Author: Jubilee Anderson

Return of the Jedi: Star Wars OG #3

Analyzer: Jubilee Anderson

This post includes spoilers!

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away….

The Imperial forces have begun constructing a new, bigger, and more powerful Death Star than the one Luke destroyed in A New Hope. After rescuing Han Solo from imprisonment, Luke flies back to the Jedi Master Yoda to complete his training. Yoda tells him that the only way for him to become a Jedi is to face his father and kill him. After the death of his beloved master, Luke joins his friends in their mission to destroy the new Death Star. But not far into the journey, he realizes his presence is severely jeopardizing his friends’ safety.

Return of the Jedi includes themes of good vs. evil, manhood, and loyalty. Luke not only faces hatred and overcomes it, but he brings someone else with him back to the Light Side.

My Thoughts

If the last movie did a good job of stirring up Luke’s internal conflict between hatred and love and giving in to his father’s request, this movie is even better. I have so many favorite scenes from this movie. The interaction between C3PO and the ewoks was so funny! It was really sweet when Luke reveals the truth to Leia about their identity, and I love the tension in the final scenes between Luke, Darth Vader, and Palpatine. This is the most touching of all the movies by far, and a neat wrap-up to the original Star Wars trilogy.

Content Labels: Mild violence, romantic tension including several instances of kissing. The beginning scenes show women scantily clad, with only a bikini on. This is the major reason I’d give Return of the Jedi a 3 star instead of 4, and while it was effective to the plot, it was also very distracting.

For Ye Writers!

Character Arcs

To recap, Luke’s Goal is to be a Jedi, and his Want is to be like his father. In the last movie, Luke overcame his pride and realized that he, too, could be subject to the Dark Side. 

He also learned that his father was not actually the good man he had envisioned. But Luke still has this vision of what a good man looks like based upon who he thought his father was before he learned the truth. So let’s follow the major plot points through Luke’s character arc as he fully solidifies what it truly means to be a hero, and ultimately, a man.

In Return of the Jedi, the call to action happens when Yoda tells Luke that he must kill his father to become a Jedi. Luke doesn’t accept this call to action right away. He doesn’t want to kill his father.

With hope and yearning for his father to change to the Light Side, Luke eventually surrenders himself to the stormtroopers in order to try to convince Darth Vader to turn back. But Vader refuses, delivering Luke to Emperor Palpatine.

Palpatine places Luke by a window to watch the destruction of the Rebel forces and the deaths of his friends. This is Luke’s final chance to resist hatred, but Palpatine lures him in. Luke battles Darth, but then realizes that he’s falling to the Dark Side just like his father did. He throws down his lightsaber. Enraged, Palpatine electrocutes Luke, but Darth Vader steps in front, sacrificing his life for Luke and becoming the man Luke originally imagined his father to be. 

While Luke is certainly changed, there is a larger contrast between Darth Vader at the beginning and Darthat the end of the movie. Darth Vader at the beginning is a tyrant, but also somewhat a slave, willingly obeying Palpatine’s command. At the end, he dies for his son, overcoming his hatred in love and defeating Palpatine.

As I mentioned in the analyzation of The Empire Strikes Back, there are three types of characters necessary to a positive change arc: the protagonist, a character stuck in the evil the protagonist wants to avoid, and a character already living the virtue the protagonist wants to achieve.

Last time we discussed several options for the vice in this movie and we decided upon either hatred or pride (RotJ seems to lean heavier on the hatred aspect whereas the TESB seemed to lean more towards the pride aspect). 

At this point, Luke has already overcome his pride, and now he must face the temptation to hatred and overcome it. Again, he must choose; will he follow the path of Obi Wan and Yoda? Or will he fall to the Dark Side and join Palpatine and Darth Vader? 

Luke not only overcomes this temptation, he brings his father along with him to the Light Side.

Plot Structure

Take a look at the more in-depth analyzation of The Empire Strikes Back here on K.M. Weiland’s website.

Characteristic Mom: Luke is back in Tatooine. They set out to rescue Han and succeed.

Inciting Event: On his deathbed, Yoda tells Luke that the only way to become a Jedi is to face his father.

Push Point: Luke joins his friends in their mission to destroy the Death Star’s shield, but regrets it when he realizes Darth Vader can sense him with the force.

Pinch Point: Han and Leia run into Storm Troopers on Endor. Emperor Palpatine sets a trap for the Rebel ships coming to blow up the new Death Star.

Midpoint: The Ewoks lead the Rebels to the shield generator on Endor. Luke reveals to Leia that Darth Vader is his father. He surrenders to the Empire and they take him to Darth Vader.

Pinch Point: Luke fails to convince Darth Vader to turn from the dark side. “You underestimate the power of the dark side.”

Lowpoint: Leia and Han are trapped by the storm troopers. Luke watches the Rebel ships being destroyed. He gives in to the temptation and fights his father. Luke cuts off Vader’s hand just like Vader cut off Luke’s hand. If Luke goes any further, he will become Darth Vader himself.

Climax: Luke resists the temptation to give in to his anger and ultimately the Dark Side. He almost dies, but Darth Vader kills the Emperor, sacrificing his life and saving Luke. When Luke defeats his temptation, he becomes a Jedi knight and figuratively he becomes a man.

Resolution: Everyone celebrates. Luke cremates Vader’s remains. He later sees his force ghost father Anakin beside his mentors Obi Wan and Yoda.

Closing

I hope this review/analyzation of Return of the Jedi has helped you see how plot, characters, and theme are tightly interwoven, and hopefully you can impliment some of these things in your own story. You can find the analyzations for movies 1 & 2 here and here.

The Empire Strikes Back: Star Wars OG #2

Analyzer: Jubilee Anderson

Remember, this post includes spoilers!

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away….

When his old mentor’s ghost tells Luke to go to another planet to train under a Jedi Master named Yoda, Luke immediately obeys. At the same time, the Rebel base is attacked, and Luke’s friends are forced to flee. Will Luke finish his training in time to face the evil lord, Darth Vader, or will his friends be killed by Vader’s forces?

The Empire Strikes Back has themes of good vs. evil, loyalty, and romance.

My Thoughts

In the last post we talked about movie 1, A New Hope. Now I’m back to talk about the second movie.

I heard a lot of spoilers before watching this movie, sadly, including one of the best plot twists in movie history. When I finally watched it, it was exactly how I expected. I was so shocked at meeting Yoda, I wondered if Luke had really found the right guy! I was really sad for Han and Leia, and I loved Luke’s character arc especially during the last half of the movie.

I know I said this last time, but it’s true: George Lucas is a master storyteller!

Content Labels: Romantic tension between characters, including multiple instances of kissing. 

Takeaways: The ending of this movie was suspenseful, with some loose ends not tied until the third movie. I really, really loved Luke and Vader’s character arcs and relationship as protagonist and villain. I loved the theme of fighting for what’s right and watching how Luke overcame his lies and fears to embrace this truth.

For Ye Writers!

Character Arcs

(Remember: this is a study of how Luke changes over the course of the movie. Also, lots of spoilers here! DON’T READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED IT!!!)

To recap from the last movie, Luke wants to “be a Jedi like my father”, by which he means that he wants to be like his father. So Luke has a Goal: to become a Jedi; and a Want: to become the honorable man his father was, willing to sacrifice for good. Now he just needs to get there. 

In this movie, Luke accepts the call to action to become a Jedi when Obi Wan tells him to train under Yoda. When Luke first meets Yoda, he treats him with disrespect and impatience. He thinks he has it all figured out. But overtime, he learns to respect Yoda. 

One day, Yoda sends him to fight Darth Vader, and Luke cuts off Vader’s head. He realizes it was all just a vision, and he looks into Vader’s mask. Inside is a reflection of a face that looks like his. Luke realizes that he could turn to the dark side if he does not guard himself from temptation. 

He is faced with himself again at the climax, but this time in a different way. After cutting off Luke’s hand, Darth Vader reveals that he is Luke’s father. Vader tempts Luke to join the dark side, but Luke has learned his lesson. He doesn’t give in, but instead throws himself into the pit.

At the beginning of the movie, Luke thought he knew how to be a Jedi and how to resist evil temptation. He was ignorant and stubborn. But in the end, he truly resists temptation and overcomes it. He actually knows this time and he’s willing to learn instead of ignorantly going on his way.

In a story there are three main characters necessary to the plot of a positive change arc: The protagonist is the changing character. In The Empire Strikes Back, this character is Luke. Darth Vader (villain) is the one stuck in the evil Luke is trying to avoid, and Obi Wan Kenobi (mentor) is a perfect example of an impact character, or one actively living the virtue Luke is trying to achieve. 

You may be asking, what evil is Luke trying to avoid? It was difficult to pinpoint an exact vice, but I came down to two. 

The first one was pride. There are several hints that this is the vice throughout the movie. At the beginning, Luke thinks he has it all figured out and can resist evil on his own. Long before that, in the first movie, Darth Vader force chokes a man for telling him there is something wrong with his ship. These are instances of pride, but there isn’t a clear indication of humility from either Obi Wan or Luke, although there are traces of it.

The second vice I thought of was hatred. Using the same instance of Darth Vader force choking the man in A New Hope, that certainly seems like an instance of hatred. There are other hints, like the way in which Darth became the dark lord, or in the third movie, when the Emperor tells Luke to give into his anger.

Over the course of the story, Luke must choose who he will follow; Vader, or Obi Wan? Pride or Humility? Hatred or Love?

Plot Structure

Like in the last post, this section describes the plot of The Empire Strikes Back according to the 3-Act Structure. You can look at the more in-depth plot of this movie here on K.M Weiland’s website.

Characteristic Moment: Luke is scouting out terrain. Han and Leia are in the Rebel base.

Inciting Event: Luke is attacked by a wild animal. Once he escapes, Obi Wan’s ghost tells Luke to train under a Jedi named Yoda.

Push Point: The Empire attacks the rebel base, forcing them to flee. Luke goes to Yoda’s planet while Han and Leia fly off in the Falcon

Pinch Point: Emperor Palpatine tells Darth Vader that Luke, son of Anakin, is the new enemy they must hunt down.

Midpoint: When Luke sees the vision of Darth Vader but then he touches it and sees himself.

Pinch Point: Luke sees Han and Leia being tortured in a vision and he goes to save them against his mentor’s warnings. Vader forces Lando to betray Han and Leia.

Lowpoint: Han is frozen in carbonite. Luke finds out that his father, the man he looked up to and wanted to be like, is Darth Vader.

Climax:  Luke chooses not to accept his father’s offer to join the Dark Side and ends up hanging at the bottom of a building.

Resolution: Luke is rescued by Leia and they fly away to safety.

Closing

I hope this review/analyzation of The Empire Strikes Back has helped you see how plot, characters, and theme are tightly interwoven, and hopefully you can impliment some of these things in your own story. You can find the analyzations for movies 1 & 3 here and here.

When you watched The Empire Strikes Back, what did you think of the plot twist? I’d love to hear about it. Share with me here!

A New Hope: Star Wars OG #1

Analyzer: Jubilee Anderson

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away….

Luke has always wanted to do something more meaningful and adventurous than living his boring life in the desert planet of Tatooine. When Luke and his uncle bring home two droids, Luke tries to fix them up. But a secret message he discovers inside one droid will change the course of his future.

A New Hope, Star Wars movie 4 (or #1 in the OG 3) has threads of good vs. evil, coming-of-age, and adventure.

Why A Star Wars Series?

I got my first taste of Star Wars at my cousin’s birthday party years ago. Since then, I’ve watched various movies in the series many times with my siblings.

The last time we watched the Original 3 (OG 3), I decided to write a collection of movie reviews. But in addition, I also wanted to analyze the plot structure of the films so that writers who have watched them can understand the three-act structure and use it in their own novels. So buckle up, and let’s take a ride through outer space! BEWARE: SPOILERS AHEAD!

My Thoughts

I love it. It’s action packed with chase scenes, laser shooting, space ships, and cool interstellar planets. Everything you can expect from a thriller sci-fi movie.

George Lucas is a master storyteller. Every time I watch this, I’m drawn in by the first movie. The second and third movies have awesome plot twists, but A New Hope really holds itself up. 

My favorite scenes are the beginning scene when Luke finds the secret message, and the scene at the end when Luke and Han get their metals.

Content Labels: Light romantic tension between characters, including flirting and a kiss on the cheek. 

Takeaways: The ending of the movie left me smiling. As I said before, A New Hope could be a stand-alone. It holds itself up very well, and provides a good foundation for the next two movies and their awesome plot twists.

For Ye Writers!

Now let’s move on to the next section. This is the part for you writers out there. While I wrote all of this content on my own, I didn’t learn about story structure by myself! The links in the next section come from K.M. Weiland’s blog, Helping Writers Become Authors. She has an awesome platform, and I highly recommend checking it out!

I’m just gonna warn you, this next part contains full spoilers of the entire movie. Trust me, this is not a movie series you want spoilers on!

Character Arcs

(This section describes how Luke changes internally throughout the movie)

Luke has lived in his Normal World, Tatooine, his entire life. He’s tired of the normal and yearns for adventure.

When Obi Wan tells Luke that his father, Anakin, was a Jedi, Luke says he wants to be a Jedi, too. But to be more specific, Luke didn’t just want to be a Jedi. He wanted to “be a Jedi like my father.” He wanted to be like his father. That hero, that honorable man.

At the end of the story, Luke has achieved his goal. He’s not a Jedi yet, but he’s done something honorable. He’s saved his people from the Death Star. His Want is fulfilled.

Luke has more of a flat arc in the first movie, in that he doesn’t learn anything specific. His Want wasn’t changed in any way, but he’s changed the world around him, and now he lives in the New World instead of the Old.

Plot Structure

This section describes the plot of A New Hope according to the 3-Act Structure. Again, while I discovered the plotpoints for this movie myself, I wasn’t the first person to do so, and I didn’t teach myself. K.M. Weiland has the entire plot of A New Hope laid out here if you’d like to study this more in depth.

Characteristic Moment: Luke’s “normal world” is in Tatooine, living with his aunt and uncle. He wants to do something meaningful in life.

Inciting Event: Luke finds Leia’s secret message in R2-D2 mentioning a man named “Obi Wan Kenobi.”

Push Point: Luke’s aunt and uncle die, forcing him to go with Obi Wan.

Pinch Point: The bad guys blow up Alderaan

Midpoint: They’re sucked in by the Death Star’s gravitational pull. 

Pinch Point: They end up in the trash compactor which the bad guys turn on

Lowpoint: Darth Vader kills Obi Wan. Luke, Han, and Leia make it to the ship and fly away in grief.

Climax: The Death Star is about to blow up the Rebel base. Luke flies a ship down the tunnel and shoots a laser beam into the mechanism that will destroy it. Death Star explodes.

Resolution: Luke and Han get medals for their bravery. Luke has done what he always wanted to do: something meaningful. He’s a hero now.

Closing

I hope this review/analyzation of A New Hope has helped you see how plot, characters, and theme are tightly interwoven, and hopefully you can impliment some of these things in your own story. You can find the analyzations for movies 2 & 3 (or 5 & 6) here and here.

Was this post helpful? What is one thing you’ve learned from a movie/book you’ve analyzed? I’d love to hear about it. Share with me here!