I am so excited! This year, for my resolution project, I’m rewatching the Star Wars franchise. I chose it because I love Star Wars, and I thought it would be fun to re-watch the movies in order of release date, with perhaps a bit more of a critical and appreciative eye than I have before.
First up: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
The Premise:
Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire’s world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.
Ugh. That’s the summary from imdb.com. It’s mostly right, except for the rescuing Princess Leia part. They try to rescue her, sure, but really she rescues herself. But I get ahead of myself. Let me back up.
When I announced this rewatch as my resolution project, I said that I was a Star Wars kid. I saw this movie when it first came out. It was pure magic. There were space ships and lightsabers, and land speeders, and robots! R2D2 was hands-down my favorite. Princess Leia was one of the boys. I didn’t always appreciate her. Probably because one of the most memorable and re-played memories was her hologram saying “Help us, Obi-Wan. You’re our only hope.” I bought into the post-movie myth that she was a helpless princess, much like the imdb synopsis suggests.
As I got a bit older, not much, probably as a tween or early teen, I knew that Princess Leia was so much more than one of the boys. She was the leader of the rebellion. She wasn’t asking Obi-Wan to rescue her. She was asking him to take the plans to the rebellion so they could destroy the Death Star and fight the Empire.
With the release of the newer Star Wars movies like The Force Awakens,and Rogue One, there has been a lot of discussion online about the faulty feminism of Princess Leia in the Star Wars universe. I intended to come at this movie with a more grown-up, critical eye. Maybe that criticism of Princess Leia was right.
My brother had this poster up in our basement. Luke is so dreamy!
I couldn’t do it. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot to criticize about this movie, but I’m not going to do it. There is enough of it out there. Star Wars fandom is very vocal in its criticism of the franchise. I’m not going to add my voice to it.
Instead, I want to cherish the magic that is Star Wars. It was revolutionary in its special effects. My brother and I watched documentaries on how they made the sound effects inspiring us one day to run around with a tape recorder telling our own story and adding our own sound effects of a guillotine (sliding mirror door), and shattering glass (I don’t remember). There are fancy laser guns and laser swords! Swords! Made out of lasers! And aliens! And of course, there is the adorable Luke Skywalker!
in conclusion: As I re-watched A New Hope with this blog in mind, it was a chance for me to purposely re-live my childhood joy. So let’s go on this magical ride together. Share with me what you love about Star Wars: A New Hope. I will always, always, cherish Princess Leia’s strength and leadership. She will always be the true hero of the story.
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