Star Wars IV | The Symbolism of Star Wars
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- Опубликовано: 27 авг 2024
- This videoessay provides analysis of Star Wars episode 4 A New Hope. Looking at the symbolism, themes, and deeper meaning of the story. George Lucas has crafted a film with mythic qualities that are worthy of analysis.
My Little Thought Tree is my channel for drawing out the deeper meaning and emotion in film, TV, and the world at large through relaxed, analytical video essays. I am a professional counsellor and often draw on my psychology and therapy background to better understand characters, themes, and emotion in fiction. I upload every Saturday and occasionally on Tuesdays, if I'm feeling productive.
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Is 3000 likes a lot, too little? I guess it always depends on how many views this video actually gets. Eitherway, let me know if you want more of this. I feel like this one was a little rushed due to a busy week, and there’s more I could definitely have said. Also I promise I’ll get round to both the 2nd Batman video, and the Claire video soon.
Patreon link - www.patreon.com/mylittlethoughttree
just loaded up youtube and I'm glad I did! Love your work
My personal opinion: don't pander to likes or dislikes. We found you because you made content we were interested in. Just keep making the content that you're going to make and let people watch and enjoy. I'd personally love to see more Star Wars stuff, but if you suddenly jumped over to Star Trek, I wouldn't bat an eye. Just please don't start reviewing Fast and Furious movies.
Whether or not it's too much or too little, I'll like it regardless. I'd love to see more
Aiming for a likes goal seems kind of forced and silly. Make it if you WANT to make it, you don't need to ask for permission from 3000 people; if it's something you have things to say about it will be good.
Dude I was on a random star wars deep dive and thought you should make some videos on the series lol
Star Wars (Episode iv) is the Arthurian Legends set in space. Loved every second of it as a kid. Still do. It's the best of the series for me.
Same here.
Please do more videos on the Star Wars trilogies; we need more chill SW videos
If you want to see a lived-in, more personalized spaceship, I recommend Firefly if you haven't already seen it
And Cowboy Bebop
I’m a massive Star Wars fan and loved this, you pick up on so many things that I think I felt when I watched it for the first time (when I was 11 in 1977!) but I probably only got them subconsciously. Hope you get the 3000 likes and do another instalment
I was 11, too!
@@coyote4237 me too!!
I love how the Force and force users are represented, in the original trilogy more broadly but specifically in episode 4. It's slightly bizarre in the full canon of Star Wars (like everybody suddenly thinks that the Force is a myth despite the fact the Jedi were a pillar of the government like 30 years before, it would be like everybody today going "Margaret Thatcher? I thought she was a myth!") but purely within these films, it's a really cool idea.
Jedi were about one in ten trillion. On Coruscant they were probably not considered mythical yet, but outside of the politically significant worlds they were probably mythic figures even before the Fall.
Tricks of an obscure, monastical, branch of institutionalized power is easy to overcome on publical talks. It's less about publical faces and more of ontological beliefs.
The "evil force users" are also treated as such: they claim more than they show, and they are way to scarce to be seem on daily life.
Moreover, they had democracy of kingdoms and other corporations, not one of humans. Even communicational artifacts were scarce: no industry, do remember. Machines making machines were sacrilege that led to machines making humans that led to revolution, from mysticism of "selection and repetition" to a mysticism of "entrepeneurship and control". Mixing up their history and ours is a common mistake.
That's how propaganda machines work. Look at the Soviet Union and China. Most of the USSR members were once part of the Greek Orthodox Church and within years they'd convinced most of their populace that God didn't exist. China followed Buddhism mainly until the Chinese Communists took over and how long did it take them to convince most people that religion was bunk? Heck since WW2 most of the world has given up on believing in "hokey religions" and most of us haven't been put through a concerted propaganda effort to convince us of that. Our religions were extremely well known and now they are almost forgotten. The Jedi Order was fairly well known during it's time but most people never saw one, nor had more than tales of them since they didn't build churches in every neighborhood in every city to teach their theology and philosophy.
@@WickedPrince3D I'm sorry are you saying that in the Soviet Union most people didn't think that the Russian Orthodox Church was real?
@@kapitankapital6580 I know that there are still some devoted just as I know that here in the US I have close friends who are still devoted Christians; but how religious is MOST of the former member states of the USSR? I'm not saying they didn't believe the church was real because the government took over many of the beautiful churches for government offices but how many Soviets continued to believe in God?
I also love this video because it focuses on the symbolism of Star Wars rather than the lore and it isolates the core story and feeling that made the series so popular.
If the Death Star reminds you of the Eye of Sauron, that's because they're both based on the myth of the dark magic of the eye of Lord Balar in the Irish myth of Lugh and the Danáan.
You always do an amazing job on all of your videos. One concept you touched on briefly but I think could be expanded upon is Vader’s suit is not just armor, it represents a physical and mental prison for him. Of course this is detailed out more in episode 3. His inner conflict and anger, like his suit, keeps him alive while holding him back at the same time from any progression.
There seems to be a lot of talk about the loss of recognition about the Jedi in the two decades from Episode 3 and 4. I think this was supposed to be intentional on the part of the Empire.
I was born in 1961 in a small suburban city/town in North Eastern Massachusetts.
When I was a kid most families in my home town attended a church, if not weekly then at least a few times per year. My home town of about 17,000 people had five (5) Catholic Churches, four (4) different Protestant Denomination Churches, and one town over was a Jewish Temple. Most children attended a Sunday School (or Hebrew school, depending) to be given an education in their individual faiths. By the time I was in my 20's, when my peers were having children (I have no kids of my own) very few families were attending church services regularly, and the attendance for Sunday School was about 20% of what it had been twenty years before.
Most clergy were once held in high regard as professionals within their communities, they held a social status about equal to Doctors, or Lawyers, or prominent business owners. Now priests are often vilified, and a clerical collar means little to most people; And that's without a concerted effort on the part of a massive government agency intentionally trying to rid the culture of them as happened in the USSR and China (and the Empire).
Supposedly(/assumedly) The Emperor, as a Sith Lord, and as the Prime Instigator of the Jedi(s) Fall and Eradication, made a concerted effort to eliminate the Jedi from people's hearts and minds, even in people's thoughts, replacing thoughts of it rather than as something to regard highly, to it being a _Hokey Religion_ to be disregarded and discarded.
I'm not claiming that the loss of our cultural regard for religion and faith is/was intentional (although there is an argument that could be made) but it is well known that a Public Relation and Propaganda effort can do such things. Otherwise, Germany in the 30's and 40's would never had a Nazi Party large enough to fill out a soccer league roster, let alone form one of the world's biggest armies of the time.
I feel tempted to make 3,000 throw-away accounts to help this video succeed.
Either way, I love 'Star Wars' 3,000!
The symbolism in Star Wars is so huge that one could make a series of videos just of the 6 George Lucas films alone and each video could possibly all be over an hour long. A New Hope is my favorite film of the franchise and my favorite film of all time. The story and characters are classic and watching it always makes me really immersed into the universe that George Lucas and company created to make the film be as great as it is.
As someone who loves studying mythology and has never seen Star Wars, thanks for the video I plan on watching and incorporating the setting of Star Wars into my own screenplay which I’ve just decided I’m going to give a go.
14:40 -- RE: Vader as a Mindless empty being without a heart; Vader is also the character who criticizes the Imperial Officers for their faith in the "technological terror [they] have constructed". He is himself just such a construction, at the hands of the Emperor himself, and that is the nature of the power that the Emperor holds over him. This becomes even more evident in ESB, when we catch glimpses of the other ways in which Vader can be rid of the "armor".
This might be my favorite video on Star Wars and explains why I love this film so much. Excellent work and very insightful ❤
Oh thanks! I remember at the time I made this, it didn't get much interest at all, so it's good to hear
Thanks for this --- genuinely smart and insightful and nicely illustrated/edited by the specific selections of moments and shots from the film. Well done all around.
Great video man, keep it up!💪🏼
As a huge Star Wars fan, I always appreciate a deep dive into the series. Loved it 🙏🏼
It's interesting that you say "obvio sentience" when talking about the droids because while they do have something that resembles human emotions, George is on record as saying that droids have absolutely ZERO sentience. They're machines and they are highly advanced so we can grow attachment and they can seem to have their own emotions but there is no actual center for that, they're technology.
good video,
Before I dip in. If you get t e time I would recommend the Star Wars Radio play which often gets overlooked. it contains a lot of the extras that were cut from the film including Luke running beggars canyon, and Biggs Darkglider and Also The Princess getting the plans. but also some short scenes with characters motivations, oh and the Princess being interrogated by Vader.
the interesting thing people miss at times is geometry the way shapes interplay with the colour schemes the death star falls a bit into this catagory its shape and size and power and colour pallet reflects Darth Vaders (Exosuit/ life support machine) which is another paralell both are life support machines for those inside. the shapes of the corridor the bleakness the empire is a stark oppressive regime naziesque the lack of clutter is partly because the Death star is new and strictly military, same with the tantiny IV which is a blockade runner its a military vessel with an ambassador on board, i daresay there are more cluttered areas like bedrooms and waste disposal. the contrasing symbolism is the cantina the planets the farms (dirty spaceships became a thing with film Alien). Also the non Aliens in the empire look like they are more in squallar as a contrast to the race purity of the empire.
The hidden fortress which was a big influence is brought through the eyes of slaves "retainers" and the Droids are basically slaves which the symbolism you have indicated buy into, no real voice being traded ignored treated as baggage except Luke interestingly who is almost an emancipator which is almost his overall role in the films. the interesting thing about C3 PO is he doesnt actually lie in fact he tells the extreme truth, there is some emotion expressed but only between each other "its seems we were made to suffer, it our lot in life". all the droids (with a few exceptions) are just passed between owners and are pretty impotent. C3PO is based a lot on the Butler and the robot from Metropolis.
The other reason Luke is not to starry eyed is he is an orphan, there is a lot of build to this in the bits that were cut out of the film. The force i think at one point was the Idea of Buddhism of enlightenment versus the mara, interestingly Jedis are able to lie and manipulate and kill without that being against their beliefs.
Lucas had a lot more restrictions on episode IV which really helped Episode V was co written with Lucas and he didnt direct which helped that film.
Damn I'm all the way in on this one...
yay, Star Wars!
Yes please?! I’d love to see more from the star wars series. Your analysis is great! 😊
This is fantastic 👍🏻
Defo keen for ALL episodes!
The underlying appeal of the original trilogy is as a recreation of the American myth of World War 2. To them the War was a great adventure that made men out of boys and made the country the leader of western society. It was very different for the rest of the world.
It makes a lot of sense that the movies became such a pillar of their culture since it contrasts the international standing of the U.S. post Vietnam War.
Especially since it was criticizing the Vietnam war
@@slimkickens how so?
@@davidsantos1299 Lucas has deliberately said that the Empire was the American Empire and the rebellion was the Viet Cong. It isn't a feel good story about a mythologized past, it's a cautionary myth about the road that we continue to go down
@@slimkickens in Return of the Jedi, Lucas took the narrative of a less armed unit using their advantageous knowledge of the enviroment vs an invading force, but he never referenced Vietnam before that. And if he had thought about it (or knew about it) the same also applied to WW2 with the soviets in the snow,, and the japanese in their islands.
@@davidsantos1299 look up his interview with James Cameron, he is very deliberate.
I thoroughly enjoyed this. Please make more
Thanks!
Great thanks!
This is great work
I'm back! And I have some catching up to do. Great video as always, I've watched these movies countless times but you provided ways of looking at it that I hadn't thought of and new insights into the concept of balance. Thank you.
Ahh nice to see your name cropping up again, welcome back! ☺️
5:53 -- RE: R2D2's characteristic tonality of speech; at this juncture, I would highly recommend watching Kurosawa's "Hidden Fortress" and paying special attention *not* to the subtitles of the two mismatched peasant farmers, but only to the tonality and pitching that their native language gives them. R2D2 is patterned on the shorter Matashichi, and it is perhaps easiest to see when the two peasants figure out who Makabe Rokoruta is.
Timecode for the film around the 31 minute mark, and it's very obvious for well over 2 minutes on screen.
The key trait is the deliberate choice to making the empires firepower green while the rebels is red.
This is confusing until Vaders weapons Red and lukes fathers the Jedi was blue
It gets even stranger as the light sabers of masters in the Jedi council were green
Then you have the answer.
The rationalism and progress of the empire is represented in american values with capital as our ruler
As opposed to terrorist we face are often led by dogmatic religious belief. Based on lost knowledge and dead languages which makes them impossible to understand.
The Viet-cong with their guerilla warfare vs the industrial millitary complex.
Luke starts and ends this movie being lost
If you take the last scene
After being meaningful saving the galaxy he is still staring at the horizon
Wouldn’t have expected there’s much for a counsellor to examine in Star Wars but interested to watch
Do you think it would be accurate that the Death Star, or more specifically, the empire as a totality and the “Eye of Sauron,” represents Lacan’s “Big Other?”
Are you familiar with Jonathan Pageau? He has an entire channel about symbolism and has done a ton of symbolic analyses of movies. Anyway, love this sort of content nice to see you moving into this territory.
I love Star Wars and very happy to watch any and all videos you make on it. :) Loved what you said about the colors in this movie. It is a fun movie to watch, too, and I always forget how beautiful the visuals are in it. I laughed a bit when you said R2D2 doesn't have any language because somewhere over the 40+ years since this movie came out, I saw a skit about someone building a universal translator (or swiping one from Star Trek, maybe) and translating what R2 says, and the joke was we find out he actually talks normally but is bleeped out in the movies because he cusses like a sailor. Lol. Anyway, you saying that reminded me of that joke. :)
PS - If you ever want to do a video on daddy issues, sure Luke has some! But also I just finished watching Lucifer on Netflix, and that character has the biggest daddy issues of any character I've ever watched, Luke included. Lol. Why do all characters, male or female, who have daddy issues also have sexual issues? Lucifer sleeps with everyone, and Luke sleeps with no one at all. Just a random thought here. :)
Hey. Love the channel. As I was watching this video, it struck me (on the topic of 'Droids) that your insight in reviewing *_Ex Machina_* would be quite interesting...
10:08 Check out Wallce and Gromit A Grand Day Out
I think the proper contrast is not organized religion vs unorganized, but official vs popular.
I was just watching some of your older videos
love ur channel btw :')
Would you ever consider doing some kind of intro to therapy, I’m considering a career in psychology but I’m really not sure what the actual work looks Iike, only what it looks like in movies. Maybe you could talk about things you wish you knew about before you started your career. Anyways, great video!
I first watched this film for the first time as a teenager when I was maybe 15 with my best friend at the time. It may be mainstream but I loved it and I really felt like it helped me during a particular difficult adolescents. Plus the soundtrack is top tier which I also appreciate. Thanks for covering this!
About to nod off. This will help me wind down. Thanks!
My voice is said to often send people to sleep 😂
14:24 I think it's a gimpsuit
19:37 so like avatar in the way that fire bending and lightning bending is
Wow this is great. I really hope you do the rest of the movies. Could watch this all day
love u bro
1:00 -- RE: Connections to the Moon; there's a more obvious symbol that you've skipped over which has very few visual representations in the West. That's the Yin Yang, and to fill out the gaps, let's finish the word symbol pairing for Fear... Awe. Something which is truly fearful can be considered Awful. The Empire shows only one face of the symbol in the Death Star, and propagandizes on the Fear by showing the crescent of the dish which forms the super-weapon within the "day side" of the presentation of the station on screen.
Thanks so much for this video. ✌️ I do hope you get more than 3000 likes so you'll continue this series! 🌌 I also love that you appreciate Aurora. I love her, too!!! 💜
so if i like this i might have to wait longer for Katie's story?
Could you do a character analysis of Anakin?
More please.😁
Kurosawa's Hidden fortress + Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey = Star Wsrs
Wsrs?
I love your channel. Same as you i wanted to be a writer and im still sort off trying. I finished mgr. in ethics but as a job i ended up as a prisson guard 😂 Bit like making poet in to soldier. Not pleasant, not easy. But you get to do what you want and being sucessfull doing it. That is inspiring. Pardon my east european english. I wish for you to get big but hope you wont loose your self in time. Its a joy watching your vids. And i always can get something either emotional or a bit of wisdom from them. This reminds me, i need to put some work in mine hobby too. Tho, being writer in my country is useless. My colegue writes novels for about 2000e per book. Its not nothing, but hardly enough to live on. Maybe a bonus pocket monney 😂
I'm guessing that being a prison guard would give you LOTS of character and story ideas.
@@willburke5843 Well i did write a few short stories about it. But i do my job just for the pay as many people do, and im pretty well of in that way. As far as job it self, it sucks. My colegues are your usual fat lazy cops from tv or young steroid users with agression problems. They can be far worse than inmates at times. Convicts either respect you and you are fine. Or they dont and you strugle. Imagine trying to stop someone from eating shit just to get reply: "Int is my shit, i can do with it whatever i like."
Who won the Star Wars? I haven’t watched the video yet.
[22:20] Luke's character is getting criticized very similar to how people criticized Hayden C as Anakin... and people NEVER look to realize George specifically said THEY ARE EXACTLY WHAT HE WANTED!! Lucas TOLD HAYDEN TO ACT THE WAY HE DID!!! And yet, so-called fans want to CRITICIZE the GENIUS STORYTELLER with their own UNQUALIFIED UNINVITED OPINIONS.
I feel like your use of symbols misses a lot of the symbolism of film itself - very notably is the somewhat confusing symbolism of the award ceremony, which draws very clearly on the Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will.
6th comment ... calling it