Eric Wnorowski

Professor Schultz

MEDS 184: Star Wars

11 December 2019

Rebellion: A literary and historical analysis of Star Wars

The prolific science fiction story  Star Wars recounts the history of an ancient galaxy with features similar to the current world history. The Rebellion of Star Wars is remarkably relevant in both historical and literary studies. Due to the complexity of Star Wars, the story can be categorized under many different genres. This essay will show the Star Wars rebellion contains similar themes to gothic literature. Gothic literature began at the same time as the colonial revolutions. The creator of Star Wars, George Lucas, portrays the Rebellion in a manner historically similar to the revolutions during the late eighteenth century. The infamous story of a galaxy long ago has established a storyline that inspires authors in their own literature. This can be seen through the analysis of the novel series Red Rising. The Rebellion in this story is also historically accurate and contains similar gothic themes as Star Wars. The Star Wars Rebellion is a gothic representation of historical colonial revolutions, this approach has since been used in modern literature.

Historically, the rise of gothic literature coincides with the late eighteenth century revolutionary time period. This pairing by Lucas creates a flowing theme throughout the series. Gothic literature is meant to instill emotions of terror, anxiety, and disgust. The literature emerged in the middle of the eighteenth century during the period of enlightenment (Botting 2-6). Similarly to gothic texts, Star Wars will also include death, loss, and destructive rage. Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View is a collection of short stories by various authors that gives a voice to characters often overlooked in the Star Wars galaxy. One of the stories “The Angle” describes Lando Calrissian, a character not directly featured in the film, opinion on the Rebellion. After seeing his old Millenium Falcon, captained by Han Solo, taking down TIE fighters moments before the Death Star explodes, Lando is taken by surprise. Lando equivocates working with the rebellion to making your own death sentence. His view is similar to many across the galaxy (Soule 445). Even after the destruction of the Death Star the Rebellion is seen as a radical group attempting to fight the system. Lando does not give the Rebellion much respect as actual opposition to the Empire. Lando’s view is pessimistic, a feature of the gothic galaxy. Hope for a new order is bleak, and the passage makes readers think the Rebellion is deemed to lose. In the image right, the Imperial fleet is chasing down the few remaining in the Resistance during The Last Jedi (Lucas 27:25). Although this screenshot is not from the original trilogy, the seemingly impending doom leaves both viewers and those in the galaxy in fear. If the Rebellion is failing, then people across the galaxy looking to be freed from Galactic rule will remain chained by the oppressive rule. Naturally, this leaves people to be anxious or afraid. Evil, in the form of the Empire, seems to be forever ingrained in the galaxy. For example, the poster to the left is Empire propaganda. Emperor Palpatine is dismissing the heroic actions of the Rebellion and reinforcing Galactic rule by threatening citizens. The two red dots behind Palpatine seem to introduce an idea George Orwell used in his novel 1984. The “Big Brother” of the Empire will always be watching, it does not matter who holds the throne their oppressive rule is never-ending. Therefore, Lucas uses this looming evil to create a gothic galaxy. He takes the very basic gothic principle of an eerie setting, usually a haunted castle, and creates an entire galaxy that radiates hopelessness. This powerful tool creates suspense and elevates the need for Rebellion’s success. George Lucas purposefully develops the Rebellion in a gothic manner because of historical relevance. When a nation-state undergoes a revolutionary war, people are often afraid and left hoping for a brighter future. Therefore, Lucas wishes to relate to readers/viewers and create a multi-dimensional theme that will follow the Rebellion and its portrayal throughout the series.

 The ongoing fight for the galaxy between the Rebellion and the Empire is one of violence, death, and darkness. This violence plays into the genre of Star Wars as an action film series, and it also relates to the historical revolutions of the gothic time period. The French Revolution was a harsh and violent uprising against the totalitarian regime just as the Rebellion opposes the oppressive Galactic Empire. The Reign of Terror during the French Revolution was a hectic and unorganized time in which radicals took control of the law and began to massacre and hold public executions. These executions included the execution of the King. Acts of violence and death are in direct correlation to the themes presented throughout gothic literature (Carlyle 708). There are hundreds of scenes from Star Wars that include instances of violence similar to the characteristics of the French Revolution. There is one specific scene that shows that George Lucas draws inspiration from the historical revolutions such as the French Revolution. In Return of the Jedi, Luke fights and defeats Vader (Lucas 1:52:00-153:30). As Luke continues to berate Vader his face is filled with rage and frustration. Perhaps this is a result of the years of having to fight against the evil of the empire and he finally gets to see the figurehead of the regime on the ground before him. This scene directly relates to the previously discussed execution of King Louis XVI during the French Revolution. Darth Vader is the face of the Galactic Empire, and defeating him is similar to the French killing the king. The destruction of the prominent opposing figure is often a necessary element for a successful rebellion. Gothicism is the underlying similarity between the two events because each includes violence meant to unease readers. For example, the public celebration during the execution of King Louis XVI, see image left (1793 Stanford University Libraries). In this example, the defeat of Vader is historically similar to the execution of King Louis XVI during the French Revolution and both of these examples include gothic elements. George Lucas was inspired by the elements of history and literature to create his own genre. Red Rising is a Star Wars-inspired novel that incorporates both the historical and gothic accuracy. 

Red Rising, by Pierce Brown, tells the story of Darrow, a poor man becoming the prominent figure in a revolution attempting to disband a corrupt regime. The dystopian galaxy is remarkably similar to Star Wars in many ways. For the purpose of this essay, the focus will be placed on the gothic similarities between Red Rising and Star Wars. For reference, the Sons of Ares are Pierce Brown’s equivalent to the Rebellion. As previously discussed, the Rebellion was oftentimes viewed as an underwhelming opponent of the Empire. Darrow was constantly doubted through the Red Rising series and the Sons of Ares found themselves struggling to survive. For example, at the end of the original trilogy, Darrow and his partners are facing execution by the Sovereign, the leader of the corrupt regime. Another character has a quick change of heart and frees Darrow so that he can kill the sovereign effectively ending the corrupt regime (Brown 490). Darrow was handcuffed on his knees ready to be executed on television in front of the entire galaxy. Just as King Louis XVI stood in front of his nation preparing to be executed, Darrow was overcome with terror, and thoughts of failure. Brown recreates the historical event to leave readers hopeless. This scene was the end of the first trilogy, nearly fifteen hundred pages of remarkable turmoil and Darrow has finally met his end. Readers are overcome with feelings of grief and anxiety as they watch the hero come so close to success. This strategy builds up the suspense in the novel until Darrow is freed and rightfully ends the Sovereign. In Star Wars, the Rebellion often finds themselves in similar situations facing defeat. For example, Luke is forced to fight Vader on Bespin and with his lightsaber skills not nearly honed as his father Luke suffers. Just having his hand cut off, Luke is left hanging on for life under the city until his friends come to rescue him, see image on the left. The two main characters are developed in a gothic manner as often both find themselves in times of loss, despair, and hopelessness. Gothic literature includes similar elements of the main characters being caught in stressful situations. One common feature in gothic stories is the damsel in distress, Lucas and Brown have taken this principle and applied it to their main characters. Each found themselves unable to get themselves out of a situation and needed aid from friends in order to escape. The gothic similarities between Red Rising and Star Wars are evident, and these similarities continue into the historical discussion.

The French Revolution and the execution of King Louis XVI is the perfect example of a revolution taking aim at the leader of the corrupt government. The people of France gathered to witness the figurehead of the regime they have wanted to take down get his head cut off. This violent and public event supports the idea that eliminating the figureheads of the regime can be effective in destroying corrupt rulers. Violent revolutions are gothic and the element of killing the leader is found in both Red Rising and Star Wars. The Sovereign rule established in Red Rising is similar in character formation as the Galactic Empire. Emperor Palpatine is the ruler of the Galactic Empire and Darth Vader is his enforcer and face of the Empire. Likewise, Brown includes a leader in the Sovereign Octavia and her skilled apprentice is the great swordswomen Aja au Grimmus. This is the final act of rebellion because this death allowed for a new order to begin. The destruction of the current order in a society is often most effective when the leaders of oppression are taken out. As previously discussed, Luke defeats Vader in Return of the Jedi in an attempt to damage the Empirical Regime. Darrow realized that in order to destroy the oppressive and racist rule that governs his society, he must defeat the leaders. The end of the original Red Rising trilogy culminates in Darrow killing the Sovereign and Aja (Brown 500). George Lucas took gothic elements from historical revolutions and implemented them in his film series, this inspired other content creators, like Pierce Brown, to include the same elements in their own story.

Gothicism is the underlying connection between the topics discussed in the essay so far. One of the most prolific revolutionary time periods coincides with the gothic literature time period. Therefore, George Lucas was inspired to include gothic elements in his own stories rebellion. Violence and the supernatural are elements included in gothic literature, Star Wars, and Red Rising. Elements of violence have already been established in the latter two stories, with the examples of Luke fighting Darth Vader and Darrow fighting Aja and the Sovereign. The Castle of Otranto is one of the original gothic texts and created multiple elements used in later texts. The author, Horace Walpole, introduced violence and the supernatural to gothic literature (Riely 2,17). The story includes scenes of murder and violence throughout the novel. Clara Reeves (7), a fellow gothic literature author, stated “[Walpole’s supernatural machinery] is so violent that it destroys the effect it is intended to incite.” The supernatural elements described in the story include ghosts, skeletons, and other commonly associated gothic figures. Illustrators would create drawings of the story after reading a scene in The Castle of Otranto, as seen in the image above (Greathead 1804). Star Wars includes similar elements of the supernatural meant to be violent and instill elements of terror, anxiety, and disgust (as discussed in Botting 2). The supernatural is an essential part of Star Wars. For example, the force is often time used as a violent supernatural power, that leaves viewers in shock and terror for main characters. As previously discussed, Luke fights his own father in order to bring down the empire. However, in the scene following the fight Luke is shocked by the force powers of Emperor Palpatine. The shock given to Luke looks electric in nature, perhaps a nod to Frankenstein, another piece of gothic literature (Lucas 1:54:00-156:00). Emperor Palpatine is a frightening figure. His features are deathly and not far off from Frankenstein. Lucas includes these mysterious and violent elements within the supernatural force powers to play into the gothic theme. The violent supernatural elements are at the root of gothic literature, and these elements were included in Star Wars proves its gothic nature. Red Rising also includes similar supernatural elements. Perhaps not as obvious as the force, but the story includes characteristics of the different colors with specific abilities throughout the solar system. These colors form a pyramid to create a hierarchy of order. Obsidians, the middle color of the second level of the pyramid, are known to be elite soldiers. They have been enslaved by the Golds, however, some live free in mysterious regions of the galaxy. These free Obsidians are featured fighting for the Rebellion in the final novel in the original trilogy. They were supernatural warriors and utter savages. They did not live in a proper civilization creating beasts with deep roots in religious values that give them their supernatural abilities. The more modern literature shows a clear expansion of the original ideas put forth by Walpole. Each of the three stories includes basic elements of gothic literature. 

The Star Wars Galaxy is diverse and complex in nature. George Lucas created a conflict between the formidable Galactic Empire and the Rebellion. Throughout the trilogy, the Rebellion is developed in a gothic manner. At times, Star Wars films and related literature show that the Rebellion is considered weak in the eyes of many across the Galaxy. Lando, in “The Angle”, provides the perspective of a galaxy member not directly involved with the conflict. He should be rooting for the Rebellion to dispel the oppressive Galactic Regime but has to admit that the Rebellion’s success is unlikely. Lucas is also able to develop the storyline of the Rebellion with consideration to revolutions during the gothic time period. The French Revolution shows how revolutions often target the prominent figures of the corrupt regime. In the case of Star Wars, Luke Skywalker is training to defeat Vader. In Return of the Jedi, Luke reflects the historical sentiments provided by the French Revolution and defeats Vader in a lightsaber battle. The Galaxy has been so influential that literary genres are formed around the plotline to Star Wars.

This essay has established a clear analysis of the role of Gothicism in the Rebellion. The importance of these similarities allows Star Wars viewers to gain a deeper understanding of the galaxy. Perhaps a deeper evaluation of other aspects of the series would result in similar results as this analysis? Viewers would now think to apply this general principle and draw inferences to create a greater understanding of how the Star Wars Galaxy relates to human society. If George Lucas is dramatizing instances of past culture, he could be creating many allusions throughout the series referencing societal issues and morality. Therefore, this analysis has proven that Star Wars is ingrained with thematical complexity. Lucas’s inclusion of various historical and gothic elements proves his ability to develop a unique approach. This calls viewers to analyze other aspects of the galaxy in order to draw conclusions as to the message Lucas is trying to send.

Works Cited

Botting, Fred. “Introduction: Negative Aesthetics.” Gothic: The New Critical, 2nd ed., Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2013, pp. 1–19.

Brown, Pierce. Morning Star. Hodder & Stoughton, 2016.

Carlyle, Thomas. The French Revolution: A History. Vol. 2, D. Appleton and Company, 1904.

Greathead, Bertie. Frederic Discovers the Skeleton Wrapped in a Hermit’s Cowl. Bondoni Publication of Castle of Otranto, 1804.

Lucas, George, creator. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Lucas Film Ltd, 1983

Lucas, George, creator. Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. Lucas Film Ltd, 2017

Morley, Henry, and Reeve, Clara. The Old English Baron. United Kingdom, Cassell, Limited, 1888.

Riely, John. “The Castle of Otranto Revisited.” The Yale University Library Gazette, vol. 53, no. 1, 1978, pp. 1–17. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40858658.

Soule, Charles. “The Angle.” Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View, Del Rey, 2017, pp. 433–446.