Star Wars: Episode IV, A New Hope (1977) - Essay Example

College: Star Wars: Episode IV, A New Hope (1977) In Star Wars, religion is used as a mystery of power and force, an unexplainable energy that sustains life in the universe. According to the movie, religion is made up of an omnipresent force that binds the worldly creations and enables them to assume a similar focus of conquering the evil. However, good characters and intentions can be controlled and manipulated by the evil one, leading them astray from their common good. In addition, the evil force can take full control of an individual, turning him or her into a of vessel of destruction.

For instance, Jedi , (the evil one) controls and manipulates Luke to an extend of guiding him to destroy the Death Star (SparkNotes Editors 1).Religious force is a natural phenomenon that is characterized by light and darkness with the righteous being driven by the desire to do good. Light entails doing good and saving the universe while darkness is characterized by anger and hatred. According to the critics of the film, religion is a spiritual dimension in people’s daily lifes that is vague and is used to offer explanations to good and evil in the society.

Lucas states that religious force cannot be identified with a particular religion but it is rather an impersonal aspect of life aimed at bringing harmony in the community.Black and white are used as a means of identification and characters dressing changes as they advance from a certain set of actions (good) to another (evil). Racial trends in the episode are brought out through the use identification of characters with certain colors. A clear line of character distinction between n the good and evil characters is drawn through the use of black and white outfits.

The new hope clothes contrast is a symbol that draws back to societal perceptions of the 1940s and 1950s whereby white was considered to be serene while black was associated with evil. For instance, Leia wears white and this is linked to her good character as well as her brother Luke whom they have no knowledge of their relation (SparkNotes Editors 2). Han solo wears both black and white, an indication of his dark past and current acquired good character. Moreover, Luke’s dressing changes through the episode as his actions to save people advance an indication of how peoples identification change from time to time depending on the society’s definition.

Because of the popularity of the Star Wars, the themes that include race and religion have been extensively compared with other religions in a bid to highlight issues like ethics, truth and faith for the good of the society. A major reason for its popularity in the United States is because people from different walks of life were able to identify its content with the day to day activities. For example, its beliefs have been adopted to offer teachings in Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and Taoism.

Star wars became popular in America because of its excellent design, scale, splendid production scope ans pursuit of entertainment. The producers of the movie gave the movie theater a new look, making Hollywood an epitome of entertainment on the globe. Literature indicates that on top of the content, the quality of the production was flashy, entertaining and spectacular, setting standards for other producers in the 1970s and 1980s. The blockbusters quality was magical in such a way that it made people in the united states want to see it over and over again.

The pervasiveness of the marketing strategy adopted for Star Wars has continued to be an inspiration for people in the movie business. For instance, in 1977, Star Wars capitalized on the use of tie-ins to sell-off its blockbuster films and this was their break point in the movie market. Another instant that propelled its popularity was the Ronald Reagans naming of a missile in the 1980s as strategic defense initiative, a name that had already been identified with Star Wars.Works citedSparkNotes Editors.

“SparkNote on Star Wars Episodes IV–VI.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.