In Star Wars: A New Hope male characters are used in similar ways to many other films. Luke Skywalker and Han Solo save Princess Leia and are the heroes of the film. This represents men to be strong and heroes. This is a typical representation of men and is often used in films today. Princess Leia is captured at the beginning of the film. This is used to relate to many women at the time of Star Wars: A New Hope. There was a universal feeling that women had at the time of Star Wars: A New Hope, this was that they were defenceless and vulnerable. Women were portrayed week and defensless in many films in the 1970’s, Star Wars: A New Hope stays with this traditional convention about women. If women stood up to
It is very interesting that no black people were cast in Star Wars: A New Hope. Many people said that this was racist of Lucas. It is possible that black people were represented through Darth Vader. However Lucas was not racist in this film because he chose white men to be some of the bad and evil characters in Star Wars: A New Hope. Lucas chose a famous white actor, Peter Cushing, to play one of the most evil characters in the film.
Star Wars: A New Hope was originally aimed at 10-12 year old boys. Nobody thought that it would be so popular. Star Wars: A New Hope is very simple and has a fairy tale approach to the story. Firstly, this is shown by the scroll at the beginning. The first sentence is “In a galaxy far far away”. This is a typical approach that is used in many fairy tales. Also the costumes are simple, black signifies bad and white signifies good. This also bears a similarity to fairy tales. The characters are also used to target 10-12 year old boys. This is done through Luke Skywalker, a 14 year old boy. Many younger boys will see him as a role model. They would want to be just like Luke Skywalker; a hero, strong and brave.
Despite the fairy tale approach to the story and the film being aimed at 10-12 year old boys, many people of different ages were attracted to the film. Not only was it a huge hit amongst males of all ages but they went to see it many times. Star Wars: A New Hope had a cross over audience; all types of age groups went to see it. This results in many people watching the film and therefore being very iconic.
When Star Wars: A New Hope was first released many people went to see it. The audience made the film very iconic, by having more viewers it became a bigger part of society. The two step flow theory explains how people came around to recognise or eventually see a film or media. The theory’s main idea is that an opinion leader had in the case of Star Wars: A New Hope seen the film. The opinion leader would then influence the individual in contact with the leader to watch the film. This would be through conversation and word of mouth. This theory happened with Star Wars: A New Hope, as more people came to watch it, it influenced others to watch the film. By many people seeing this film it made it the centre of attention. Every day after the film was released more and more people came around to seeing it or knowing about it. Eventually so many people saw or heard of it that it was a part of society at the time.
There are many ways that Star Wars: A New Hope can relate to the uses and gratification theory by Dennis McQuail. Young boys and teenagers would want to find models of behaviour through the character of Luke Skywalker. They would see that he is brave and courageous and want to be like him. This makes the film iconic as many young boys would remember the bravery that Luke Skywalker had in this film. Women would also seek models of behaviour, this is because women may have found life hard during the 1970’ s due to all of the protesting of women rights going on. Women may have been interested to see how Princess Leia acts in the story. The theory states that people may use media for social interaction, finding a basis for conversation, enabling to connect with family and friends and gaining a sense of belonging. This would have been some of the main reasons that people went to see Star Wars: A New Hope. They would have gone to see the film and then use it as a basis for conversation. If many people were to talk about the film then they would feel excluded if they have not seen it. By seeing the film they would gain a sense of belonging. This makes the film iconic as there would be a lot of conversation in it, it would not be just a film that people saw and then forgot about.
It is also possible to relate Propp’s character theory to Star Wars: A New Hope. The villain in the theory struggles against the hero and this could be Darth Vader; the Hero would be Luke Skywalker. The donor prepares the hero and gives him the power, this would be Obi Wan Kenobi. The preparation would be when Obi Wan Kenobi’s voice goes through Luke Skywalker’s head during the last fight. This then helps Luke Skywalker to take down the empire. The helper that helps the hero in the quest would be Han Solo. He kills the enemy just about as they were shooting at Luke Skywalker and then makes Darth Vader spiral out of control. The princess usually ends up marrying the hero according to the theory. This does not happen in Star Wars: A New Hope, however the princess character would be Princess Leia according to the theory. Luke Skywalker and Han Solo rescue Princess Leia.
Many of the conventions of Star Wars: A New Hope are what we expect. There are also many new ideas and conventions in the film. The opening scene of the film uses space ships and lasers. This is something that is typically used in many sci-fi films. There is then a battle in the space ship with laser guns, another convention of sci-fi films. However Star Wars: A New Hope often drifts from the convention of sci-fi films. One way that the film does this is the use of women in the film. Princess Leia uses a gun in the film. This does not agree with the stereotype of women at the time, women were thought to be weak and vulnerable. Also by princess Leia taking the gun from Luke Skywalker this shows a male to be weaker than a female in this case. Men were often thought to be physically stronger and better at fighting than women. This would not have been an expected convention in the film. Despite this Lucas changed the convention that women were weak. This may have helped the film to be so iconic as many remember that Princess Leia took the gun from a male character. This may also be an influence to many women at the time, this may have shown them to stand up for themselves, despite the mixed pinions about them and their rights. Princess Leia’s character may have attracted many women to see the film as she was a role model to them throughout the 1970’s.
A typical setting for a sci-fi film would be in space and in a space ship. This is where most of the film is based and Lucas has stuck to the convention of setting. At the beginning of the film the scroll reads “In a galaxy far far away”. This sets the scene to a place that the audience do not recognise. The audience would automatically associate this with space, a typical convention of sci-fi films. Most of the setting in Star Wars: A New Hope are those of a typical sci-fi film; in space, on a space ship and strange far away planets. However there are settings in Star Wars: A New Hope that are not those of a typical sci-fi film. This is shown when R2D2 and C-3PO are forced to escape the space ship. They then land on a planet that is similar to a desert, called Tatooine. A desert setting is not a typical setting for sci-fi films. The audience can then recognise this setting and can relate to it, they will know that R2D2 and C-3PO could be lost for a long time.
Star Wars: A New Hope has a simple linear narrative that starts with the capture of Princess Leia and ends with Luke Skywalker and Han Solo being congratulated for their accomplishment. Star Wars: A New Hope uses a multi strand narrative, this is when the story is shown through many different points of view. This is used when C-3PO and R2D2 are in the desert. Also when Princess Leia is held captive in the Death Star. This is very useful as the audience are able to switch between places in the movie without having to follow the characters.
In Star Wars: A New Hope costumes are used to portray the characters. Black is often used to signify evil and crime, Darth Vader wears a full black costume, showing that he is evil. White signifies purity, innocence and the good side; Princess Leia is wearing all white, showing that she is innocent and pure. Luke Skywalker also wears white, showing the audience that he is good. This is because white is commonly worn on religious figures such as angels and Gods. John Mollo takes the use of simple colours and uses them to portray characters. John Mollo uses both black and white on Han Solo. This is as Han Solo is the rogue in the film; the costume does not show whether he is a good or bad character. This creates a lot of suspense in the film; the audience want to know if Han Solo will return to help Luke Skywalker and princess Leia. The costumes in Star Wars: A New Hope are very simple, this is mainly down to the audience that the film is aimed at. The costumes reflect Star Wars: A New Hope’s fairy tale and simple approach to the film.
Star Wars: A New Hope was very iconic because of the sounds used. The sound of the lightsaber is instantly recognisable and very famous. Ben Burtt made the lightsaber sound. The lightsaber sounds is a mix of two different sounds. The first sound was recorded by a projector humming sound as it was idle and making no movement. This sound was not enough, as it had to be a changing in pitch sound. The second sound was discovered by accident, as he walked past a television with a microphone in his hand he heard a sound. He then experimented to make the sound. Together the lightsaber sound was produced, however it was not complete yet, Ben Burtt then held a microphone to the sound and moved it like a sword, this gave the change in pitch when the lightsaber is swung. The lightsaber sound is very iconic and very famous.
Star Wars: A New Hope pays homage through its props. It does this with the use of a lightsabers. The lightsaber bears a resemblance to swords that would have been used many years ago in wars. As the lightsaber is similar to a sword it could be used to strength and power. There is a scroll of text at the beginning of Star Wars: A New Hope. This explains the plotline of the story. A similar scroll was used in the Flash Gordon series that Lucas would have seen when he was younger. Lucas decided to put this scroll to pay homage to the Flash Gordon series. It turned out that many of the people watching Star Wars: A New Hope were of a similar age to Lucas at the time. This meant that many people could relate to the scroll of text and would have seen it when they were young. This made the film iconic as they would remember the scroll and it would stand out. This would then make the film very memorable and unique.
Lucas has also paid homage through its characters and costumes. C-3PO is similar to the robot in Metropolis. Lucas has taken the human like structure for a robot and used it. When Metropolis was made there was no colour filming, therefore the robot in Metropolis did not have a colour. Lucas decided to make the robot gold. This signifies that C-3PO is very important.
Star Wars: A New Hope is a very recognisable film. It has been used for the centre of parody many times, particularly in The Simpsons. This has happened many times such as C-3PO’s head flying past the screen. The parts that have most been parodied are the most iconic ones, such as the text “Mars” written in the Star Wars: A New Hope logo font. Also “use the forks” replacing Star Wars: A New Hope famous line “use the force”. By this type of parody it makes Star Wars a lot more recognisable and iconic. It also introduces the Star Wars series to a whole new generation. This is because Star Wars was aimed at 10-12 year old boys in 1977. The Simpsons is aimed at the same age group, but these boys may not have seen Star Wars yet.
Star Wars: A New Hope was a film that caused a huge change in the way that films were seen. John Dykstra was in charge of the special effects team, Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). This was one of the main reasons why Star Wars: A New Hope became so iconic; its special effects were ahead of its time. When Star Wars: A New Hope was first released in 1977 nobody had ever seen these types of effects. Dykstra and his team had to develop a way to make lifelike animations and film them. In the 1970’s there were no computers designed for animations. Therefore they had to build them for Star Wars: A New Hope. Dykstra created a computer controlled camera that moved around the models of space ships in patterns. The patters were replicated to build up the shots out of layers. A blue screen was then used to insert a background with stars or lasers. The animations were new and everybody was amazed by it. However, they were not perfect; it is possible to see a black line around the spaceships, but this is not very visible. Dykstra first made this system and has been updated for current films. Better and newer technology is now used and blue screen idea has been updated to a green screen. What Dykstra and his team made for Star Wars: A New Hope affected films today.
Star Wars: A New Hope opens with the scroll paying homage to the Flash Gordon series. The camera then slowly tilts down revealing a small planet. The camera continues to slowly tilt, building a lot of tension, as the audience want to see more. Another planet is revealed and then a third big planet is shown. A ship then appears soon after and it is the Imperial Star Destroyer. This is then a low angle shot of the of the Imperial Star Destroyer, this shows how big it is and makes it look intimidating. This shot is useful as it shows that the ship is very big, it also shows that the Imperial Star Destroyer is shooting lasers at the other ship. We then see the door being broken and there is a slight delay before the door is broken and the stormtrooper enter. Darth Vader then walks in and we see him for the first time. There is a low angle shot of Darth Vader, this shows that he is very tall and makes him strong. Darth Vader also looks very intimidating because of this low angle shot.
When Luke Skywalker has to rescue Princess Leia they have to cross over a bridge that has no centre piece. Lucas uses a high angle shot to show that the bridge is very high up and that there is a huge drop below them. This shows the dangers that Luke Skywalker faces; this shows that he is brave and courageous. Lucas then uses a medium shot to show Luke Skywalker swinging from one side to another.
In the final battle of Star Wars: A New Hope Luke Skywalker drives a X-Wing ship to try and stop the Death Star destroying any more planets. Lucas uses a camera angle that is on the front of one of the X-Wings; this makes the audience feel as if they are there in the X-Wing. This make the audience more engaged with the film and introduces a sense of realism of the events taking place. Lucas also uses many medium shots to show the ships fighting and shooting each other. This makes the audience aware of the location of the ships and what is going on. A close up shot is used to show the fear of the people driving the X-Wings. This shot makes the audience realise that there is a lot of fear for the people driving the X-Wing and that they might die. A close up shot is also used to show the relief that Luke Skywalker has when Han Solo saves him from being killed and sends Darth Vader spiralling away. The fighting takes place in trench like holes. This could pay homage to the world war soldiers; the characters show that the world war soldiers were brave and courageous.
In conclusion, Star Wars: A New Hope is a very iconic film. It is immediately recognisable throughout the whole world and has changed many films today. It could have also helped women get the equal rights in the 1970’s; therefore it could have changed the way that we know the world today. It was so iconic due to the amount of people that went to see it and the special effects that were ahead of its time. It was down to Lucas, Dykstra and the audience that went to see Star Wars: A New Hope that made it so iconic.