broadview Press, 2018.