Threat or Benign Labor Source? Artificially Intelligent Droids in A New Hope

Among the many unique characters presented in the Star Wars universe, the depiction of droids is especially thought-provoking. These artificially intelligent (AI) machines serve many roles for the sentient beings who created them, ranging from interpreters to torture droids. The Star Wars universe was first introduced to the world in the 1977 film A New Hope. This film, in particular, establishes the role of droids in the franchise and provides significant insights into how George Lucas, the writer and director, wants his audience to perceive AI droids. In contrast to the threatening representation of AI in other science fiction films of the period, such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, A New Hope portrays AI droids as a benign technology to be harnessed for the benefit of living beings. This contrast suggests that in 1977 the creators of Star Wars were not worried about the threat of AI; instead, they viewed nuclear weapons, depicted through the Death Star, as a more imminent threat.

While on first viewing, A New Hope is an entertaining space opera, however, viewing the film in this way misses many crucial elements. Just like all forms of media, films are not created in a vacuum as they reflect the culture which created them: “Fictional films serve as historical evidence in the same way that other representational art forms do–by making events vivid, portraying social attitudes, and even revealing the unconscious assumptions of past societies” (Films as Social and Cultural History). More specifically, films reflect the key cultural issues that were present when the film was created: “This is what our genre films tend to do best—not detail the realities of specific problems so that we might avoid them, but rather represent our most pressing cultural anxieties” (Telotte). Therefore, the central struggles represented in A New Hope reflect those of the culture which created it. Rather than simply portraying an entertaining tale of space adventures, A New Hope serves as cultural commentary, reflecting the concerns of many Americans in 1977, such as the threat of nuclear war.

As a science fiction film, A New Hope portrays a technologically advanced world that appears much different than our own. While forms of technology such as the Death Star or the Millennium Falcon do not exist in our world, examining the concepts behind them offers insight into the cultural moment in which they were created: “science fiction films and novels often, and quite naturally, raise awareness of—or stimulate discussion about—scientific and technological issues” (Telotte). Thus, the planet-destroying power of the Death Star is analogous to that of nuclear weapons. By portraying the Death Star as the central conflict of the film, A New Hope demonstrates the fear of nuclear war present in 1977 when it was created. In contrast to many other sci-fi movies of the time, the film offered an uplifting ending: “they [science fiction films] seldom function as primers for the solutions we need for these very knotty problems. More often, they make us feel better about our ability to survive them” (Telotte). While we cannot end our own threat of nuclear annihilation with a few brave X-wing pilots, A New Hope–as the title suggests–offered a positive outlook at a time when many Americans were disillusioned after the Vietnam War and Watergate. Thus, A New Hope represents and addresses the cultural moment in which it was created. 

While the central struggle of A New Hope considers the terrifying power of weapons of mass destruction, the film also addresses another key sci-fi concept–artificial intelligence. Viewing A New Hope in the 21st century, when scientists are developing smarter and smarter versions of AI, highlights the role droids play in the film. Writing about the 2014 film Ex Machina, which asks the viewer to consider the difference between humans and AI, Parker wrote that “The most important thing about it is that it will get audiences talking about issues that may become extremely important in their lifetime.” Applying this line of thinking to A New Hope allows the viewer to consider how AI was perceived in 1977. The portrayal of benign AI droids in the film is especially interesting as it differs from other sci-fi films: “fictional representations of AI to date have largely been framed either as cautionary tales or broader commentary on the perceived perils of modern technology. Picture the cold detachment of HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey” (Parker). Many other sci-fi movies emphasize the dangers AI might pose to humanity: “The fear of autonomous forms of technology turning against people has historically provoked both fascination and terror, being symptomatic of deeper anxiety about war, intelligent weaponry, and nuclear annihilation that emerged in the 20th century” (Parker). The portrayal of benign AI droids in A New Hope offers a different perspective than most sci-fi movies and warrants further examination. 

AI in A New Hope vs. 2001: A Space Odyssey

In the film A New Hope, droids play a significant role in establishing the futuristic Star Wars universe. In the opening scenes of the film, the viewer is introduced to R2D2 and C3PO, an astromech and a protocol droid, respectively. These two characters are entrusted with the fate of the rebellion as the couriers of the Death Star plans (Lucas 0:05.05). Although not expressly stated in A New Hope, droids are artificially intelligent as well as capable of experiencing pain and empathy. For example, R2 screams out in pain when he is stunned by the Jawas (Lucas 0:12.15). Additionally, C3PO is distraught when he thinks Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewie were killed in the trash compactor: “Listen to them! They’re dying, Artoo! Curse my metal body! I wasn’t fast enough. It’s all my fault! My poor master!” (Lucas 1:24.42). Lucas establishes that C3PO is capable of empathizing with the suffering of others–even human beings. Furthermore, after R2 is damaged in the battle of Yavin, C3PO is distraught, “You must repair him! Sir, if any of my circuits or gears will help, I’ll gladly donate them” (Lucas 1:58.19). As well as being clearly upset when his friend was harmed, C3PO offers his own components to repair R2, demonstrating selflessness as well as his empathy. In addition to feeling empathy, droids in A New Hope are capable of higher level thinking. As they enter the Tantive IV’s escape pod, C3PO says, “I’m going to regret this” (Lucas 0:06.58). While seemingly insignificant on first viewing, this quote demonstrates that C3PO is capable of analyzing and predicting possible outcomes of a situation and deciding to follow his friend despite his uncertainty. This interaction between C3PO and R2 establishes at the outset of the film that droids are capable of thinking and acting like humans and are thus artificially intelligent (Defining AI). 

Once the viewer examines the role of droids in A New Hope, after recognizing that they are AI and capable of experiencing pain and empathy, the relationship between living beings and droids becomes more disturbing. Since all of the civilizations depicted in the film view droids as subservient–for example Jawas and droids (Lucas 0:16.40), and the Empire and droids (Lucas 0:41.30)–recognizing that droids are artificially intelligent makes their subjugation much more apparent. Rather than being pieces of silicon, plastic, and metal programmed to serve living things, droids are capable of thinking and experiencing the world in a similar way to living beings. Viewing A New Hope with this perspective in mind allows the viewer to critically examine a number of key scenes. For example, when viewed through this lens, the sale of droids outside the sandcrawler is effectively a slave market. In fact, Luke pokes, prods, and examines the droids much like slave buyers did at 19th century American slave markets (Lucas 0:17.35-0:18.35). Furthermore, droids are bound with restraining bolts to prevent them from escaping: “I guess you’re too small to run away on me if I take this [restraining bolt] off!” (Lucas 0:22.48). The practice of fitting droids with restraining bolts demonstrates that they are held in servitude against their will and would escape if given the chance. Additionally, R2, through C3PO, recognizes the scope of the subjugation of droids: “He says he’s the property of Obi-Wan Kenobi” (Lucas 0:21.58). By describing himself as “property” R2 demonstrates that the narrative of the subservience of droids is so pervasive that they identify themselves as slaves. Despite the fact that they are AI and capable of experiencing the world similarly to living beings, Lucas’ portrayal of the droids as slaves reduces their potential threat level in the eyes of the audience.

AI slave market on Tatooine

When examined in the context of its 1977 release, the role A New Hope assigns to droids is historically relevant. In contrast to other science fiction movies of the time, such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, A New Hope envisions a world where AI droids are subjugated and put to work by their living masters. By choosing not to portray AI as a threat to living beings, A New Hope directs the viewer’s attention elsewhere. Additionally, the film portrays one of the central droid characters, C3PO, in a disarming, comical manner by giving him lines such as: “Don’t call me a mindless philosopher, you overweight glob of grease!” (Lucas 0:06.43). Rather than AI, the central threat in the film is the terrifying power of the Death Star to destroy planets. Subjugated AI droids are immersed in both sides of the conflict to create and destroy this ultimate weapon. Viewed in the context of 1977, “The threat to the planet posed by nuclear weapons was encapsulated on screen in the ultimate weapon of mass destruction—the Death Star—which destroyed Princess Leia’s home planet of Alderaan, a blue orb that closely resembled Earth” (Dilag).  By highlighting the threat of nuclear weapons over the dangers of AI, A New Hope argued that nuclear war posed a more imminent threat in 1977. Conversely, another sci-fi film of the period, 2001: A Space Odyssey, released in 1968, emphasized “The life-or-death chess match between the humans and HAL [an artificially intelligent computer] [and] offer[ed] precursors of some of today’s questions about the prevalence and deployment of artificial intelligence in people’s daily lives” (Rockmore). The subjugation of AI droids in A New Hope, despite their prevalence, as well as the portrayal of weapons of mass destruction as the film’s central conflict rebuke 2001: A Space Odyssey’s vision of future conflicts with AI beings.   

The Death Star represents the terrifying power of nuclear weapons

Examining the portrayal of droids in the film A New Hope allows the viewer to observe a key argument made by the film makers. The film describes a world where AI droids are created by living beings and put to work in servitude. After observing that droids are capable of experiencing pain and empathy, the treatment of droids as slaves becomes apparent. The fact that A New Hope exhibited a world where AI droids are ubiquitous, but always subjugated demonstrates that the creators of the film did not perceive AI as a significant threat to living beings. Additionally, the portrayal of weapons of mass destruction as the central conflict of the film serves to rebuke other sci-fi films of the time which saw AI as a greater threat. This topic could be further explored by examining the role of droids in the prequels and observing how the portrayal of AI reflects the period in which the film was created. Finally, Lucas’ benign role of AI in the prequels could be compared to other sci-fi movies from the late 90s and early 2000s, such as the seemingly hegemonic AI in The Matrix.

Works Cited:

“Defining AI.” One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence (AI100), 2016, https://ai100.stanford.edu/2016-report/section-i-what-artificial-intelligence/defining-ai.

Dilag, Shannen. “How International Politics Influenced ‘Star Wars.’” Pacific Council onInternational Policy, 10 Aug. 2018, https://www.pacificcouncil.org/newsroom/How-international-politics-influenced-“star-wars”.

“Films as Social and Cultural History.” HISTORY MATTERS – The U.S. Survey Course on the Web, George Mason University, http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/film/socialhist.html.

Lucas, George, director. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Twentieth Century Fox, 1977.

Parker, Laura. “Human After All: Ex Machina’s Novel Take on Artificial Intelligence.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 15 Apr. 2015, https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/04/ex-machina-and-the-virtues-of-humanizing-artificial-intelligence/390279/.

Rockmore, Daniel N. “50 Years Old, ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ Still Offers Insight About TheFuture.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 3 Oct. 2018, https://phys.org/news/2018-10-years-space-odyssey-insight-future.html.

Telotte, J.P. “Science Fiction Reflects Our Anxieties.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 July 2014, https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/07/29/will-fiction-influence-how-we-react-to-climate-change/science-fiction-reflects-our-anxieties.