Star Wars IV: A New Hope

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According to legendary boxer Sugar Ray Robinson, “To be a champ, you will have to believe in yourself when no one else will.” The importance of believing in oneself is illustrated in George Lucas’s Star Wars IV – A New Hope in which Luke Skywalker, a tentative teenager, is thrust into a new life of adventure and self-cultivation after stumbling upon a plea for help in the form of a message embedded in a droid he purchased named R2D2. To that effect, when analyzing George Lucas’s film from a Jungian perspective, Luke’s individuation becomes apparent through his development from a self-doubting and indecisive teenager into a decisive leader capable of channeling the power of the “force.” Luke’s attainment of higher consciousness is showcased …show more content…

Princess Lea is an independent woman who is not afraid to get her hands dirty. In fact, as a ruthless Darth Vader’ invades her ship in the beginning of the film, she calmly transfers a critical message, the plans of the death star, into R2D2 who is jettisoned from the ship in an escape pod. Indeed, such quick thinking represents Lea’s cunning which she will inevitably transfer onto Luke. In fact, Princess Lea’s effect is seen on Luke when he finds out that she is being held prisoner in the death star. Instead of listening to Han’s cries to stay inside the control room, Luke takes initiative by attempting to rescue Lea. Thus, this moment represents a stepping stone for Luke, who shows his first signs of self-dependence by breaking free from the chains of his indecisive nature. Moreover, Lea, to an extent, also represents the romantic anima, as Luke calls her “beautiful” upon first seeing her in the hologram from R2D2. Evidently, this serves as one of the root motivations behind his call to action. Lea’s influence on Luke is further demonstrated when they are forced onto a ledge with storm troopers in pursuit. Luke ingeniously devises a tarzan swing and swings across while under fire from storm troopers. This is reminiscent to Lea improvising in an earlier situation by blasting a hole in a grate in order to escape from storm troopers. Thus, Luke comes one step closer to realizing the …show more content…

Indeed, after leaving Tatooine on the Millennium Falcon, Obi-Wan teaches Luke about the force telling him to “let go of the conscious mind … and feel the force flowing through you.” (1:00:00). This serves as an important lesson for Luke’s final onslaught on the death star and plays a critical role in him reaching the Self. Indeed, until his death, Obi-Wan provides Luke with continuous guidance, thus representing his positive shadow, as he holds the qualities Luke needs to become a Jedi knight. Moreover, Obi-Wan’s connection with the force is demonstrated when he leaves Luke in the death star control room telling him that “your destiny lies along a different path than mine.” Indeed’ Obi-Wan already knows of his fate. He does not expect to get off the death star once again echoing such sentiments in his battle with Darth Vader where he says that “if you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine” (1:26). Furthermore, he harnesses the power of the force by becoming one with the force himself, or in other words, a force-ghost. Furthermore, during the rebel assault on the death star, Obi Wan communicates with Luke telling him to “use the force … let go.” As a result, Luke disables the targeting system on his fighter and destroys the death star using only the force, thus pointing to his newly found confidence. To

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