The idea of science fiction, coupled with space travel and alien life, remains an ever-popular hit with the general public. With hundreds of action-packed blockbusters created over the last century, society has maintained a long affair with films about life, love, and adventure outside of this Earth. Perhaps one of the greatest and most well-regarded examples of this idea can be seen through the hit movie, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. This revolutionary space opera opened up an entirely new universe in front of our eyes, and brought about a new wave of science fiction to pop culture.
1977 North American theatrical poster of Star Wars: Episode IV
The story of Episode IV is centered around the constant war between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance. In the beginning, the movie focuses on the journey of a simple man by the name of Luke Skywalker, who then goes on an intergalactic mission after his aunt and uncle are killed by the Empire. Skywalker meets many allies along the way, and eventually joins the Rebel Alliance in order to destroy the Death Star, a huge space station belonging to the Empire. After overcoming various obstacles, Luke eventually destroys the Death Star, and saves the day.
Darth Vader, the lead antagonist of the original Star Wars trilogy, is not too happy
While the special effects were impressive, even by today’s standards, the science behind it all seemed out of this world; maybe that was the point. But with our current scientific discoveries, we are light years away from harnessing the power of tractor beams, hyper-drives, light-sabers, and laser pistols. Also, the ability to harness the force and use it choke other people seemed like a scientific inaccuracy. But then again, this story took place in an entirely different universe, maybe even a different dimension, so the details aren’t too important.
Even the droids maintain humanistic qualities
An interesting theme in this movie is that humans seem to be the ones dominating the galaxy, even with countless other species inhabiting the same universe. The Empire appears to be mostly human, and so does the Rebel Alliance. Except for the occasional hero or antagonist, alien races seem to mostly sit on the sidelines, appearing submissive. At least, this seems to be the case in Episode IV. But this theme is not exclusive to the Star Wars universe; it has also infiltrated many other sci-fi films, such as the Star Trek and Men in Black. In these movies, the humans are always the heroes, saving the galaxy from some terrible alien race. It seems to be a reflection of past and current ideologies, signifying the idea of supremacy of the human race as a species. In society, humanity tends to view itself as sort of the top of the evolutionary chain, leading the way in knowledge and understanding, much more-so than any simple alien race ever could. What this could convey about the mindset of humans on a psychological level?
Image sources:
http://www.icollector.com/Star-Wars-Episode-IV-A-New-Hope-original-U-S-six-sheet-poster_i10658412
http://www.lazygamer.net/general-news/star-wars-battlefront-3-was-99-done-before-it-canned/
http://www.78p.tv/friday-funnies-6-nerdy-memes/
